Getty Images Ja'Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Cincinnati Bengals rode Ja’Marr Chase to a 23-10 victory against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday and it was just another day at the office for the explosive wide receiver.
Chase has been involved in some beef with the Browns secondary, most notably Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome II, which added some extra meaning to the matchup.
Chase joined The Pivot podcast this offseason and was asked about some of the top cornerbacks he faced during his record-setting rookie season with the Bengals. He was quick to name Ward but also had some shade for the “s**t” talking Browns.
“It’s game-time when we see them. It’s just on sight, that’s it,” Chase said. “Not just because Cleveland talk the most s–t. Denzel Ward did his thing. Same for Greg Newsome. I don’t think he elite (Newsome), but they just talk crazy.”
Neither could contain Chase, who notched 10 catches for 119 yards and a touchdown. No other Bengals receiver had more than two grabs and a lot of focus was thrown Chase’s way with Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd and Hayden Hurst all out of the lineup due to injury.
“It’s not satisfying,” Chase said after the game when asked about putting up the numbers against Ward. “It’s just something I had to prove. I’m not really excited. It’s just me doing something I said I was going to do, basically.”
Neither Chase or Ward played in the first matchup of the season, which the Browns won handily 32-13. Newsome had some words for the other Bengals receivers after that win.
“They know what we did last year and for them to talk like that, we had to shut them up again,” Newsome said after the win in October.
Bengals End Losing Streak Against Browns
The Bengals ended a five-game losing streak against the Browns with the win on Sunday and Joe Burrow picked up his first win against Cleveland.
“We’ve been right there in all the games against them, we just haven’t come out on top. Today we did. The defense played unbelievable, and that really ended up being the deciding factor in the game — how well they played,” Burrow said after the game. “That’s showing the kind of team we’re becoming. We’re able to win a lot of different ways. We’ve seen it over the last couple weeks, just winning on the defensive end, offensive end, kicking game — we’re just a complete team right now.”
Burrow even went as far as to recruit some fans of the Browns who may want to switch their Ohio allegiance.
“It is what it is. If people want to root for them, it is what it is,” Burrow said. “We love our fans. If you want to come on over, you can hop on the bandwagon.”
Browns WR Battles Through Hip Injury in Loss
Amari Cooper suited up for the game against the Bengals after a hip injury in practice but his ability to make an impact was clearly impacted. He caught just two of seven targets for 42 yards. Early in the matchup, Cooper reaggravated the injury, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. Cooper was not making any excuses after the game.
“Anytime you’re not at 100%, you’re kind of hampered in some way, in one way or another,” he said. “But, I mean, it’s really no excuse. Most players are fighting through something, you know what I mean? You just gotta be dependable and go out there and do your best and that’s what I tried to do.”
The Browns need some significant help to make the postseason but are just taking it one week at a time. Next up are the Ravens at home on Saturday.