Ja'Marr Chase tossed kerosene on the Cincinnati Bengals-Kansas City Chiefs rivalry last week, saying in the days leading up to Sunday's tilt that "nothing" stood out about the K.C. secondary.
Chase continued to fan the flames during the contest, eventually leading to a scuffle that included Chiefs corner L'Jarius Sneed. He kept it up after the Bengals' 25-17 loss eliminated them from postseason play.
"I started it off," Chase said of the second-quarter scuffle, 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."
Added Chase, doubling down on his pregame criticism: "They got a good up front, that's it."
Playing through a shoulder injury, Chase generated 41 yards on three catches (seven targets) as the Cincinnati offense bogged down in the second half, including two three-and-outs that allowed the Chiefs to take the lead for good.Â
"We had some words. I went up to him after the game, told him 'good game'," Sneed said, via FOX4 KC. "But you know, check the stats."
Sneed aligned across from Chase on 21 of his 34 routes (61.8%), allowing two catches for 27 yards on three targets, per Next Gen Stats. Chase gained fewer receiving yards than expected (-6) for the first time in his five career games against K.C.
"We don't comment. We just play, man. We don't really talk. We don't engage with the back-and-forth. They do this every year," defensive tackle Chris Jones said of Chase's comments.
The victory clinched the Chiefs' eighth consecutive AFC West title, the second-longest streak in NFL History.
