Ja’Marr Chase is letting everyone know who to blame for the Bengals’ late-game failures.
The star receiver seemingly threw head coach Zac Taylor under the bus Sunday night after another heartbreaking loss, this one a 34-27 setback to the Chargers.
“How do I do it? I don’t know, ask Zac. Ask the coaches. Don’t ask me, it’s not my job,” Chase said when asked about finishing games after the Bengals fell to 4-7. “I play football on the field. I don’t call plays for us, ya know? So I can’t really do nothing.”
When asked if the tough finishes are correlated to the plays, Chase responded: “I don’t know.”
The Bengals’ season may be slipping away in a loaded AFC playoff picture and Chase’s comments could be a sign that this team is starting to unravel.
It’s also fair to speculate about whether Taylor has lost support in the locker room if star players like Chase are willing to mention him while discussing the team’s failures.
Cincinnati is now a stunning 1-6 in games decided by seven points or less, now including back-to-back losses in that scenario.
Losing tight games can be flukey, but some point to coaching as the difference. Chase, while answering another question, alluded to the coaching factor.
“I don’t know why we not finishing,” Chase said. “I don’t know what we doing to give ourselves an advantage to finish.”
In Sunday’s loss, the Bengals rallied from a 27-6 hole to tie the game with 12:21 remaining in the fourth quarter when Chase tallied his second touchdown catch.
The former LSU star finished with seven catches for 75 yards and two scores.
Bengals kicker Evan McPherson later missed field goals on consecutive possessions and the Bengals punted following a three-and-out after receiving the ball at their own 16 with 1:26 remaining.
The defense then allowed a four-play, 84-yard touchdown drive.
While Chase seemed to believe Taylor could have coached better, quarterback Joe Burrow said he missed on a few throws and blamed the team as a whole.
“Just got to make the plays. We haven’t down the stretch and we’re not a good enough team to — our margin of error is slim, so we got to make those plays,” Burrow said after throwing for 356 yards and three touchdowns. “I got to make those plays, we all got to make those plays.”
Both Chase and Burrow agreed that this has been the most frustrating seasons of their career, with the two former LSU teammates playing great amid all the losses.
The Bengals likely have to win five of their final seven games to even entertain a return to the playoffs, otherwise Taylor may find himself under the microscope.
“I still believe in the guys in this locker room, though,” Chase said. “Just got to find ways to finish.”
