Monday night was one to forget for the Cincinnati Bengals.
Cincinnati dropped its second straight 28-3 to the Denver Broncos, but coach Zac Taylor was also left answering for his heated argument with star wideout Ja’Marr Chase, which was caught by cameras during the third quarter.
Chase finished with just five catches for 23 yards in Denver — his third game with 50 yards or fewer this year. The superstar wideout is 20th in the NFL in receiving yards, even though he is tied for sixth in catches (26) through four games this season.
Bengals Coach: Ja’Marr Chase ‘Just Wants To Win’
Taylor was about the heated exchange with Chase and downplayed the argument and expressed his enthusiasm for having a player of that competitive caliber on the roster.
“Ja’Marr Chase, coming off a game like this, is one of my favorite players to deal with, quite frankly, because he’s just competitive,” Taylor said. “He just wants to win, and it comes across as emotional, but that’s just a captain that works his tail off.
“All he wants to do is win the game. All he wants to do is affect the game, and often times he feels like if, ‘I have the ball in my hand, I can do that,’ and I don’t disagree with him, and we’re always looking for ways to get him the ball.”
So whatever interaction Chase and Taylor were caught having on the sidelines did not affect their relationship, according to Taylor.
“When I’m done coaching, he will be one of my all time favorites for the way that he has … become the total pro that you want leading your football team in competing in practice and competing in games,” Taylor said. “I can’t say enough about him. … It just comes from a place where ‘I want to help the team win, I can help the team win, help me, help the team win.’
“I love that about him.”
Ja’Marr Chase Is ‘A Leader’ and Has ‘Gotta Be Positive’
The Bengals, of course, are 0-2 since Jake Browning took over for Joe Burrow after the latter sustained a serious turf-toe injury. Their offense has managed just 13 points in the two games Browning has started, losses to the Broncos and Minnesota Vikings.
So it’s understandable that Chase is feeling frustrated, especially since he has 13 catches for 73 yards with Browning at the helm. Yet, Chase is pushing to keep the team from falling into abyss amid the Bengals‘ two-game losing streak.
“I’m a leader, so he looks at me as a leader,” Chase said. “I’ve gotta be positive all the time. It don’t matter the scoreboard, I’ve got to make sure my guys [are] still fighting the whole game.”
Still, Chase allowed some shade to sneak into his postgame comments, directed at Taylor and the offensive decision makers — while also taking some accountability for the team’s lack of execution.
“We’ve got to find a way to get the ball to our playmakers’ hands,” Chase said, “open the run game up to our running backs and execute.”
Bengals’ Zac Taylor Responds to Heated Incident With Ja’Marr Chase