Ja’Marr Chase has been around enough AFC battles to know the difference between a rivalry that simmers and one that hits like a heavyweight fight.
The Bengals receiver made it clear this week that while Pittsburgh still matters, Cincinnati’s clashes with Kansas City sit on another level for him. When asked where the Steelers rivalry fits among the matchups he’s experienced, Chase didn’t dismiss it.
“It’s up there. I wouldn’t put a number one. I don’t have nobody number one, but it’s pretty up there,” Chase said.
But when a reporter put the Steelers rivalry side by side with the Bengals’ recent run of games against the Chiefs, Chase answered fast.
“No,” he responded when asked whether the Steelers rivalry matched the Chiefs rivalry.
Pressed to explain, he doubled down.
“They’re way higher than that. Yeah, for sure.”
Chase’s view lines up with the way Cincinnati’s recent AFC story has unfolded. The Steelers rivalry comes with decades of history, but the Chiefs became the team standing in the way during the Bengals’ push toward the top of the conference.
Pittsburgh and Cincinnati have shared the AFC North since the 1970 merger, after spending the 1970 to 2001 stretch in the AFC Central. The Steelers lead the all-time series 73-41, including postseason games, and the matchup has long been defined by physical play and plenty of bad blood. Pittsburgh knocked Cincinnati out of the playoffs in 2005 and 2015, which only added more fuel.
Still, the Bengals flipped the script during Joe Burrow’s early years. Cincinnati swept Pittsburgh in 2021 and went on to reach Super Bowl LVI.
Kansas City, though, created a different kind of pressure. The teams met in back-to-back AFC Championship Games, and both were instant classics in their own way.
Cincinnati stormed back from a 21-3 hole to win the 2021 game 27-24 in overtime. The Chiefs answered the next season with a 23-20 victory in the title game.
That’s the rivalry Chase is talking about - the one built on postseason pain, championship stakes, and the kind of games that stick with players.
He’s also got his own numbers against Kansas City to point to. As a rookie in 2021, Chase piled up 266 receiving yards against the Chiefs. For him, that’s part of why the matchup carries so much weight.
The Steelers are still a major divisional enemy. But in Chase’s eyes, Kansas City is the bigger measuring stick.
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