Cincinnati Bengals superstar wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase downplayed the magnitude of the team's rivalry with the Pittsburgh Steelers to a certain extent.

Ahead of a Sunday Night Football showdown between the two teams this week, Chase stated that while the Bengals' rivalry with the Steelers is "up there" for Cincinnati, he wouldn't rank it No. 1.

"It's up there. I wouldn't put it No. 1," Chase said.

From there, Chase proceeded to say that the Bengals' rivalry with the Kansas City Chiefs is "way higher than that" in reference to Pittsburgh.

#Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase says the Bengals-Steelers rivalry is a thing, but it’s not close to Bengals-Chiefs.

"They way higher than that." pic.twitter.com/U3QQD9kiH3

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 12, 2026

Kansas City and Cincinnati faced each other in back-to-back AFC Championship Games in 2021 and 2022 while also having played four-straight one-score contests in the regular season since Chase entered the league in 2021.

Still, considering the importance of this week's bout between the Steelers and Bengals as well as some of Chase's recent history with the black and gold, it's safe to say that his comments could be used as bulletin board material.

Chase's Fight With Jalen Ramsey

Tempers flared last year between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati during a Week 11 meeting that the former ultimately emerged victorious from in blowout fashion by a score of 34-12 at Acrisure Stadium.

Early in the fourth quarter, Chase and Jalen Ramsey were jawing at one another before a scuffle began that resulted in the latter throwing a swipe at the former.

Video of the Ja'Marr Chase and Jalen Ramsey confrontation from today's game:

Ramsey said Chase spit at him.

Chase said he did not.

This is the field-level video, via @austin_briski:pic.twitter.com/Sqr5BkIIJR

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 16, 2025

Ramsey was then ejected, and he told reporters in the locker room after the contest that Chase spit at him.

"He snatched my mouthpiece off my facemask, and that's when I pushed his facemask... that was just a little scuffle," Ramsey said. "But the refs told us right there lie, 'Aye y'all, chill, no more of this'... as soon as he spit, it was f*** that."

Chase was later suspended for one game as a result, while Ramsey was fined $14,491.

While no reverberations from that altercation popped up in the Steelers' 30-27 win over the Bengals in Week 3, tensions are always bound to be high when these two teams face one another.

Steelers' Recent Success in Cincinnati

With both Pittsburgh and Cincinnati sitting atop the AFC North at 6-2 while each has a four-game win streak ongoing, it's not hyperbole to say that their Week 10 matchup could end up dictating who wins the division when it's all said and done.

The Steelers feel like they're fighting a bit of an uphill battle to win considering they're going on the road into what will be a hostile environment for a primetime game, but they've had plenty of success at Paycor Stadium recently.

While it did fall on Thursday Night Football there in Week 7 last season by a score of 33-31, Pittsburgh has lost on the road in Cincinnati just three times since 2014, four times since 2010 and six times since 2000, which is when Paycor Stadium opened.

For what should be a tough place to play for the Steelers, they've had little to no trouble drowning out the noise on the road against the Bengals and completely imposing their will in those situations.

It's no guarantee that its history at Paycor Stadium will carry over to 2026, though it does inspire some confidence.