The Tennessee Titans disposed of the Cincinnati Bengals in shockingly easy fashion on Sunday in a game that ended 27 to 3.
The win moved the Titans to 2-2 while the Bengals fell to 1-3 on the season—a record that history indicates will prove for a tough, tough road to making the postseason playoffs.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, who is dealing with an aggravated calf injury that he originally suffered in preseason non-contact drills, finished the game with 20 completions on 30 pass attempts for 165 yards and zero touchdowns or interceptions.
Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, who advised Burrow to sit on the sidelines to begin the season and only return when healthy, finished the game with seven receptions on nine targets for 73 yards. Despite not catching a touchdown pass, that’s still a solid day at the office for most NFL receivers. However, it was clearly not up to the standards of Chase, who revealed some frustrations in the locker room following the surprising road loss to the Titans.
Chase had previously expressed frustrations with the Bengals offense for not throwing enough deep balls down the field. But with No. 2 wide receiver Tee Higgins knocked out of the game Sunday and the Bengals playing from behind almost the entire game, the offense once again failed to find Chase deep down the field. His longest reception of the day was for 17 yards.
If the Bengals hope to make the playoffs in spite of their 1-3 record, they will have to revive the chemistry between Burrow and Chase. The Bengals are on the road again next week when they play the Arizona Cardinals.
The NFL world was nonetheless quick to react to the shocking statement by Chase:
Hate to see this. Seems like WR Ja’Marr chase is mad that the Bengals gave a noodle armed klan member the biggest contract in nfl history https://t.co/VXJ5axS04J
— Drew (@DrewBanned) October 1, 2023
Joe Burrow does not have a special arm. His movement skills are special. His poise is special. His field vision is special.
His game is going to age a lot worse than Justin Herbert. He’s a lot closer to Tua than anyone is comfortable with admitting. https://t.co/P2AB8wCE6C
— Kamo (@KamoM69) October 2, 2023
https://twitter.com/SourdoughMo/status/1708598755761504339
Great now the drama starts. I hate losing. https://t.co/fC1EcJPiOh
— Andrew Russell (@Andrew_Russell7) October 1, 2023
Me pouring fire on the bengals issues https://t.co/wMJRqvgG2n pic.twitter.com/vGGnSsN0OE
— Danny Ocean (@NitroNukem) October 1, 2023
