Ja'Marr Chase gets brutally honest about frustrating Bengals opener

Ja'Marr Chase explains how the "old me" would've reacted

Chase was later asked about his ability to bounce back from quiet games. That's when he offered his most revealing answer of the afternoon.

“Honestly, man, I can't sit here and say I'm just — at the end of the day, like the old me would have been in my head and not been more mentally into the game no more,” Chase said. “But now, I'm trying to stay more into the game where it's two catches, one quarter, and I don't see it till the fourth quarter. I still got to be ready.”

That's going to be important against the Houston Texans in Week 2.

Chase praised the Texans for playing sound defense and keeping things in front of them. He also pointed to their corners and front while describing Houston as a well-rounded defense.

There could be another interesting matchup waiting for him, too. Chase and Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. go back to their LSU days, and Chase joked Wednesday about old practice clips making it look like Stingley always got the better of him.

After last week's lack of production, though, Chase isn't looking for excuses or demanding anything from Burrow.

Asked whether he told anyone this week that he needed the football, his answer was about as straightforward as it gets.

“This week? No, not one bit. I didn't say nothing. Nobody,” Chase said. “I'm coming in to work. That's all I got to do.”

Two catches didn't make Chase happy.

It also didn't turn into a problem inside the Bengals' locker room.