Ja'Marr Chase, Joey Porter Jr. Add Fuel to Already Heated Bengals-Steelers Rivalry

Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers players don’t need much bulletin board material to get excited for this game. The history of hate and resentment between both teams is obvious. From last year’s Ja’Marr Chase and Jalen Ramsey spit incident to the 2015 AFC Wild Card incident between Pac Man Jones and Joey Porter, the animosity is enough to go around. 

However, members of both the Bengals receiver room and the Steelers secondary aren’t shying away from going back and forth through the media leading up to Sunday’s divisional game in Pittsburgh. 

Steelers corner Joey Porter Jr. told reporters Thursday that he has never really struggled against Bengals receivers and isn’t too worried about Sunday’s matchup against one of the NFL's best receiving duos: Chase and Tee Higgins. 

Since 2023, when Porter was drafted, Chase has posted 80+ yards in four of the five games he’s played against the Steelers. This includes his franchise-record 16-catch, 161-yard game last season on Thursday night football. 

In that same span, Higgins has posted 50 yards or more in each game, including a 140-yard game in 2023 in which he caught five of eight targets. 

Chase was asked Thursday whether he’s going to emphasize how he engages with his opponents after last year’s spitgate, and he essentially said he doesn't engage with his opponents properly because he doesn't care about them on the field. 

Chase also said he doesn't expect to match up against Ramsey much on Sunday. The duo has had some great matchups, none more exciting than when Ramsey matched up with Chase in the Super Bowl during his rookie year. 

Through two weeks, the Steelers have yet to allow a receiver to eclipse 100 yards, with the most being Romeo Doubs, who posted 96 yards in the Patriots' 20-3 win over the Steelers in week two. This will be by far the best quarterback and wide receiver corps the Steelers have faced this season, as Cooper Rush started week one for the Falcons and AJ Brown did not play with Drake Maye in week two. 

Cincinnati’s offense is also motivated, as it hasn't played its best football in two weeks and, from an outside perspective, has fallen behind its defense. There’s no better place to get things going than on the road against a big rival, and the competitiveness and chippiness between the Bengals' wide receivers and the Steelers' secondary will make for some entertaining football.