AFC Notes: Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Fields, Bengals, Chargers, Steelers

Bengals

The Bengals fell to the Patriots on Sunday despite being heavily favored to win the game. Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase played in the game despite his contract situation, as well as having food poisoning. Chase felt he could have made a bigger impact in the game but said he was ready to play.

“It’s just frustrating that we didn’t play well enough to win,” Bengals HC Zac Taylor said, via Ben Baby of ESPN. “That’s the biggest frustration. Looking at the turnovers, looking at the missed tackles, it is as simple as that.”

“Just wish we had more opportunities to make plays. We have to forget about it and move on to the next week,” Chase said, also refusing to answer any questions about his contract.

“They were taking it away,” Bengals QB Joe Burrow said of the team throwing deep balls. “They did a good job. They had a good plan. I was just taking what the defense gave me. I was comfortable, but I’ll be more comfortable as we go.”

Chargers

• Chargers K Cameron Dicker‘s four-year extension includes a base value of $22.04 million, $8.735 million in full guarantees, a $3 million signing bonus, and base salaries of $1.125 million, $4.25 million, $4.503 million, and $5 million. (Over The Cap)
• There is also a $3.5 million option bonus from 2025 to 2028.

Steelers

Steelers QB Justin Fields ended up getting the start over injured QB Russell Wilson on Sunday and led the team to victory against the Falcons.

“Personally, it’s great,” Fields said, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN. “I have a bunch of family here, family and friends, old high school teammates, so just the setting, I really couldn’t ask for it a better way. God sure does work in mysterious ways, so I’m just thankful for him, and really just this moment with my team. But just coming back home, being able to get a dub against the hometown team was great.”

Steelers HC Mike Tomlin told reporters to ask him on Tuesday who the starter would be at quarterback after Fields’ win over Atlanta on Sunday, although all of Pittsburgh’s points came from field goals.

“As I’ve gotten to know him, man, he is a real steady Eddie,” Tomlin said of Fields. “He’s not overly talkative, but he’s got a steady, strong demeanor and just being in the stadium with the man, some of the things that I’ve seen through team development were confirmed. It’s just good to be able to communicate with a guy when things get thick, and you see the clear eyes. He’s there. He’s solid as a rock, and I think his play and thus our play is kind of reflective of that.”

“To be honest, I’m not even worried about that,” Fields commented when asked about the competition. “I just came in wanting a win, and I’m glad that we’re leaving here with a win. So in terms of who’s starting, who’s not, all I want to do is win at the end of the day. I’m really not even going to get into all of that. … At the end of the day, I came here to win. No matter if I was going to throw for 300 yards, 100 yards, no yards, I came here to win. So that’s the only focus I had.”

• Steelers LB T.J. Watt on his walk-off sack: “I think that was one of the first times in my life I had one, so I had to take a bow. I had to make sure there were no flags because of the other two.” (Mike Garafolo)