Joe Burrow shoved an irate Ja’Marr Chase on Sunday following a costly unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the wide receiver in a loss to the Chiefs.
As the Bengals drove into Kansas City territory in the fourth quarter, Chase caught a four-yard pass from Burrow but felt a penalty should have been called on the Chiefs’ Trent McDuffie for a hip-drop tackle.
The wide receiver then confronted an official to argue against the non-call, leading to a 15-yard penalty and a fierce confrontation with Burrow.
The quarterback, who also played with Chase in college at LSU, pushed his primary target away from the referee and yelled in his face after his major mental error.
Chase was then seen having an impassioned talk with head coach Zac Taylor on the sidelines, as the coach attempted to calm his player down after he threw his helmet on the ground.
Joe Burrow pushed Ja’Marr Chase away from an official after the receiver committed a costly unsportsmanlike conduct foul.
Burrow screamed in his longtime teammate’s face after the Bengals moved back 15 yards.
The receiver penalty turned a 3rd-and-7 into a 3rd-and-22, and the Bengals were forced to kick a field goal after Mike Gesicki was able to recover 10 yards on the next play.
Evan McPherson’s 53-yard pass gave the Bengals a 25-23 lead with 9:28 remaining, but Kansas City would ultimately emerge victorious.
Harrison Butker kicked a 51-yard field goal as time expired to give the two-time defending champions a 2-0 record this season and condemn the Bengals to an 0-2 start.
After the match, referee Alex Kemp said: Pool reporter Ben Baby that the decision to guard Chase was “pretty clear.”
Chase had a passionate conversation with Bengals coach Zac Taylor on the sideline.
“It’s just abusive language towards a match official. That’s all. And there was really no interpretation. I’m not going to repeat to you what he said.”
Asked how a referee decides when a player has crossed the line in that kind of situation, he added that Chase’s comments were “personal abusive language” rather than “profanity used by grown men.”
“That’s the line,” he said. “When that line is crossed, we simply cannot allow that to happen in professional football.”
As if the loss wasn’t enough, Chase is also likely to be fined by the NFL.
