Ben BabySep 30, 2025, 03:09 AM ETCloseBen Baby covers the Cincinnati Bengals for ESPN. He joined the company in July 2019. Prior to ESPN, he worked for various newspapers in Texas, most recently at The Dallas Morning News where he covered college sports. He provides daily coverage of the Bengals for ESPN.com, while making appearances on SportsCenter, ESPN’s NFL shows and ESPN Radio programs. A native of Grapevine, Texas, he graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He is an adjunct journalism professor at Southern Methodist University and a member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).Follow on X
The offense never got rolling. Penalties abounded. And the defense gave up several big plays in a 28-3 defeat to the Denver Broncos on Monday night.
According to Bengals star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, there also appeared to be some key intangibles that were lacking as well.
“Urgency is there, man, it’s just you gotta want it,” Chase said after the game. “At the end of the day, we gotta want it. Today, it didn’t look like we wanted it.”
When asked to expound on that, Chase said “just giving up” before diving into some of the particulars of a resounding defeat.
Cincinnati had 11 penalties for 65 yards, numbers that excluded a few that were declined by Denver. Chase cited the numerous stalled drives that ended quickly. After a field goal on the game’s opening drive that gave the Bengals a 3-0 lead, Cincinnati punted on its final eight possessions. All of them ended on its half of the Kentucky Bluegrass at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium.
The Bengals finished with 159 offensive yards. According to ESPN Research, it’s the first time since the 2009 Oakland Raiders that a team has had 200 or fewer offensive yards in three of its first four games.
The most telling scene occurred in the second half after a stalled Bengals possession. Chase and Bengals coach Zac Taylor had an extended interaction on the edge of the sideline before Chase finally made his way to his seat on the bench.
The All-Pro receiver said he felt his involvement in the game felt somewhat normal. He was targeted eight times. But he finished with five catches for only 23 yards. According to ESPN Research, only one of those targets was more than 10 yards downfield. When asked for his characterization of the sideline exchange, Taylor said it stemmed from a desire for Chase to do anything in his power to help the Bengals win.
“It comes across as emotional, but that’s just a captain that works his tail off,” Taylor said. “All he wants to do is win the game. All he wants to do is affect the game. Often times, he feels like, ‘If I have the ball in my hand, I can do that.’ And I don’t disagree with him.”
Bengals quarterback Jake Browning, who was 14-of-25 passing for 125 yards, said any lack of desire that Chase felt wasn’t because of a lack of effort.
“I don’t question anybody’s effort in the locker room,” said Browning, who was making his second start in place of Joe Burrow, who is on injured reserve because of a toe injury. “I don’t think that’s how everything goes for the Bengals.”
But Browning did concede that after another rough offensive showing, each player must evaluate how they are responsible. One week after the Bengals suffered a 48-10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, the most lopsided loss in franchise history, Cincinnati failed to score a touchdown. The minus-63 point differential over the two games also marks the worst in a two-game stretch since the Bengals were founded in 1968, per ESPN Research.
Taylor said not scoring enough has the been the most frustrating part of the back-to-back losses. For Chase, that feeling stems from being on the wrong side of another blowout.
“I’m always frustrated if I’m losing,” Chase said. “But it’s part of the game, man. Sometimes the emotions take over. Sometimes it looks like what it’s not supposed to. It happens.”
CloseBen Baby covers the Cincinnati Bengals for ESPN. He joined the company in July 2019. Prior to ESPN, he worked for various newspapers in Texas, most recently at The Dallas Morning News where he covered college sports. He provides daily coverage of the Bengals for ESPN.com, while making appearances on SportsCenter, ESPN’s NFL shows and ESPN Radio programs. A native of Grapevine, Texas, he graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He is an adjunct journalism professor at Southern Methodist University and a member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).Follow on X
DENVER — Everything looked out of sorts for the Cincinnati Bengals in yet another blowout loss.
Ja’Marr Chase on his visible frustration: ‘Sometimes the emotions take over’ (1:22)Ja’Marr Chase talks about his frustration after the Bengals’ second straight blowout loss. (1:22)