CINCINNATI — Bengals Head Coach Zac Taylor held a press conference on Wednesday to discuss the team's status while previewing their season-opening matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
"They've got our respect and our attention, and we got to have great playing for them," Taylor said of the Buccaneers.
On Wednesday, Taylor affirmed that star wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase is on-track to play in game 1 against Tampa Bay.
WCPO cameras captured Chase hyper-extending his knee at training camp back on Aug. 25.
The video shows Chase going up for a catch from Burrow and landing awkwardly on his left leg. He immediately dropped to his knees, grabbing his left leg and rolling on the ground as cornerback DJ Turner ran to his side.
WATCH: Ja'Marr Chase suffers apparent knee injury during practice
Chase then hopped up and hobbled to the sideline before sitting on the ground and rubbing his knee. Once trainers ran over to Chase, he got back up and began walking with one of the Bengals' athletic trainers.
"When it first happened, I sat back down on the ground, and I just took a minute with God and prayed for a second, then I got up," Chase said later that day. "So, other than that, I can't really think of nothing but God and making sure I'm alright."
Chase affirmed that he was okay, saying that if he had a game the next day, he would play.
When asked if defensive end Shemar Stewart is set to play, Taylor responded by saying "it's a possibility."
Where the Bengals stand
Cincinnati has missed the playoffs the past three seasons after making it to Super Bowl 56 in 2021 and the AFC championship game the following year.
“You can keep pushing it down the road, or you can talk about it now and say, ‘This is the year.’ And I’m tired of saying, ‘Next year, next year, next year.’ This is it,” Burrow said after a joint practice with the Chicago Bears on Aug. 20. “Life is too short to keep pushing things down the road.”
The Bengals return all of their starters on offense, but the upgrades on defense will go a long way in determining if they are contenders. After signing defensive end Boye Mafe and safety Bryan Cook in free agency, Cincinnati sent a first-round pick to the New York Giants the week before the draft for Dexter Lawrence.
Even though Cincinnati can put up plenty of points with Burrow throwing to Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, it has lost seven games the past two years in which it scored at least 30 points but allowed 30 or more.
