The Cincinnati Bengals had similar problems on offense in their Week 4 game against the Denver Broncos. The tension was clear all night, but it hit a high point in the third quarter.

In the third quarter, wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, clearly frustrated with how the offense was playing, walked up to the head coach Zac Taylor for a quick but intense chat. We don’t know exactly what was said, but it looked like Chase wanted to be more involved and was asking for answers. Later, in the press conference, Taylor explained the moment.

“He’s competitive. He wants to win. Works his tail off. We’re looking for ways to get him the ball. I love Ja’Marr,” the head coach said, as reported by Jeremy Rouch, on X.

While he may not have shared what they discussed but it is quite clear that there were things that Chase was upset about. One could be his performance. He finished with five catches for 23 yards. He was just one less towards the end of the third quarter. On 3rd-and-17, the quarterback, Jake Browning, threw a pass out of bounds. After all, he was expected to make changes.

At the time, the Bengals had managed only 141 total yards of offense and eight first downs, while the Broncos had piled up 400 yards and 22 of those. One can easily imagine the pressure on the player as well as the coach. The conversation caught on camera earlier highlighted the team’s troubles more than any issues between the player and the coach.

Now, while Browning hasn’t exactly been a disaster, he also hasn’t been good enough. He rarely pushes the ball downfield, and when he does, his throws often drift out of bounds. That’s made it tough to get the Bengals’ receivers involved. Wide receiver Tee Higgins had just one catch after the opening drive, and as we know, Chase’s catches came on short, low-impact throws.

But he isn’t the only one. There were more serious issues with the Bengals’ offense. They made 11 penalties, six of which were on offense, one on defense, and four on special teams. To make matters worse, the defense gave up 512 total yards to the Broncos. Clearly, the team needs help fixing things on the roster.

As for Chase, this incident with Coach Taylor explains his feelings about the loss.

Ja’Marr Chase opens up about feeling “frustrated”

After losing Bengals’ quarterback Joe Burrow, this was a new low point for the Bengals, with on-field missteps and mounting frustration in the locker room.

During the press conference, Chase didn’t mince words, saying the Bengals lacked the necessary aspects to be successful. “(The) urgency is there, man,” Chase explained. “We gotta want it. At the end of the day, we gotta want it. Today, it didn’t look like we wanted it.”

When talking about his feelings after the game, he didn’t hide it. “I’m always frustrated if I’m losing,” Chase told the reporters. “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.”

The Bengals managed only 159 yards of total offense. Browning completed  14-of-25 for 125 yards. Browning defended his teammates’ effort but admitted the offense needs to hold itself accountable after back-to-back blowout losses. One week earlier, the Bengals had the worst loss in franchise history, a 48-10 defeat to the Minnesota Vikings. The team’s combined -63 point differential over the last two games is also its worst two-game stretch since the franchise was founded in 1968.

The tension has been brewing for a while now, and Coach Taylor must fix the issues before it spills.