Ja’Marr Chase accuses NFL of trying to rig AFC for the Bills

January 23, 2023 ndowd

Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase is the latest Cincinnati Bengals player to take exception to the NFL selling Buffalo Bills vs. Kansas City Chiefs AFC Championship tickets.

Earlier this week, the NFL began selling tickets for the AFC Championship Game at their neutral site location of Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. The neutral site would only be used if the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills advanced to the title matchup. But, that would be all for naught if the Cincinnati Bengals were to defeat the Bills on Sunday.

Running back Joe Mixon took exception to the league selling tickets even before knowing if the neutral site location would actually be needed, calling it “disrespectful.” Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase is the latest to voice his displeasure about the actions made by the NFL.

Following Cincinnati’s 27-10 win over Buffalo, Chase told the media that he and the team weren’t happy about the NFL selling Chiefs vs. Bills tickets in advance and said that they were ready to prove them wrong.

Ja’Marr Chase: “We were proving people wrong. The NFL was doing stuff to get the Bills to go to the Super Bowl. They’re trying to make it seem like we’re not ready. We’re here to prove it.”

— Charlie Goldsmith (@CharlieG__) January 23, 2023

Ja’Marr Chase blasts NFL for selling Chiefs vs. Bills AFC Championship tickets

Chase and the Bengals relished in the fact that they are forcing the NFL to refund 50,000 tickets to those who purchased them. Even quarterback Joe Burrow brought that up during his postgame interviewing, saying, “better send those refunds.”

The decision to set up a neutral site location for a potential AFC Championship Game between the Bills and Chiefs was made due in part to Buffalo’s Week 17 game being ruled a no-contest after Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest. Given that the Bills played one less game than the Chiefs, it was decided to setup a potential matchup between the two in the AFC Championship Game at a neutral location.

At snowy Orchard Park, N.Y., the Bengals played like a highly motivated team. The passing attack was thriving, the rushing offense picked up 5.1 yards per carry, and the defense was able to pressure and get to quarterback Josh Allen.

Chase received eight targets from Joe Burrow, catching five of them for 61 yards and a touchdown. He could have had another touchdown reception but it was overturned on a controversial replay review.

Now, the Bengals have made sure that the AFC Championship Game won’t be played in Atlanta. They will instead head to Kansas City to face the Chiefs in the title matchup for the second consecutive year.

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