The Cincinnati Bengals’ woeful season continued as they suffered a thumping 34-12 defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers.Having fallen to 3-7 on the 2025 NFL season, the Bengals now face the strong possibility that they will be without star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase for their Week 12 clash against the 9-2 New England Patriots — and potentially beyond.Ja’Marr Chase may face a punishment from the NFL for spitting at Steelers CB RamseyGettyThis comes after footage showed that the Bengals wide receiver spat in the face of Steelers cornerback Jalen Ramsey.What happened between Chase and Ramsey?In the fourth quarter of the AFC North showdown between the Bengals and the Steelers, tensions reached its boiling point and a confrontation ensued between Chase and Ramsey. With the two jawing at each other from the jump, things eventually got physical, with the two seen grabbing each other’s facemasks and exchanging some words which resulted in both being flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. Just one play later, though, Ramsey was caught throwing a punch at the Bengals receiver’s head – leading to a scuffle between the two teams. View Tweet: https://twitter.com/hashtag/Steelers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwThe Steelers’ new defensive talisman – acquired over the summer in a trade with the Miami Dolphins – was ejected from the game, while Chase was allowed to remain on the field.After the game, a furious Ramsey claimed that Chase had spat on him, which ultimately prompted him to retaliate. “He spit on me. So it’s up,” Ramsey bluntly said, via ESPN. “I don’t give a f*** about football after that. Respectfully.”“I’m always going to be all for trash talking, s*** talking, things like that. I actually enjoy that part of the game. I think that people know that. … We were talking s***, which I’m cool with.“And then as soon as he spit, it was f*** that. … I’m sure the NFL, they’ll do their due diligence. They’ve got 100 cameras out there. They can investigate. They can see everything. … “They should be able to pull it up and see that he spit and it’s whatever after that, to be honest. I was still a little too nice if I’m keeping it honest with you.”What did Chase say about the incident?Chase vehemently denied the allegations that he had spat on his opponent, stating post-game: “I ain’t never opened my mouth to that guy. I didn’t spit on nobody.”He also described the exchange between him and the seven-time Pro Bowler to be that of typical trash talk between opponents. “He didn’t like some of the words I told him,” Chase said. “We’d been going back and forth the whole time, so I’m sure something got under his skin.”Chase was furious at Ramsey, but held his composure and didn’t react to the punch thrown his wayGettyRamsey was disqualified from the game in the fourth quarter for throwing the punch in Chase’s directionGettyUnfortunately for Chase, video footage appears to back up his rival.A field-level view zoomed in on the altercation shot by the Cincinnati Fox affiliate – not part of the game broadcast itself – looks to clearly show him spitting at Ramsey.Will Chase be suspended?Had the on-field officials spotted the initial incident that sparked the heated physical altercation, it is very likely that Chase would have joined Ramsey in being tossed.View Tweet: https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bengals?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwIt is expected that the NFL will take retrospective action in their disciplinary proceedings with there being a good chance that the 25-year-old will be suspended for the Bengals’ home clash against the 9-2 Patriots who are considered a top-five Super Bowl contender this season, per talkSPORT’s power rankings. Ramsey – whose only other disqualification came in 2017 when playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars when also facing the Bengals – will also face discipline from the league for his retaliation, but a hefty fine appears to be the most likely avenue of punishment for the All-Pro corner.How have NFL players been punished for spitting in the past?You only have to cast your mind back to Week 1 of the 2025 regular season when the NFL had to intervene in another spitting incident. In the Philadelphia Eagles‘ season opener against the Dallas Cowboys, defensive tackle Jalen Carter was ejected from the game before a single snap had been played after being caught spitting at Cowboys franchise QB Dak Prescott. The All-Pro tackle also had to forfeit his Week 1 game check, worth $57,222, and profusely apologised for his actions after the game. He was, however, allowed to return for the Eagles’ Super Bowl rematch against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2 after it was deemed that he had already served his one-game suspension due to missing virtually the entirety of their 24-20 win over NFC East rivals.Eagles DT Jalen Carter was immediately ejected after spitting on Cowboys QB Dak Prescott before a snap was played in their Week 1 clash@NBCHOF Terrell Owens was handed a $35k fine – but avoided suspension – for spitting on Falcons CB DeAngelo Hall in 2006.GettySome didn’t feel Carter’s punishment was severe enough, with media personality Stephen A. Smith even calling for the NFL to suspend the ‘selfish’ star, whilst former Eagles star center Jason Kelce called out the 24-year-old for his ‘dumb behavior.’Back in 2020, former defensive back Marcus Peters was fined $12,500 by the league for appearing to spit at Cleveland Browns receiver Jarvis Landry in their AFC North showdown against Peters’ Baltimore Ravens, but was not suspended. Similarly, 14 years prior in 2006, Pro Football Hall of Famer Terrell Owens was fined $35,000 for spitting on Atlanta Falcons cornerback DeAngelo Hall. Like Chase, the on-field officials didn’t spot the spit itself, and as a result, he was allowed to continue in the game. Despite Hall calling for Owens to be suspended, the NFL did not intervene on that occasion. Stay up to date with the latest from the NFL across all platforms – follow our dedicated talkSPORT USA Facebook page and subscribe to our talkSPORT USA YouTube channel for all the news, exclusives, interviews and more.