The Bengals' latest loss in a shootout left a few key players steaming mad in the moments immediately following the wild conclusion in Cincinnati.
One day later, head coach Zac Taylor would have preferred if at least one player had cooled off prior to speaking to the media. Taylor told reporters Monday he was not pleased with the comments made by running back Chase Brown after Cincinnati's 47-42 loss to the Chicago Bears, including Brown's extended response that seemed to pin the blame on the defense.
"That's not how we want to react," Taylor said, via ESPN. "And one of our best players, one of our most high-character players, I think in a moment of frustration, said that. I don't expect that to happen again."
Brown's comments appeared to come from a well-meaning place, beginning with an emphasis on "not turning on each other" in adverse moments while giving the defense credit for playing "really well at the start of the season." Eventually, however, frustrations bubbled to the surface.
"Now that [the offense] is stepping up, we got to play complementary football," Brown said, also via ESPN. "We put the ball in the end zone and go up a point at the end. Finish the f------ game. Just end it. Like, that's it. That's what we need to do -- just end the f------ game. Make them [give] us the ball back, let us f------ go to '22 Victory,' and let's end the game. That's how I feel."
Brown wasn't the only player frustrated with the outcome.
Receiver Ja'Marr Chase was also seen lamenting the defense's inability to prevent Chicago from scoring the game-winning touchdown in the final 20 seconds of regulation, saying out loud to nobody in particular "one f------ stop" while walking through the tunnel back to the Bengals' locker room.
When asked about the matter at his locker, Chase told reporters he had one thought in his mind after the Bengals took a 42-41 lead amid a miraculous fourth-quarter comeback effort: "Defense, get a stop."
It ultimately failed to do so, allowing the Bears to drive 72 yards over four plays, with 58 coming on a Colston Loveland touchdown reception.
If Sunday were the first time the Bengals experienced such heartbreak, it would be forgivable. But this drastic lack of balance between a high-powered offense and a sieve-like defense has been a problem for the Bengals dating back to the beginning of last season. It was Cincinnati's greatest weakness entering the 2025 offseason, cost defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo his job and continues to be the burden preventing the Bengals from reaching their lofty goals.
"I've never been in this situation. I don't know how to handle it," Chase told reporters at his locker after the loss, via Cincinnati Bengals Talk. "I don't know. I'm just trying to stay positive."
Taylor hopes the heartbreaking loss serves as a turning point and a teaching moment for his team, and especially his running back.
"I love Chase [Brown] to death," Taylor said. "That's part of my conversation with him. 'This is a little bit outside of you.'"
Chase, meanwhile, knows it's likely best to keep to himself and worry about his own responsibilities. After all, he represents their most likely path to victory.
"I'ma stay in my lane," Chase said Sunday when asked if he should criticize the defense or just keep to himself. "I don't want no defensive player come and chew me out about what the f--- I'm doing."
