The Pittsburgh Steelers are licking their wounds following a disappointing loss in their season opener, but they’re far from alone. So, too, are the Cincinnati Bengals, who were blown out by the Cleveland Browns today—or the Elves, as Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase called them.
There’s a little back story to that, of course. The Browns resurrected an old elf mascot logo this offseason that now adorns the middle of their field. Chase was asked if it meant more to play the Browns in Cleveland last week, and didn’t seem to think much of it—saying that he almost called them the Elves.
“It’s frustrating because I called their ass elves and we just lost to some elves so I’m pissed on my part”, he said following the Bengals’ 24-3 loss, via ESPN’s Ben Baby. “I’m pissed on that end. We missed opportunities, we didn’t capitalize on that shit and we lost”.
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It wasn’t a great day—in fact, head coach Zac Taylor pulled QB Joe Burrow in the final minutes of the game, just days after the Steelers made him the highest-paid player in NFL history. On the day, he went just 14-for-31 for 82 yards. Chase caught five passes on nine targets for 39 yards—leading the team in every category.
The star receiver’s non-plussed response to facing the Browns—a team that has now won nine of the last 11 games between the two division rivals—seemed to fire them up. Likely unintentionally evoking former Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster’s “the Browns is the Browns” comment, Chase said that “Cleveland is Cleveland”—a fact the Browns were happy to remind people after the win.
Browns star defender Myles Garrett said during the week that he would have to have a conversation with Chase about his comments about the Elves Browns, saying that it might even take place in-game. “Now that’s disrespectful”, he said.
It is curious how the Bengals have looked down on the Browns even though their recent success has only spanned two-plus years—and the fact that the Browns have beaten them now four out of five times during that span.
The defense certainly showed up today. These were some Lord of the Rings elves out there, holding one of the league’s top offenses to just 142 total yards and 2.6 yards per play. They had just six first downs all afternoon and were 2-for-15 on third down. They never even made it into the red zone.
