Desperately needing a win, Cincinnati Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase is ready for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Even if his phrase doesn’t fully convey it. Speaking to reporters after a Sunday loss to the Green Bay Packers with a Thursday night divisional matchup waiting, Chase said he’s ready to challenge the division-leading Steelers.
“Just the rankings we got going on right now,” Chase told reporters as tweeted by reporter Mike Petraglia. “We know the Steelers are going to try to come in and raw dog us and kill us. But we going to be ready for that challenge and we going to be waiting for it.”
Perhaps not the most artful way of previewing the matchup, but Chase’s point is well-taken. The Bengals have looked lost since QB Joe Burrow’s turf toe injury.
Trading for QB Joe Flacco didn’t produce substantially better results. Cincinnati’s offense sputtered in the first half before finding traction in the final two frames. Flacco threw jump balls to receivers Tee Higgins and Chase, who responded with big plays. Chase made a sensational catch to make the game close in the fourth quarter.
But the defense couldn’t get a stop and kicker Evan McPherson missed a long kick that would’ve kept Cincinnati’s slim hopes alive. Green Bay walked away with a 24-18 win. Flacco finished 29-of-45 for 219 yards, two touchdowns, zero interceptions, and one sack.
With the Bengals now 2-4 and losers of four straight, the Steelers will look to widen their AFC North lead. That means putting heat on Flacco and taking away Chase and Higgins. Pittsburgh’s front has been dominant the last three games, recording 17 sacks over that time. Cincinnati entered Week 6 just 29th in scoring, a ranking that won’t increase after its Sunday showing.
Last year, Chase scored in both games against Pittsburgh. While he didn’t take over either game, he was consistently productive. Fortunately, the Steelers should be healthy at cornerback. Despite losing CB Darius Slay, Joey Porter Jr., Brandin Echols, and James Pierre for moments of Sunday’s win against the Browns, Mike Tomlin showed little concern about their availability for Thursday. Pittsburgh will need to be at its best to handle Chase and Higgins, even if Burrow won’t be throwing to them.
