Ja’Marr Chase’s competitive fire boiled over in Week 4, with the Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver confronting his head coach on the sideline during another dismal offensive performance.
The exchange underscored how deep the frustration runs for a team struggling without Joe Burrow as they fell to a 28-3 defeat to the AFC West’s Denver Broncos on Monday, September 29.
Aside from a first quarter field goal, the Ohio-based team had absolutely nothing to offer as Chase walked off the field with a statline reading just five receptions for 23 yards on the night.
For the league’s most expensive wide receiver, it is simply far below expected standards and Cincinnati’s offensive breakdowns reached a boiling point as Chase had a confrontation with Zac Taylor.
A fiery exchange on the sidelines
With the team punting for a sixth consecutive drive late in the third quarter, Ja’Marr walked back toward the bench, only to divert and tap Taylor on the shoulder to catch his attention.
Once the coach pulled off his headset, Chase made his feelings clear as moments earlier, the receiver’s irritation had been building. Moments earlier, backup quarterback Jake Browning airmailed a third-and-17 attempt out of bounds with the Bengals trailing 21-3.
At that stage, the team’s offense had only 141 total yards and eight first downs, while Denver already had racked up 400 yards and 22 first downs.
For the 25-year-old, who views every touch as a chance to change the complexion of a game, the lack of opportunities and poor execution were too much to ignore.
Though the conversation with Taylor was not a shouting match, it carried the weight of a leader demanding more urgency, although the boss tried to downplay the sideline moment, choosing instead to highlight what drives his star wideout.
“He’s an exemplary teammate. He’s exemplary in his work preparation. You can see the results of that out there Sunday,” Taylor said, adding that Chase’s emotional outbursts stem from a relentless desire to win rather than any fracture in team chemistry.
The Bengals’ dismal run without Joe Burrow at quarterback
On a night when Cincinnati managed only three points, it also illustrated the stark reality: without Burrow at quarterback, the Bengals’ offense has been unable to function at a high level.
The numbers following two consecutive blowout losses tell their own story. The Bengals have been outgained by a staggering 534 yards over the past two weeks – 181 in a 48-10 defeat to the Minnesota Vikings and 353 in the lopsided loss to Denver.
That figure represents the worst two-game yardage differential in the franchise’s 58-year history.
The previous low mark came in 1992, when Cincinnati was outgained by 530 yards over back-to-back losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Houston Oilers (now the Tennessee Titans) so the company is not encouraging.
The 1968 expansion Bengals, who finished 3-11, and the 2018 squad, which collapsed after a 4-1 start, also suffered stretches where they were outgained by at least 500 yards across two games.
League-wide history does little to soften the blow. Since the 1970 merger, 38 teams have endured worse back-to-back yardage disparities, led by the 1975 New Orleans Saints (-793).
More recently, the 2022 Jacksonville Jaguars endured a -734 stretch in defeats to the Lions and Vikings. Cincinnati’s current -534 differential illustrates the degree to which the absence of their Pro Bowl quarterback has crippled the roster. Only they know if they can find a way out.
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