It has been a rough start to the season for the Cincinnati Bengals. Included in the mix is Trey Hendrickson’s injury, along with the disrespect shown to a Bengals’ running back. Now they must face the Ravens, and Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase said the opponent is “cheating.”
Bengals reporter Kelsey Conway posted the tongue-in-cheek comment on X.
“Ja’Marr Chase’s response when asked about his thoughts about Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson together was fantastic:”
“That’s cheating,” Chase said. “If I’m playing Madden, RPO read between those two, that’s pretty (unfair), on the game. In real life, they’re still doing the same thing. That’s a great duo they have back there.”
Henry leads the NFL in rushing with 480 yards on 80 carries. He has scored five touchdowns. Jackson has rushed for 308 yards, ranking No. 9 in the NFL. No wonder Chase called it cheating. The defense has some serious poison to pick from during the mesh point between these players.
Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase trying to help team get rolling
The Bengals finally won in Week 4, holding off the Panthers by a score of 34-24. But the sting of the 0-3 start still hangs around. Taylor said the team didn’t expect a slow start, according to nfl.com.
“We didn’t envision ourselves in this spot but here we are,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said after the loss to the Commanders in Week 3. “It’s a kick in the gut when you feel really good about the team and you start off 0-3. But again, that is where we are right now. We need to find a way to win next Sunday and get this thing moving in the right direction.”
Now they have to regroup against one of the NFL’s best teams. And quarterback Joe Burrow said he has to be on target, according to bengals.com.
“Their corners are very well coached,” Burrow said. “They’re going to keep everything in front. I feel like they hold their shell, and they’ll mix in a single high coverage here and there, but that’s not who they are. You’ll get a couple of those a game, and when you do see that and when you do get an aggressive defensive call, you really do have to take advantage of it.
“We have to do a better job of hitting our explosives when opportunities present themselves because against this group, they don’t give up explosive plays like that.”
Bengals may need to play well early
Starting quick is imperative, Burrow said.
“Paramount,” Burrow said. “You have to, otherwise they’re just going to eat the clock up and run the ball. You know how well they run it. So we have to start fast and get ourselves as many opportunities as we can.”
Of course, the Ravens have respect for the Bengals, too, according to comments from head coach John Harbaugh on wbaltv.com.
“No question, they have really great skill,” Harbaugh said. “They always have. (It’s) a great scheme, (and) they have great receivers. And it doesn’t even stop with those two guys (Higgins and Chase). Those two guys are top shelf-type wide receivers, but I think they have great depth in their receiving corps.”
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