Ja'Marr Chase: 'I'm always f***ing open'
The Cincinnati Bengals notched yet another loss on the year on Sunday, falling to 1-3 with a 27-3 beatdown from the Tennessee Titans. After the game, Ja’Marr Chase couldn’t help but let his frustrations come through during his locker room media session.
Asked whether he feels he has sufficient time to run his routes and get open, Chase was adamant that he is “always f***ing open.”
“I’m open,” Chase said. “I’m always f***ing open. Excuse my profanity, I’m sorry.”
Coming off of a 141-yard, 12-catch performance in Week 3, Chase had seven catches for 73 yards and no scores on Sunday against the Titans. In terms of pace, he’s trailing his 2022 and 2021 season receiving totals by a few hundred yards.
Cincinnati Bengals struggle to move ball vs Titans
Perhaps more importantly to Chase than his personal stats, the Bengals offense hasn’t put up more than 24 points in a single game so far this season and they’ve been held to three points in two games.
Quarterback Joe Burrow went 20-for-30 on Sunday with 165 passing yards and no scores. He was also sacked three times for a loss of 26 yards.
The Bengals’ running game was just as poor versus the Titans as the passing game. They accumulated just 72 yards on 18 rushes after starting the game with an 11-play drive that ended with a field goal. They punted on the next four drives and went into the locker room down 24-3.
Wide receiver Tee Higgins suffers rib injury
The Cincinnati Bengals offense took another significant hit on Sunday. Star wide receiver Tee Higgins, who exited the Week 4 game against the Titans, reportedly suffered a rib fracture, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
“#Bengals WR Tee Higgins, who was declared out today, suffered a rib fracture, source said,” Rapoport wrote on X. “Could keep him off the field for a bit.”
Higgins sustained the injury during Sunday’s Week 4 game. He had two catches for 19 yards before leaving the contest. Prior to this week, he had 10 catches for 110 yards. Cincinnati fell to 1-3 after losing a 27-3 decision to Tennessee.
At this time, it’s unclear how long Higgins could be sidelined. Given how much the Bengals have struggled through the first four games, though, it’s a significant loss for the team. Next week, they take on the Arizona Cardinals in an afternoon matchup.
On3’s Dustin Schutte contributed to this report.