Ja’Marr Chase secondary jibe gives Kansas City Chiefs extra motivation

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If Andy Reid is looking for bulletin board material, it may have been handed to him on a silver platter this week.

Once again, it’s Cincinnati calling out the Kansas City Chiefs, this time their defensive unit.

The Chiefs secondary has been among the most vital components to this team’s success in 2023, but according to Ja’Marr Chase, they aren’t that impressive.

The two-time Pro Bowl receiver is indirectly calling the KC cover game average but great at double-teaming, translation, nothing spectacular, adding they aren’t going up against Jalen Ramsey.

Ramsey has a mere five passes defended and three interceptions this year but is leading all cornerbacks in 2024 Pro Bowl voting.

Chase had a chance to backtrack his statement but stuck with his original story.

“They can take it how they want,” said Chase about how his comments might be construed by the Chiefs.

It is not the first time someone from Cincinnati has taken aim at the Chiefs.

Ahead of the 2022 AFC Championship Game, Cincinnati mayor Aftab Pureval opened a can of worms, saying, among other things, that the Bengals were heading to “Burrowhead”.

Travis Kelce and the Chiefs ultimately got the last laugh on the mayor of Cincy, with KC winning 23-20.

Chase Backing up His Talk

While Chase is talking a big game, he consistently puts forth outstanding performances on the field.

In four games versus KC, Chase has 30 catches for 492 yards and four touchdowns.

He’s averaging 123 receiving yards per game.

The Bengals have won three of their last four meetings against KC, with Patrick Mahomes beating Joe Burrow only once, in last season’s AFC Championship Game.

Cincy have won three of their last four contests under backup quarterback Jake Browning.

Chase leads the Bengals with 1,156 receiving yards in 2023, his third straight season of at least 1,000 yards.

Underselling the Chiefs Secondary?

Chase has proven he’s a marquee receiver, but he’s not showing much respect to a stellar Chiefs secondary.

The Chiefs’ corners have been elite all season long, particularly L’Jarius Sneed and Trent McDuffie, both of whom should be Pro Bowl selections and arguably All-Pro.

Sneed and McDuffie have 75 and 74 tackles, respectively, with Sneed defending 13 passes and McDuffie seven.

Ja’Marr Chase is not the first elite receiver the KC secondary has faced this season.

Week after week, the Chiefs seem to face some outstanding pass catchers.

Tyreek Hill only had 62 yards against Sneed, Justin Jefferson was held to three catches for 28 yards, A.J. Brown had just one catch for eight yards, and Stefon Diggs registered four catches for 24 yards.

Now Sneed is questionable with a calf strain, missing practice on Wednesday, so perhaps that explains Chase’s smugness.

McDuffie though is no slouch; Justin Reid has been stellar from the safety position, defending seven passes.

Jaylen Watson is also showing flashes of great play with four passes defended.

The KC offense are the ones needing this kind of bulletin board material.

Either way, the team has all the motivation they need to shut up Chase and the Bengals on Sunday.

A victory by Kansas City will officially clinch the AFC West.