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

On By Littum

Cincinnati Bengals star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase has had enough of answering the same questions after his team continues to inexplicably lose games.

Chase also understands that until the Bengals start producing a different result 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 came out flat on both sides of the ball in Cincinnati’s Week 11 loss to Chargers. The team rallied in the second half and had two different chances to take the lead in the final minutes, but reverted to the team they’ve 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 unpack the spiral this season has turned into.

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

When reporters followed up to clarify Chase’s comments about why he feels it’s not 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 turning in his best pro campaign, as is quarterback Joe Burrow, and yet the Bengals would be on the outside looking in 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 continue to be the only three players on the Bengals’ roster to consistently make impact plays week in and week out. They’re holding up their end of the bargain, but the Bengals still can’t find a way to win games when they need it most.

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

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

But above all, one theme sticks out more than any other: The Bengals don’t execute in crunch time.

Look no further than what took place with Evan McPherson on Sunday night. Despite a terrible first half performance in the Bengals’ 34-27 loss to the Chargers, the Bengals still had two 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 and the other from 51 yards. He has now made just six of his 12 field goal attempts of 40-plus 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 get those kicks in time.”

That’s where the Bengals sit right now, lost and looking for answers, and that’s why Chase — or Burrow — wasn’t able to 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.

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