Joe Burrow and the Bengals’ offense looked flat in their season-opening home loss to the Patriots. Ja’Marr Chase spent most of the preseason in a contract dispute, returning to practice just days before kickoff.
Many blame Chase for the upset loss. Davante Adams doesn’t subscribe to that school of thought.
“Had he been out there and was in camp and was participating, they would’ve never said anything,” Adams said Tuesday on the Up & Adams Show with Kay Adams. “People don’t understand the business side of this thing. People on the outside, they probably hate him and get pissed off but six catches for 62 yards is not like he was just out there.
“That’s a decent contribution. I wouldn’t say it’s the most he can give but it’s also not just about the receiver or the running back or the quarterback.”
Cincinnati’s road doesn’t get easier. The NFL gifted the Bengals a Week 2 trip to Arrowhead Stadium, where they get the Super Bowl champion on nine days of rest Sunday (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS). The status of wide receiver Tee Higgins is uncertain after the receiver was inactive in Week 1 with a hamstring injury.
“Playing wide receiver is one of the toughest positions,” Adams said Tuesday, “because you only control a very small piece.”
Another aspect wide receivers don’t control is their head coach’s decision to punt on fourth-and-1. That was the call of Antonio Pierce halfway through the fourth quarter of the Raiders’ loss to the Chargers Sunday. With Las Vegas down 16-10 at the Chargers’ 43-yard-line, Adams had an interesting answer to the obvious question.
“Obviously, the competitor in me is wanting to go for that but, like I said after the game, my job is to go out there and run routes and catch the ball when I’m called on. And if the head coach has a hunch or a feeling about something based off the way the game has been going, it’s tough when the punt team’s running out there to try to challenge him on that.”
Adams also noted he has great communication with Pierce. They’ll need it this week against one of the league’s top defenses at Baltimore (0-1) on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS).