Over the past several years, the Cincinnati Bengals have established a bitter rivalry with their biggest competitor for the AFC Championship, the Kansas City Chiefs. While elite quarterback Joe Burrow has been one of the most successful quarterbacks on the planet against former Most Valuable Player Award winner Patrick Mahomes, it has become habit that every game has some contentious officiating toward the end. On top of that habit, the sting is usually accentuated by some particularly bitter trash talk on both sides.
Cincinnati Bengals Wide Receiver Loses Mind Over Poor Officiating
One of those typically poor officiating calls came against former All-Pro wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. Chase is a spectacular receiver but the LSU product certainly shares no goodwill toward Kansas City as he was recently unwilling to say Mahomes name in an interview. During a critical drive for Cincinnati, Chase received the ball on a short pass and was brought down by Kansas City cornerback Trent McDuffie. McDuffie made an excellent form tackle on Chase but given the rule changes regarding the ‘hip drop’ tackle over the offseason, it was certainly a 50/50 call. The play can be seen below.
Ja’Marr Chase is INCENSED and he picks up a crucial flag pic.twitter.com/cyVBIEIACb
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) September 15, 2024
Following the referees’ decision not to throw the flag on the play, Chase was incised and went after the official. After several attempts of Chase to confront the official, a flag was thrown on the Cincinnati wide receiver for unsportsmanlike conduct. Chase was still furious and actually had to be restrained by his starting quarterback.
Cincinnati Playmaker Fined for ‘Verbal Abuse’ Toward Officiating Crew
After the incident, the league has come out and decided that Chase’s actions warranted more disciplinary that fifteen yards during a critical game. On Saturday morning, it was announced that Chase would be fined $31,599 by the NFL. It was discussed that Chase’s comments were more than just a civil disagreement but constituted verbal abuse toward the field judge.
Chase has a reputation for being an emotional player but after the outburst on the field during the Kansas City game, there is speculation that the superstar’s frustration regarding his contract dispute with the team finally boiled over. Given the situation, it is possible that this is just the beginning of Chase’s antics unless his contract situation finds alleviation.
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