AFC Notes: Ja’Marr Chase, George Pickens, Bengals, Ravens, Steelers

Bengals

Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase caught 14 of 18 targets for 177 yards and two touchdowns in the team’s 27-20 win over the Cowboys in Week 14. Despite the massive target share, Cincinnati HC Zac Taylor feels it’s impossible to overuse Chase because of his elite physical and mental skillset.

“You just can’t get him the ball enough,” Taylor said, via Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. “We got it to him 14 times, and it feels like we can still try to get it to him more. And we do, trust me. But, you know, just in those moments, sometimes you just try to keep it simple.”

Ravens

Ravens K Justin Tucker has had one of the most successful kicking careers in NFL history, but he’s struggled this season with a career-high eight missed kicks. During the bye week, Tucker refocused himself to get in the right mindset for the stretch run.

“[I feel] very good. Ready to go,” Tucker said, via Ryan Mink and Matt Ryan of the team’s website. “I was here all week, for the most part, anyways – in and out of the building. It’s good to come back in and see everybody; getting in the meeting room; get out on the practice field and just get right back to work.”

Baltimore HC John Harbaugh is confident about where Tucker is mentally and physically as they gear up for the postseason.

“He’s in a great place,” Harbaugh added.

Regarding the suspension for WR Diontae Johnson for refusing to enter the game, Ravens WR Rashod Bateman said it’s not a distraction for the locker room and understands the disconnect from both sides.

“No, I don’t think [it’s a distraction],” Bateman said. “Everybody in here [are] grown men. We all know we’ve got a task at hand, individually, and [Johnson] knows that, too. We’re all aware of the situation. So, hopefully, we’ll see him back next week.”

• Ravens CB Jalyn Armour-Davis was fined $6,528 for unnecessary roughness (facemask) in Week 13.

Steelers 

Steelers WR Mike Williams has only recorded four receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown since being acquired, while WR George Pickens missed Week 14 with a hamstring injury. Mike Tomlin feels it is a “matter of time” before Williams begins to make an impact and also thinks Pickens will produce. 

“I view it only as a matter of time before his presence gets felt in a more consistent way in stadium,” Tomlin said, via Dale Lolley of the team’s site. “Practice has been like that for a number of weeks, and usually when you see people making plays in practice, it’s a precursor to them making plays in stadium. And so with George, available or not, I expect the overall trajectory of his performance and inclusion in performance to be on the incline.”

Tomlin expressed confidence in their receivers group with its batch of veterans like Van Jefferson, Calvin Austin III, Scotty Miller, Ben Skowronek, and Williams. 

“I think that’s why I’m just so high on the collective,” Tomlin said. “Those guys might be new to us, but they’re not new to the National Football League. They’re pros. They behave that way, whether you’re talking about Scotty Miller or Van Jefferson or Ben Skowronek, for that matter, (they’re) all guys that have been in the NFL, and I just think you saw shades of that in their performance and the consistency of their performance last weekend.”

As for ruling out Pickens before Week 14, Tomlin said they wanted to give him all the way until game time to see if he’d be able to play. 

“(We) wanted to see what he looked like when he got to the stadium, and then make a determination of how many plays we thought would be appropriate to utilize him in,” Tomlin said. “Obviously, if he wasn’t going to be a full participant, we wanted to gear his participation toward weighty pass moments. But when we got to the stadium, it was evident that maybe the circumstance was a little bit more significant than we had hoped. And so we made the prudent decision in terms of shutting him down and not allowing a small problem to become a bigger one post-game. And we had an opportunity to get him an MRI. The injury did show up on MRI and is a little bit more significant than what we imagined.”

• Tomlin said there’s a small chance Pickens could return from his hamstring in Week 15. (Brooke Pryor)
• Tomlin mentioned Pickens had an MRI and the injury seems more significant than originally thought. (Pryor)