Bengals' Ja'Marr Chase Expresses Frustration With Coaching, Kicking After Loss to Chargers

Jay Morrison | Nov 18, 2024

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1) runs with a catch in the first quarter of the NFL Week 11 game between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. The Chargers led 24-6 at halftime. / Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The frustration has shown on the faces of the Cincinnati Bengals throughout the course of a season full of one-score losses.

But Sunday night it started to manifest itself vocally following a 34-27 road loss to the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium.

When asked why the Bengals, who have six losses by seven points or less, can’t figure out how to finish games, Chase said the answer shouldn’t come from him.

“Ask Zac (Taylor),” he said, referring to his head coach. ‘Ask the coaches. That's not my job. I play football on the field. I don't call plays for us.”

The Bengals fell into a massive 27-6 hole but rallied to tie the game at 27-27 with 12:21 remaining, with Chase scoring two of the team's touchdowns during the comeback.

The defense continued to get stops to give the ball back to the offense for a chance to finish off the Chargers, but kicker Evan McPherson missed a 48-yard field goal with 7:31 remaining and a 51-yarder with 1:48 to go.

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said in his postgame news conference that he didn’t say anything to McPherson and left it that.

Chase went a step further.

“He knows to make those kicks,” he said. “That's why we paid him those bucks, to make those kicks in crunch time.”

McPherson, who signed a three-year, $16.5 million contract extension in August, has missed five of his last 11 attempts.

“We’ve got a lot of confidence in him,” Taylor said. “It just wasn’t his day.”

Chase has expressed frustration in the past with having to answer the same questions after each loss.

Sunday night he didn’t take exception to the same questions about an inability to finish arising again.

“Y'all ask the same questions because we give you the same thing every time,” he said. “I don't know why we aren't finishing. I don't know what we're doing to give ourselves an advantage to finish. I don't know.”

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