Jamar Chase wanted the ball just one more time.
Bengals receiver laments quarterback Joe Burrow's lack of direction on a failed two-point conversion that nearly sealed a 35-34 loss to the Ravens on “Thursday Night Football.” .
Chase's third touchdown on an 11-catch, 264-yard night brought Cincinnati within a point, but Burrow threw an incomplete pass to backup tight end Tanner Hudson on a two-point call.
“Yeah, I always think as a receiver you should want the ball, yeah. But sometimes Joe doesn't see the ball, you know?” Chase said after the Bengals lost 6-4..
Going with Chase seemed like a smart plan with the game on the line, as the Ravens couldn't stop him in a thrilling AFC North showdown.
He consistently found open spots in the Ravens' porous defense and scored from 67, 70, and 5 yards out in one of the best fantasy football performances by a wide receiver in NFL history. .
Chase has 457 yards in two games against the Ravens this season – both wins for Baltimore. Most against a single team in NFL historyaccording to Pro Football Talk.
For the two-point conversion, the Bengals lined up Chase on the left edge, and the Ravens took their chances and provided only single coverage.
Baltimore rushed for five points on the play while double-teaming tight ends Hudson and Mike Gesicki and single-covering Chase and Andrei Iosivas.
Chase started on the outside and crossed to the middle, but Burrow never seemed to look at him before firing at Hudson. The high pass hit Hudson's fingertips and he fell to the ground.
Burrow explained that this play does not require the ball to go to Chase.
“It just sailed a little bit,” Burrow said of his throw. “(Chase) was on the backside and I couldn't get to him. It was my first time reading it.”
Chase made it clear he was open to playing.
“I'm always open,” he said.
The Bengals are currently two games below .500, losing to the Ravens in the tiebreaker.
Cincinnati still has six games remaining against teams expected to make the playoffs (although Dallas should still be considered a contender), two of which are against the division-leading Steelers.
What's even more frustrating for the Bengals is that they may be wasting the great production they got from LSU's quarterback/receiver duo, as we saw Thursday night.
“That's weird to say that,” Chase said. “Never in a million years would I have predicted that I would play this well and he would play this well, and yet we still have this record.”
