B/R
Ja’Marr Chase directed questions regarding the Cincinnati Bengals’ play-calling to head coach Zac Taylor following a 34-27 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday Night Football.
“I don’t know,” Chase told reporters after the game. “Ask Zac, ask the coaches. Don’t ask me. That’s not my job.”
“I play football on the field,” he added. “I don’t call plays for us, you know? So, I can’t really do nothing.”
The star wide receiver caught seven of 13 targets for 75 yards and two touchdowns in the defeat.
Taylor’s play-calling has come under fire throughout the season, as six of Cincinnati’s seven losses in 2024 have been in one-score games.
He insisted that changes didn’t need to be made following Sunday’s defeat, though.
“I think we all watch the game and we can see it’s just coming down to one play in every single game,” Taylor said, per Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “So why would you make a big wholesale change? That to me is just panic. That’s not what we’re about. We believe in what we’re doing. And so again, we’re not going to be those people that just panic because the record is 4-7 and we start making all of these significant changes.”
It’s been a disappointing year for a Bengals team that entered the regular season with playoff aspirations, especially considering the stellar play of Chase and quarterback Joe Burrow.
Burrow has completed 67.2 percent of his throws for 3,028 yards and 27 touchdowns compared to a mere four interceptions in 11 starts.
Meanwhile, Chase leads the NFL in receptions (73), receiving yards (1,056) and touchdown catches (12) through the first 11 weeks of the year.
Although the duo previously helped Cincinnati reach consecutive AFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl LVI appearance, defensive issues and struggles in close games have the Bengals rapidly falling out of the playoff picture.
After the team was unable to emerge victorious despite erasing a 21-point deficit against Los Angeles, Chase didn’t have any answers regarding Cincinnati’s play-calling.
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