Every game between AFC North foes leads to heated moments on the field. Sunday served as the latest example as both spit and fists flew while the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals played.
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The incident occurred in the fourth quarter of the 34-12 Steelers win. The cameras showed wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase and defensive back Jalen Ramsey standing face-to-face on the 43-yard line. Suddenly, Ramsey hit Chase in the facemask with his left hand before following with his right.
Jalen Ramsey has been ejected from the game! Ja'marr Chase takes a hit to the face pic.twitter.com/yWnjwQJ4Fi
— Rate the Refs (@Rate_the_Refs) November 16, 2025
The officials ejected Ramsey after the altercation. This unsportsmanlike conduct penalty also took the Bengals from a fourth-and-one situation to first-and-10 from the Steelers' 29-yard line. This drive ended with a field goal.
The cameras only showed the wide angle of the incident, so it did not provide any context leading up to Ramsey's punches. However, the Steelers defender spoke to reporters after the game and said that Chase had spit on him. Another video angle then clearly showed spit flying from Chase's mouth.
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
"He spit on me," Ramsey said in a video from Brendan Howe. "So it's up. I don't give a f—- about football after that. Respectfully."
Chase faced questions about the incident after the game. He told reporters that he didn't spit on anybody. He said they just exchanged words.
"I ain't never opened my mouth to that guy," Chase said. "...He don't like some of the stories I told him. We'd been going back and forth the whole time. So I'm straight. Something got under his skin."
Referee Bill Vinovich spoke after the game and said that they did not see the spitting incident that Ramsey said had occurred. That doesn't mean that this situation is over. The NFL will potentially get involved considering how it has viewed similar incidents in the past.
The NFL season actually started with a spit. Eagles defender Jalen Carter spit on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott six seconds into the first game of the season. The referees then ejected the Eagles defender.
The NFL responded by fining Carter $57,222 and technically suspending him. He did not play at all in the season opener, so the league considered this the suspension. Carter returned for Week 2 as the Eagles played the Chiefs.
