Bengals vs. Steelers fight: Jalen Ramsey ejected after hitting Ja’Marr Chase
Jalen Ramsey was ejected from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Week 11 showdown with the Cincinnati Bengals following his altercation with Ja’Marr Chase early in the fourth quarter.
Both players have different versions of what led to the altercation.
“He spit on me,” Ramsey said of Chase. “I don’t care after that, respectfully. I’ll always be totally okay with the chatter, the bullshit, stuff like that. I actually enjoy that part of the game.”
Chase has denied spitting on Ramsey, who hopes the NFL will do “due diligence” to find out what happened.
“I never opened my mouth to that guy,” Chase said. “We were going back and forth all the time, so I’m sure something got under his skin. … I didn’t spit on anyone.”
The NFL will investigate Ramsey’s claim that Chase spit on him, according to CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones. Specifically, the NFL will investigate whether Ramsey acted in self-defense or was the aggressor.
“If they determined that [Ramsey] “He wasn’t the aggressor, but in fact he was reacting to the spitting, I would expect Jalen Ramsey not to be fined,” Jones said. “Instead, what will happen next week is Ja’Marr Chase will be suspended for one game because they set a precedent with (Eagles defensive tackle) Jalen Carter in Week 1 when they ejected him for that entire game.”
Ramsey and Chase had a scuffle earlier in the match, but it was mostly civil. Ramsey said that wasn’t the case later in the game.
“As soon as he spit, it was screwed,” said Ramsey, who also accused Chase of trying to block him earlier in the match. “I’m not going to tolerate that part.”
Asked about it afterward, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said the reasoning behind Ramsey’s punch and ejection was irrelevant.
“We have to be smarter,” Tomlin said. “We have to stay in football games, as individuals.”
Referee Bill Vinovich said afterward that he did not see Chase spit on Ramsey, who was ejected because he threw a punch. Video from the on-field footage, however, reveals that Chase did in fact spit in the direction of Ramsey.
Ramsey’s ejection came as the Steelers protected a 20-9 lead. Pittsburgh was also playing without starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who was injured in the left hand just before halftime. Mason Rudolph led the Steelers offense to a field goal on his first possession with Rodgers at quarterback.
Despite Ramsey’s absence, the Steelers recorded a 34-12 victory that included two defensive touchdowns. Pittsburgh is now 6-4 and remains ahead of second-place Baltimore in the AFC North standings.
