Ja’Marr Chase’s apparent spit toward Jalen Ramsey stokes Steelers-Bengals rivalry

Fair to say the temperature of the Pittsburgh Steelers-Cincinnati Bengals rivalry has been turned back up.

It’s been seven years since the likes of Vontaze Burfict and Pac-Man Jones were wearing orange and getting under the Steelers’ skin, but an ejection brought on by a spitting incident reignited some AFC North tensions Sunday.

Star Steelers defensive back Jalen Ramsey was thrown out of the game after taking a pair of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in quick succession early in the fourth quarter of the Steelers’ 34-12 victory.

But Ramsey said his reaction — which included him grabbing Chase’s facemask and forcibly extending his other arm toward his face — was a simple response to getting spit at by the NFL’s leading receiver.

Chase denies he spit at Ramsey, but video of the incident appears to definitively show otherwise.

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

“As soon as he spit, it was like, ‘(Forget) that,’ ” Ramsey said after the game. “It was, yeah, I ain’t gonna tolerate that.”

Chase and Ramsey have combined for 11 Pro Bowl berths and are in the discussion for the NFL’s best wide receiver and cornerback of their generation, respectively. They matched up in Super Bowl LVI, when Ramsey was with the Los Angeles Rams.

One month to the day before Sunday, Chase tortured the Steelers secondary — including Ramsey — for 16 catches for 161 yards and a touchdown in a 33-31 Cincinnati win that the Steelers defense took to heart.

In the rematch, Chase and other Bengals frequently exchanged trash talk with Ramsey, Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. and others.

https://t.co/5i0RJPkx7W pic.twitter.com/6ooZ95z8Yn

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) November 16, 2025

“I’m always going to be all for trash-talking,” Ramsey said. “I actually enjoy that part of the game; I think people know that. And that’s what we were doing.”

Until, that is, a Bengals third-and-1 from the Steelers’ 44 yard-line on the fourth snap of the fourth quarter. With the Steelers holding a 20-9 lead, Chase and Ramsey were assessed offsetting unsportsmanlike conduct flags. Ramsey said Chase blocked him roughly from behind and then grabbed his mouthpiece off his helmet.

“But the refs told him right there, like, ‘Hey, y’all, chill. No more of this,’ ” Ramsey said. “Cool. So, you know, I’m like, ‘Let’s talk (crap) — but let’s keep it clean.’ ”

After the Bengals called a timeout at the end of a futile attempt to get the Steelers to jump offsides, things went anything but clean.

“Two competitors,” Steelers co-captain Cameron Heyward said, “but one guy took it too far.”

Though Chase said to reporters after the game, “I don’t spit on nobody,” the video appears to make it clear he did.

Ja’Marr Chase said he didn’t spit on Jalen Ramsey.

On the altercation that led to Ramsey’s ejection: pic.twitter.com/q5TbQ9fEov

— Charlie Clifford (@char_cliff) November 16, 2025

“I’m sure the NFL, they’ll do what they do,” Ramsey said. “They’ve got 100 cameras out there. They can see everything. What I (have said) are facts.”

Chase was not flagged for the spit or for any reason during that particular sequence. Ramsey needed held back by teammates and staffers as players from both sides gathered around the altercation. Ramsey was ejected, referee Bill Vinovich told a reporter after the game, because he viewed a punch from Ramsey to Chase.

“Our guy got penalized,” Heyward said, “but if you’re going to spit on a guy, you don’t belong in the game. Hopefully the NFL handles it.

“We all tried to calm Jalen down, but if a man spits on you that’s a different reaction than you should ever have to deal with in a game.”

Said Porter: “I would react the same way if somebody did that to me.”

Vinovich cited only “a scuffle” and that Ramsey and Chase “were both grabbing each other’s facemasks.” He said no official spotted a spit. Many camera angles posted on social media do not make the spit as clear as the view of a reporter from Cincinnati’s Fox 19 did.

“I know how my guy is,” Porter said of Ramsey. “He ain’t gonna overreact for no reason. He’s been playing this game for a long time.

“He’s not gonna throw a (tantrum) for no reason. So, all of us understand, and we agree with him. We’re on his side.”

Chuck Clark replaced Ramsey the rest of the game for a Steelers defense that redeemed itself for the humiliating performance last month in Cincinnati by limiting an offense that was averaging 37.7 points and 454.3 yards over its past three games to only 12 points and 297 yards.

“We had to have his back,” Steelers safety Kyle Dugger said of Ramsey. “He couldn’t be out there to get it back so we had to be there to pick it up and have his back that way.”