
The Bengals suffered one of the worst losses in the Zac Taylor era in Week 8, blowing five separate double-digit leads, including 15 and 14-point fourth quarter leads in a 39-38 loss to the Jets.
Now their 3-5 on the season and host the Bears on Sunday before their bye in Week 10.
Ja'Marr Chase doesn't believe the Bengals' backs are against the wall. Instead, he went with another analogy.
"We fell off a cliff of what we wanted to be at and now we gotta climb back up," Chase said.
Is that possible?
"Yes," he said bluntly.
The Bengals are still only 1.5 games behind the Steelers for first place in the AFC North. The Ravens have a chance to move into a tie for second place with a win over the lowly Dolphins on Thursday night.
What's the key to beating the Bears and starting the climb up the cliff?
"We just gotta close out the game a lot better," Chase said. "The defense has to adjust to the stuff that they talk about, offense has to close out the game better. Start fast and end the game. It sounds like a lot, but it's something we can do."
The loss to the Jets can send the Bengals in one of two directions. It can define their season and send them down a losing path. It could also be a blip on the radar.
How do the Bengals make it the latter? By winning games.
That starts with Sunday's matchup against the Bears. A win would get the Bengals to 4-5 ahead of their Week 10 bye. They head to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers on Nov. 16.
The Steelers have to play the Colts and Chargers before hosting the Bengals in Pittsburgh on Nov. 16. The Bengals are 2-0 in the division and have four more games against the AFC North.
If they can find a way to beat Chicago, it would give them a reason to be hopeful going into the bye week. If things bounce their way over the next few weeks, then they could be playing Pittsburgh for a chance to move into first place in the AFC North in Week 11.
Watch Chase's entire news conference here.
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