'It Eats at Me' - Bengals Coaches Rue Ja'Marr Chase's Lack of Involvement in Week 1

There was a lot to like about the Cincinnati Bengals offense in their 33-27 victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the season opener.

But there also was the head-scratching element of All-Pro wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase catching just two passes for 14 yards on only four targets.

Offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher made no attempt to come up with any excuses or explanations for why Chase’s stat line was so anemic.

“We didn't throw him the ball enough,” Pitcher said matter-of-factly. “It's pretty simple. We've got to throw him the ball more. He's the best receiver in the world.”

Head coach Zac Taylor agreed with Pitcher’s main point, but he also noted the unusual rhythm that developed in the first half.

“The first half was a strange half,” he said. “We went three and out. We tried to get him the ball on the third play. Then (after a defensive touchdown), we got the ball on the 30, and you are kind of in this red-zone plan, and we went down and scored. The second half just felt like a unique game in terms of how we had planned to get the ball to him and the way the game unfolded,.

Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase Posted Some of Lowest Numbers of His Career

“There’s really no excuse for that, to be quite honest,” Taylor added. “I’ve got to continue to find ways because every time he gets the ball, whether it is behind the line of scrimmage, down the field, 10 yards deep, he impacts the game. You can’t have an excuse for why as a play caller I don’t get him more touches.”

Chase has played 86 regular season and postseason games, and only once did he have fewer targets. That was in Week 11 of his rookie year in 2021 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he had three targets and caught all three for 39 yards.

The two receptions also were tied for his second-lowest total. In Week 14 in 2021, Chase had one catch on four targets for 3 yards in a 15-10 win at Denver.

And his 12 yards also were his second lowest total behind that Broncos game.

But both Pitcher and Taylor were complimentary of Chase’s demeanor in wake of being a glorified decoy.

“With elite competitors, there's part of him I'm sure that walk out of the stadium on Sunday happy as hell for our team that we won because he's a captain and he's a good teammate and he wants us to go great places and win,” Pitcher said. “And that's the No. 1 thing he wants.

“But all great competitors want to perform and perform well and contribute,” he continued. “There's no receiver in the world that's done that more over the last couple of years. So I'm sure it probably ate at him a little bit. But he didn't show that. It eats at me a little bit, so we'll have to correct that.”

Taylor assured there won’t be many, if any, games moving forward that look like Sunday did.

“The No. 1 thing about Ja’Marr is he wants us to win,” he said. “At the same time, he is the top receiver in the game. You have to find him every way you can to involve him. It’s not that we didn’t try to do that last week it is just the way the game fell. He’s always a big part of the plan and will continue to be that.”

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