Steelers' Cam Heyward Sends Powerful Message To Bengals' Ja'Marr Chase: "We Had A Plan For Your A**"

The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 11, but there was a lot more to talk about outside of the contest. It was a chippy matchup between two divisional rivals, and tempers definitely flared at certain parts of the game that caught fans' attention. Pittsburgh safety Jalen Ramsey found himself in the middle of a couple of altercations with Bengals star wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, and Ramsey wound up getting thrown out of the game for throwing a punch at Chase between plays. He was also penalized 15 yards on the play, which hurt Pittsburgh as it essentially extended the drive for Cincy.

Ramsey and Chase got into it twice, and the first time around, both players were penalized. The second time, it was just Ramsey. It seemed like Ramsey had just thrown a punch at Chase while the two were just talking trash to one another, but after the game, it became clear that Chase had spit on Ramsey, which made the punch seem a little bit warranted. Pittsburgh's defensive captain Cam Heyward spoke about the incident on the most recent episode of Not Just Football, where he seemed rightfully upset with Chase's actions.

"After the first game, it was talk about, 'Oh we know what they were gonna do,'" Heyward said. "You ain't know what to do when we had a plan for your a**. People get frustrated, and when they get frustrated, they don't know how to act, and they don't know how to play football. So more pissed off, they took my guy out of the game, even though he was playing the game the right way."

Pittsburgh lost to Cincinnati the first time around and Chase had a great game as he scored and hauled in 16 passes for over 160 yards. He was obviously cocky after a performance like that, and everyone was discussing how predictable the Steelers were on defense. That is what Heyward is referencing, and he shared that this time around, the plan to cover Chase worked, which clearly frustrated the wideout.

Chase was expected to have a big game in this matchup, but Pittsburgh had a pretty good plan for the young, star wide receiver. He caught just three passes for 30 yards in the game, and Pittsburgh was able to slow down Cincinnati's passing attack as a whole as well. Heyward believes that played into the altercations with Ramsey, as Chase was just frustrated he was not playing well and couldn't figure out how to do anything against the Pittsburgh defense.

Heyward was sticking up for his teammate, who he claims was wrongfully disqualified because the officials on the field did not see the spitting action from Chase. Had an official seen it, it would have been a 15-yard penalty for the Bengals, and Chase would have likely been sent back to the locker room while Ramsey got to stay on the field.

Ramsey's disqualification didn't really end up mattering in the grand scheme of things. Pittsburgh held Cincinnati to a field goal on that drive, and that was Cincinnati's final points of the game as Pittsburgh ran away with the game throughout the rest of the fourth quarter.

Steelers May Have Ended The Bengals' Season

After Cincinnati's loss to the Steelers, the Bengals sit with a record of 3-7 and are second to last in the AFC North. Joe Burrow seems to be close to returning, but that probably doesn't matter as the Bengals are in such a deep hole. Chase was suspended for the team's Week 12 matchup with the New England Patriots, and the Bengals were already going to be severe underdogs. Now, they're going to have a much more difficult task against the Pats without their star player.

It should be assumed that Cincinnati will be 3-8 after Week 12, which means the franchise's season is done, and another year of Burrow's prime has been wasted.

What do you think about Heyward's comments on Chase spitting? Let us know in the comments below!

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