news

Frustration mounts in the Bengals locker room as Ja’Marr Chase sounds off

Vaseline November 18, 2024

Cincinnati Bengals star receiver Ja’Marr Chase is tired of having to answer the same questions after his team inexplicably keeps losing games.

Chase also understands that until the Bengals start generating a different outcome on the field, he will continue to be asked questions about why Cincinnati can’t seem to finish games this season.

With their postseason hopes on the line, the Bengals fell flat on both sides of the ball in Cincinnati’s Week 11 loss to the Chargers. The team rallied in the second half and had two different chances to take the lead in the closing minutes, but fell back on the team they have been all year and couldn’t finish.

And now the Bengals enter their bye week with a 4-7 record, with plenty of time to work out the spiral that this season has become.

“Ask Zac… ask the coaches – don’t ask me,” Chase said about why the Bengals can’t finish games. “That’s not my job.”

When reporters wanted to clarify Chase’s comments about why he doesn’t feel like it’s his job, Chase brought up “play-calling.”

“I play football on the field,” Chase said. “I don’t call plays for us, you know? So I can’t really do anything.”

Chase is coming off his best professional campaign, as is quarterback Joe Burrow, and yet the Bengals would be looking on the outside if the playoffs started this week. They are both visibly frustrated and their feelings are justified based on their consistent individual performances.

Trey Hendrickson, Chase and Burrow remain the only three players on the Bengals roster who consistently make impactful plays week in and out. They keep their end of the bargain, but the Bengals still can’t find a way to win games when they need them most.

For a season that started with Super Bowl expectations, it is quickly turning into one of the most disappointing and confusing seasons in team history.

There isn’t just one reason why the Bengals have a losing record and haven’t beaten a team with a winning record yet. The blame doesn’t stop at one specific player, coach, front office member, etc. This season has been a collective failure for everyone involved.

But above all, one theme stands out more than any other: the Bengals are not performing in a time crunch.

Look no further than what happened to Evan McPherson on Sunday night. Despite a terrible performance in the first half of the Bengals’ 34-27 loss to the Chargers, the Bengals had two more chances to take the lead in the final minutes.

McPherson, who signed a three-year extension with the Bengals this summer, missed two field goals: one from 48 yards out and the other from 51 yards out. He has now made just six of his 12 field goal attempts of more than 40 yards this year.

When asked what he said to McPherson after missing the kicks, Burrow said he said “nothing.” Chase was also asked if he had any conversations with McPherson after the missed kicks.

In typical Chase fashion, he continued to answer with brutal honesty.

“He knows how to make those kicks,” Chase said. “That’s why we paid him that money — to make those kicks in crunch time.”

That’s where the Bengals sit now, lost and looking for answers. That’s why Chase — or Burrow — couldn’t confidently say they believe this version of Cincinnati’s team can make the playoffs after another heartbreaking loss.

“Honestly, I don’t know, man. I have no idea,” Chase said.