Garrett was the point of focus for this game to see if he could break the record, but what ensued after left Chase and the Bengals rightfully upset.
Ja’Marr Chase and the Cincinnati Bengals lost 20-18 in the final game of the season against the Cleveland Browns at Paycor Stadium. Chase’s eight receptions for 96 yards with a touchdown made him just the fourth wide receiver in NFL history to achieve 120 or more receptions in back-to-back seasons. He finished the season with 125 receptions, just two shy of his career-high in a season, which he set last year en route to winning the Triple Crown.
In a game where Browns defensive end Myles Garrett broke the NFL single-season sack record, the Bengals were plagued by turnovers, having both an interception and a fumble returned for a touchdown against them. Cleveland’s offense was limited to just 11 first downs, 200 yards of total offense, and no touchdowns in the Week 18 win.
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett
© Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images
After Garrett achieved the NFL record, his teammates stormed the field, and the referees stopped the game to acknowledge the feat. Chase spoke about the incident and what it meant for the Bengals’ drive.
“I don’t think they can do that,” said Chase. “I never knew you could let the whole team get on [the] field … you can’t do that. Congrats to him and everything, but they gotta call a flag on that play … We were trying to hurry up too. We couldn’t even hurry up, the refs were looking at us like we did something wrong the whole time. I don’t know what was going on on that play … Well [expletive], they better stop the game when I do something on my backend [of my career].”
Chase was one of many Bengals who were frustrated with the scene. According to many, the referees had full intentions of stopping the game if the record was broken. However, they never mentioned this to anybody within the Bengals, which led to massive confusion and frustration for a team that was trying to produce a key drive to win the game in the fourth quarter. Ultimately, the Bengals were limited in their ability to push the tempo and ended the drive with a punt.
Head coach Zac Taylor also had comments about the lack of communication in his postgame presser.
“I was never told they were going to stop the game,” said Taylor. “I wasn’t told they were going to do that. They never said one word about that.”
Nonetheless, the Bengals end the season with a 6-11 record and will have the 10th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. This offseason will be one of the most important in recent history for the Bengals franchise to determine how much this team can succeed with this core.