Ja’Marr Chase unloaded on Myles Garrett’s historic moment after Browns win

So much for a so-called meaningless game in Week 18 of the regular season.

Tensions are always high between teams of the AFC North, but the Cincinnati Bengals took things to a whole new level following Sunday’s 20-18 loss to the Cleveland Browns.

It was an embarrassing one for the Bengals, who allowed the Browns to turn a pair of takeaways into defensive touchdowns during the first half. Then came the fourth quarter, when Myles Garrett sacked Joe Burrow to break the NFL’s official single-season sack record of 22.5 that was held previously by both Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt.

Garrett and the Browns reacted accordingly, with the celebration starting on the field and extending to the sideline, where Garrett was hoisted and carried by teammates. It was a feel-good moment for a once-in-a-generation athlete who had reached 20 sacks in Week 14, but had a stressful plight for the record down the stretch.

The game was paused momentarily as Garrett’s celebration was captured on the broadcast. The Bengals were not exactly entertained, however, with wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase unleashing a post-game rant for the ages.

Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase throws shade at Myles Garrett’s sack record

Chase wasn’t the only one who was upset over the Browns’ celebration on Sunday. Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said that he was never told the game would be stopped for Garrett, and that “we’re fighting for our lives here,” referencing his team’s 17-12 deficit with 5:11 remaining in the fourth quarter.

That complaint carries absolutely no weight, of course, seeing how the Bengals were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention back in Week 14, when they were blanked by the Baltimore Ravens, 24-0, for their 10th loss of the season. Cincinnati also ended up taking an 18-17 lead with 1:29 remaining in regulation, only to watch rookie Shedeur Sanders lead a 10-play, 40-yard drive to set up Andre Szmyt’s game-winning field goal.

Chase took it one step further when he compared Garrett’s unprecedented feat to catching 10 passes in a game.

“That’s like me catching my 10th pass and the whole team runs on the field. We’re going to get flagged. You can’t do that. Congrats to him and everything, but they gotta call a flag on that play. We were trying to hurry up, too. We couldn’t even hurry up. The refs were looking at us like we did something wrong the whole time. So I don’t know what was going on in that play.

“They better stop the game when I do something in my backend (of my career). That’s all I have to say about that one.”

This is just pure gold from Chase, from the backhanded compliment, to downplaying the herculean feat, to insinuating that Garrett is now in the twilight of his career.

The Bengals being this upset is pure comedy in its own right. They should probably be more upset about losing to a bad Browns team that was without its leading rusher, receiver and tackler for Sunday's game. The refs recognizing a once-in-a-decade type of moment and giving Garrett a beat literally had nothing to do with Cincinnati losing the ball game.

Again, leave it to the AFC North to create some unnecessary drama out of thin air.