Cincinnati Bengals star receiver Ja’Marr Chase drew a crucial 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that killed the Bengals’ momentum on an important late-game drive, forcing them to settle for a field goal in a game they lost by one point.
With the Bengals at the 34-yard line, Cincinnati QB Joe Burrow threw to Chase for a 4-yard completion. Chase took extreme exception to the method in which he was tackled by Chiefs corner Trent McDuffie and launched into a tirade against referee Alex Kemp. So enraged was Chase that he had to be physically separated from Kemp, and Burrow himself had to push Chase back into the huddle
However, it was too late. Chase got hot with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, and the Bengals momentum was destroyed, forcing them to settle for a field goal.
“It’s pretty clear cut,” Kemp said of the reasoning for the penalty. “It’s just simply abusive language toward a game official. That’s all it was. And there was really no interpretation. I’m not going to repeat to you what he said, but there was no interpretation with the language that he used – just abusive language.”
“The simple answer is, profanity used by grown men versus direct, personal abusive language toward a game official,” Kemp said. “That’s the line. When that line gets crossed, we simply can’t let that happen in pro football.”
Chase’s rage continued on the sideline, where head coach Zac Taylor tried and failed to calm his star receiver down.
The Bengals took a 25-23 lead after the field goal. However, the Chiefs responded with a 51-yard field goal from Harrison Butker and won the game 26-25. So, Cincinnati’s failure to score seven points—or at least take a lot more time off the clock by continuing the drive before kicking the field goal—contributed directly to their loss.
Ja’Marr Chase is seeking a new contract with Cincinnati that will make him the highest-paid receiver in the NFL. What happened on Sunday did not help his case.