Who’s to blame if Bengals squander career years from Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase?

Ja’Marr Chase’s frustration spoke to what needs to be discussed when it comes to the Bengals.

After his team’s second-half rally fell short in a 34-27 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 11, the superstar wide receiver not-so-subtly pointed the finger at coach Zac Taylor when asked about Cincinnati’s issues finishing games.

“Ask Zac. … Ask the coaches,” Chase said in the postgame locker room. “Don’t ask me. That’s not my job.

“I play football on the field,” he continued. “I don’t call plays for us, you know? So, I can’t really do nothing.”

Whether Chase should have made those comments publicly is not the point.

The reality is that coaching is playing an integral role in dooming a season that began with Super Bowl expectations for Cincinnati.

How can it be looked at any other way? Quarterback Joe Burrow ranks among NFL leaders in completions (274), passing attempts (408), passing yards (3,028) and passing touchdowns (27). Before Cincinnati’s bye week, Chase was pacing to be the league’s receiving triple-crown winner, leading all players in receptions, yards and touchdowns. Defensive end Trey Hendrickson leads the NFL with 11.5 sacks. Wideout Tee Higgins is averaging a career-high 81.5 receiving yards per game.

So the Bengals’ four best players are having career years in some shape or form — and yet the team is barreling toward missing the playoffs for the second straight season.

Cincinnati doesn’t play well against good teams — 4-1 against teams that have a losing record, 0-6 against teams that have a winning record, including two matchups with the division-rival Baltimore Ravens). And the Bengals have had a persistent issue closing games, which speaks to a coaching problem. Six of their seven losses have come by seven or fewer points.

Late defensive breakdowns, in particular, have been a theme in those contests. You can’t excuse two missed field goals by kicker Evan McPherson in the fourth quarter of the Chargers’ game, but the defense also gave up a four-play, 84-yard touchdown drive in the closing seconds to help seal the loss. And in its three previous games, including a Week 9 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, Cincinnati allowed double-digit points in the fourth quarter. In fact, before Week 11, the Bengals had allowed double-digit points in the final period in each of their four losses since Week 3. Cincinnati has given up at least 24 points overall in eight of its 11 games this season, including at least 34 five times.

Under coordinator Lou Anarumo, the Bengals are second-worst in red-zone efficiency (70.6%), fifth-worst in both points allowed per game (26.9) and sixth-worst in third-down defense (44.4%). It doesn’t help that the Bengals will be without two of their top three cornerbacks moving forward — Dax Hill (torn ACL) has been out since Week 5 and 2023 second-round pick DJ Turner II was placed on injured reserve after breaking his clavicle in the loss to the Chargers — but the defense is in its second year of decline.

In 2022, the Bengals ranked eighth in scoring defense. They dropped to 21st last year before falling further to 28th so far this season.

With playoff hopes dwindling, the Bengals still have to play the AFC North-leading Pittsburgh Steelers twice, including on Sunday. They also have the rising Denver Broncos, who’ve won seven of their past 10 games.

“By no stretch is our season over,” Taylor said after the L.A. loss. “We’re going to have to win a lot of these. Obviously, we put ourselves in a tough spot. But I believe … we’re going to be right there in the end.”

As stars like Burrow and Chase enter their primes, the Bengals have regressed, wasting their Super Bowl window. After back-to-back AFC title game appearances, including a trip to Super Bowl LVI, Cincinnati may miss the postseason for a second straight year.

“We’re not going to be those people that just panic because the record is 4-7 and we start making all these significant changes,” Taylor said. “That’s not what the answer is. We play good football, we’re a good football team, we believe in our guys. We’ve got good systems in place. We’re going to hang in there and support each other and try to find a way to get this thing done.”

Time is running out.

And when it does, with no playoff spot to show for it, the fingers will point at Taylor.

Ben Arthur is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.

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