Ja'Marr Chase Questions Head Coach Zac Taylor After Bengals' Shocking Loss To Patriots

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The Cincinnati Bengals falling at home to the New England Patriots was, without a shadow of a doubt, the biggest upset in Week 1 of the NFL season. Not only did the surprising result present questions about what the Bengals' season may turn out to be, it left star wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase with questions as well.

Chase, who was listed as questionable ahead of kickoff, ultimately suited up for Cincinnati despite explaining he was suffering from food poisoning and hauled in six catches for 62 yards. A six-catch game isn't necessarily something to scoff at, but it is in a loss to arguably the worst team in the NFL on paper.

Following the loss, Chase was asked if Sunday's game plan was affected by his limited time in practice, to which the wideout deferred the question to head coach Zac Taylor.

"I don't know," he said. "You got to ask Zac on that -- I don't know."

The media took Chase's advice and asked Taylor about the situation, to which the head coach shook his head no before sharing more insight about the game.

"Just didn't get any great rhythm," Taylor said of his team's offensive struggles. "I can't put my finger on exactly what that was. I felt like we had a good plan, guys knew what to do."

Ja'Marr Chase wasn't a happy man following the Bengals' Week 1 loss to New England. (Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Joe Burrow was fine under center on Sunday completing 21-of-29 pass attempts, but only managed 164 yards through the air while also being sacked on three different occasions. The Bengals' lone touchdown came courtesy of running back Zach Moss on the ground.

While virtually nobody predicted that the Bengals would lose at home to New England to start the season, the result is a clear-cut example of how you can never easily predict an outcome in the National Football League.

Things don't get any easier next week, as Chase and the Bengals head to Kansas City to take on the 2-time Super Bowl Champs.  

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.