The Steelers are on a bye, but Jalen Ramsey already has the Bengals on his radar.
On The Gridiron podcast, the Pittsburgh cornerback spoke about the looming matchup with Cincinnati’s top receivers, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, and made it clear the Steelers expect a fight.
“I ain’t gonna sit on here and lie to y’all, it’s a challenge. But we ready for all that.
We want all that. Whatever comes with it, we gonna prepare, we gonna work our a---- off, we gonna be ready to go out there and make it however long of a fight it needs to be out there,” Ramsey said.
“We’re just trying to keep stacking up these wins.”
The comments were fairly restrained considering the history between Ramsey and Chase, who was suspended for spitting on Ramsey during a heated encounter roughly one year ago.
The Bengals are in Madrid, Spain this week before their game against the Atlanta Falcons, while Pittsburgh waits through its bye with Cincinnati on the mind.
The teams already met earlier this season in Pittsburgh, where Joe Burrow threw three touchdown passes. Chase finished with nine catches for 98 yards and a score, while Higgins added six receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown. Even so, the Bengals came up short in a 30-27 loss in a game shaped by a roughing-the-punter penalty and a muffed punt.
If Cincinnati beats Atlanta, the rematch with the Steelers will bring both teams in at 6-2, setting up a first-place showdown in the AFC North.
Ramsey and the Steelers sound ready.
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For Cincinnati, the bigger issue is the kind of offensive rhythm that can turn a tense afternoon into a sideline eruption. Chase's reaction reflected how much the Bengals expect from themselves when the unit is out of sync, and it also underscored how much weight he carries as one of the team's tone-setters. The frustration was visible, but so was the desire to move past it and get back to the standard they believe they can reach. [Read more 🡒]
