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The Cincinnati Bengals might be without their best player when they host the New England Patriots this Sunday.
Superstar receiver Ja’Marr Chase is in hot water after video evidence showed him spitting on Steelers defensive back Jalen Ramsey late in the Bengals’ home loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday. During postgame media availability, Ramsey, who was ejected from the game for punching Chase, accused Chase of spitting on him.
“He spit on me,” Ramsey told reporters, via ESPN’s Brooke Pryor. “I don’t give a f— about football after that, respectfully. I’m always going to be all for trash talking, s— talking, things like that. I actually enjoy that part of the game. I think that people know that. … We were talking s—, which I’m cool with. And then as soon as he spit, it was f— that. … I’m sure the NFL, they’ll do their due diligence. They’ve got 100 cameras out there. They can investigate.”
Chase strongly denied the accusations — “I ain’t ever opened my mouth to that guy; I didn’t spit on nobody,” he told reporters — but video evidence from WXIX-TV proves otherwise.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the NFL would decide on punishment for Chase on Monday, so we won’t have to wait much longer to learn his Week 12 fate. However, there’s reason to believe Chase will be suspended for Cincy’s must-win game against New England.
In Week 1, Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter was ejected for spitting on Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott before the first play. The NFL eventually determined that Carter’s full-game ejection was essentially a suspension, so it didn’t suspend him further. Since Chase wasn’t ejected for spitting at Ramsey, he seemingly should be suspended for one game.
Obviously, a Chase suspension would greatly improve the chances of the 9-2 Patriots scoring a road win over the 3-7 Bengals. Cornerback Christian Gonzalez could focus on Tee Higgins, leaving quarterback Joe Flacco with few other quality pass-catching options.
Sunday’s game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. ET.
