Cincinnati Bengals star wide receiver Ja'marr Chase isn't happy with the NFL for moving the start time of Cincinnati's Week 8 matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles up to 1 p.m. ET from 4:25 p.m. ET. The change was announced earlier this month, with the game between the Commanders and Bears taking the place of the showdown between the Bengals and Eagles.
Chase isn't a fan of the 1 p.m. ET kickoff time
"Too early," Chase said of the new kickoff time. "I'm not a morning person. I don't talk to anyone at the stadium for two hours after I get here. ... Four o'clock is pretty cool. Right in the middle of day time. You get to leave. You can still have dinner with your family. They should have kept it at 4."
It is somewhat strange that the league decided to move this game, since it's a battle between two teams in the playoff picture in their respective conferences. It's certainly not short on star power, either.
The Bengals boast their star trio of Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, while the Eagles have Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Saquon Barkley. It seems like the type of games that football fans would be eager to see.
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Chase may not love the earlier start time, but that doesn't stop him from producing. Chase's best game of the season so far came during a 1 p.m. start time in Week 5 against the Baltimore Ravens when he had 10 catches for 193 yards and two touchdowns. Plus, he's never played against the Eagles before, so he'll be eager to make a strong impression.
Chase has been downright dominant so far this season, as evidenced by the fact that he's leading the league in both receiving yards (620) and touchdowns (6), and he'll be looking to continue his stellar play against an Eagles defense that allowed just 19 points over the past two weeks, albeit against the Giants and Browns -- not exactly world-beating offenses.
Philadelphia's defense will have its hands full with Chase and Higgins, who is also in the midst of a very solid season with 341 yards and three touchdowns so far despite missing the first two games. At the end of the day, the game could come down to which star receiving duo is able to make more plays, even if the game's starting earlier than Chase would have liked.