Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Jalen Ramsey had his worst game of the season when the Steelers lost to Cincinnati, 33-31, on Thursday Night Football last month. Ramsey received a coverage grade of 37.0 from Pro Football Focus on a night in which he allowed five receptions on nine targets for 62 yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Cincinnati Bengals star receiver Ja’Marr Chase had one of his best games of the year, recording 16 catches for 161 yards and one touchdown, in which he beat Ramsey pretty convincingly.
Since then, the Steelers have made changes to their secondary. In the past two games, Ramsey, who started the first seven games of the season at slot cornerback, has been playing most of his snaps at safety, and Pittsburgh has won one of those games.
“He’s just really showing how versatile he is as a person, as a DB,” Chase said at his Friday press conference. “I think he only moved to safety because it was a change on the back end. I’m not really sure 100% what’s going on, how they’re doing that, but he’s just showing off how versatile he is.”
The Bengals enter Pittsburgh with a 3-6 record, while the Steelers lead the AFC North with a 5-4 record. A win by Cincinnati will pull the Bengals to within a game of the division lead, while a loss will drop them three games back.
“It’s a must-win if you want to win the AFC (North),” Chase said.
Only one time since the AFC North Division was formed in 2002 has the eventual champion not been within one game of first place by Week 11. That happened when Baltimore came back from 2.5 games out in 2018.
A Bengals win would give Cincinnati a 3-0 record in the division, with a season-opening win over Cleveland and a sweep of the Steelers. The only other times the Bengals started 3-0 were in 2009 and 2015, and they won the division each time.
Whatever happens on Sunday, Chase is liable to play a big part in the outcome. Ramsey probably won’t be the main cover man this week, with those duties likely falling to Joey Porter, Jr. – not that it matters to Chase.
“I like any matchup with me,” Chase said. “It don’t really matter. I love the game. I love competing.”
Chase currently leads the NFL with 76 catches and is second in yardage with 831 yards. His five touchdowns are tied for fourth-best in the league.
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