Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase, Chiefs DB L'Jarius Sneed continue war of words: 'Check the stats'
Ja'Marr Chase and the Cincinnati Bengals may have been eliminated from playoff contention Sunday, but that hasn't stopped the receiver from continuing his war of words with the team responsible for that.
Coming into the game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Chase said "nothing" stood out about the Chiefs' secondary. The last few years, the rivalry between these two teams has intensified as they've constantly been in one another's way en route to the Super Bowl, so Chase's comments only added to a combustible situation.
And he carried this energy into the game and kept it going even after Cincinnati's 25-17 loss in Kansas City. In the second quarter, Chase was flagged for unnecessary roughness after a kerfuffle with Chiefs defensive back L'Jarius Sneed.
"I started it off," Chase said via ESPN. "Their whole defense was mad at me. It started at the beginning of the game. You've seen it. Everybody's seen it. That's just what I like to do. I just be under people's skin sometimes.
"They got a good front, that's it."
Sneed was anything but amused by Chase's actions, and after the game had pointed words for his opponent.
"We had some words. I went up to him after the game, told him 'good game,'" Sneed told FOX4 KC. "But you know, check the stats."
Chase returned after missing Cincinnati's win over the Pittsburgh Steelers with a shoulder injury. He told coach Zac Taylor that he wanted to suit up to help keep the Bengals' playoff hopes alive. He finished with three catches for 42 yards in the loss.
According to Next Gen Stats, Sneed was Chase's primary defender, as he covered him on 21 of his 34 routes — 61.8 percent — and conceded only two receptions for 27 yards on three targets.
With the win, Kansas City claimed its eighth consecutive AFC West title — the second-longest streak ever in the NFL.
"We don't comment; we just play, man," Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones said. "We don't really talk. We don't engage with the back-and-forth. They do this every year."
