Cincinnati Bengals star receiver Ja’Marr Chase has endured an inconsistent season without Joe Burrow, and his frustrations boiled over again in Sunday’s 34–13 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. After a visibly disturbed outing, Chase was accused of spitting on Steelers cornerback Jalen Ramsey during the heated moment of the AFC North matchup.
The rivalry between the Bengals and Steelers is notoriously intense, and Chase has never shied away from expressing his disdain for Pittsburgh’s players. However, this incident escalated the situation, drawing widespread backlash across the NFL community, with former Super Bowl champion Ryan Clark calling for a stern punishment.
Ryan Clark Calls Out Ja’Marr Chase for ‘Disrespectful’ Spitting Incident
After controlling most of the afternoon, the Steelers’ defense wobbled late in the fourth quarter as the Bengals mounted a final push down 20-9. During the drive, tensions boiled over between Chase and Ramsey, with the two exchanging words before the defender threw punches, eventually resulting in his ejection.
NFL on CBS posted a video on their X handle of the scuffle with the caption, “Ja’Marr Chase and Jalen Ramsey with some pushing and shoving.”
Ja’Marr Chase and Jalen Ramsey with some pushing and shoving pic.twitter.com/UDwrA6Ji2p
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) November 16, 2025
Following the game, Ramsey accused Chase of spitting on him, triggering his punches on the field. “He spit on me,” he said. “I don’t give a f**k about football after that, respectfully. I’m always going to be all for trash talking, s**t talking, things like that. I actually enjoy that part of the game. I think that people know that.”
Slow-motion replays appeared from Austin Briski of Fox Sports to show Chase directing spit toward Ramsey, but the Bengals star denied it. “I never opened my mouth to that guy… I didn’t spit on nobody,” Chase said, via ESPN.
Field-level view of the second altercation between Ja’Marr Chase and Jalen Ramsey. Chase said “I didn’t spit on nobody.”
The video clearly shows he did.#Bengals @FOX19 pic.twitter.com/ooGzInoPdS
— Austin Briski (@austin_briski) November 16, 2025
Clark, who is close with Chase, was infuriated with the four-time Pro Bowler and didn’t hold back.
“I’m a boot boy and I love Ja’Marr but spitting on someone is the most disrespectful thing you can do!! That’s complete Bull shii and he should be punished as harshly as the league can!! Unacceptable!! Extremely disappointing,” he wrote.
I’m a boot boy and I love Ja’Marr but spitting on someone is the most disrespectful thing you can do!! That’s complete Bull shii and he should be punished as harshly as the league can!! Unacceptable!! Extremely disappointing.
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) November 16, 2025
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the NFL is reviewing the incident. But Referee Bill Vinovich said in a pool report that the officiating crew did not see a spit: “No, obviously we did not. We didn’t see anything that rose to that level at all.”
Pool report with referee Bill Vinovich indicates the officiating crew didn’t see Chase spit:
“No, obviously we did not. We did not see anything that rose to that level at all.” pic.twitter.com/thzuqTSZvu
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) November 16, 2025
But the league has found evidence supporting Ramsey’s claim, and discipline should be almost inevitable.
Earlier this season, Eagles DT Jalen Carter received a one-game suspension without pay for a spitting incident, and Lions DB Brian Branch was also suspended a game without pay for punching Chiefs WR JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Through 10 games this season, Chase has hauled in 79 receptions for 861 yards and five touchdowns, ranking fifth in PFSN’s WR Impact metric. Ramsey, meanwhile, has 29 tackles, two sacks, and one interception to his name, ranking 30th in PFSN’s CBi metrics.