All isn't perfect despite the Cincinnati Bengals beating the Buffalo Bills to move to 5-3 on the year. Ja'Marr Chase was injured during the win and sounded concerned when discussing the injury with the media on Monday afternoon.
Paul Dehner posted on X that Chase seemed concerned about the injury and said it'd be something to monitor moving forward.
#Bengals Ja'Marr Chase making it sound like his back injury will be something worth monitoring. Concerned tone, to be certain, from him.
— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) November 6, 2023
"I’m just going to support my teammates, man. Let those guys do what they got to do. Only thing I can do is get healthy for the team."
Chase didn't specify when he injured his back but there was a play where he hit the ground hard. That doesn't necessarily mean that's when it happened but it wouldn't have helped his back even if he had hurt it earlier. Chase said that his back was sore on Monday and it was worse as the game continued.
Significant Bengals news:
— Kelsey Conway (@KelseyLConway) November 6, 2023
Ja’Marr Chase is dealing with a back injury.
“Pretty sore right now, got worse as the game went on.”
Status for this week is in question right now. We’ll hear from Zac Taylor shortly.
What does Ja'Marr Chase's injury mean for Bengals offense?
Truthfully, the Bengals offense should be okay with Chase for a few games. He missed four games in 2022 and the Bengals went 3-1 during that time. They have plenty of weapons who can step in for him should he need to miss a few weeks.
Now, if Chase has to miss an extended period of time, that's when things could get dicey. Chase is Joe Burrow's go-to guy and if he's not available in those big games at the end of the season (or in the playoffs) then the Bengals offense won't be the same threat.
For now, however, Chase's absence means that Burrow will have to rely more on Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd, Joe Mixon, and the tight ends.