Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase said on Thursday that he thought last Sunday’s game against the Ravens “proved we can still play in this league,” but there was one significant issue with the team’s performance against the Ravens.
After putting up 38 points in regulation, the Bengals lost in overtime when they missed a field goal and gave up a long Derrick Henry run to set up Baltimore’s game-winning kick. The Bengals are now 1-4, which is their worst start since 2019, and the losses have come by a combined 15 points, which is part of the reason why hope that the team can still reach its goals still persists in Cincinnati.
Chase knows that there’s no more time to wait to start turning that hope into results.
“It’s gotta start right now,” Chase said at a press conference. “We all woulda thought it would’ve started last game just by we set the tone of coming out. We have to do that this game. This has to be the game we set the standard, right here, and leave it all on the table.”
Chase and the offense were dialed in against the Ravens, but the defense continued to struggle. Chase said the Bengals are used to the defense needing some time to find its groove and expressed confidence it will happen again, but there’s little doubt that Monday’s game against the Giants is a prime moment for the team to show that there’s still a reason to hold out hope for the rest of the season.