As the New England Patriots sit on their ‘mini-bye week,’ they’re getting ready to face one of the highest-powered offenses in the NFL in the Cincinnati Bengals. However by the time that matchup comes around that offense could be significantly shorthanded, because of an incident involving wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase on Sunday.
Prior to facing the Patriots, the Bengals visited the Pittsburgh Steelers in an AFC North battle on Sunday. The Bengals lost that game 34-12, but the controversy occured before the final whistle.
Early in the fourth quarter, Chase and Steelers cornerback Jalen Ramsey were jawing after a play. Replay caught Ramsey taking a swing at Chase. Ramsey was penalized and ejected, while Chase remained in the game.
However, after the game Ramsey told reporters that his action was caused by Chase spitting on him. A sideline replay started circulating on social media, showing that Chase did in fact spit in Ramsey’s direction before he took his swing.
After the game, Chase told reporters he didn’t on Ramsey. It doesn’t sound like that denial will be enough to put this issue to bed though. Shortly after the game on Sunday evening, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that “the league will be reviewing the incident.”
This could have major implications for the Patriots’ matchup against the Bengals last week. The NFL has already set a precedent that spitting on a player can carry a one-game suspension – that was the case for Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter in the season opener. Carter was ejected from that game before the first play, and the NFL counted that as his time missed, but the punishment was officially labeled as a suspension and included a forfeited game check.
Given that context if the NFL rules that Chase’s spit rises to the same level as Carters, he could get a one-game suspension. Updates on such matters from the league usually come early in the week, on Monday or Tuesday.
If Chase does get suspended, he’d be a massive loss for the Bengals. One of the best receivers in the NFL, he entered Sunday leading the league with 76 catches, totaling 831 yards and five touchdowns. Chase added three catches for 30 yards on Sunday.
Of course, the Bengals’ offense has plenty of firepower without Chase. Prior to Sunday they’d scored at least 30 points in three games in a row, led by red hot backup quarterback Joe Flacco (Joe Burrow has been out since Week 2, but did return to practice this week).
Opposite Chase the Bengals still have wide receiver Tee Higgins, with Chase Brown at running back and Noah Fant and Mike Gesicki at tight end. Prior to slowing down against the Steelers, the Bengals had scored at least 33 points in their three previous games.
