Cincinnati Bengals star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase has had enough of having to answer the same questions after his team continues to lose games in inexplicable fashion.

Chase also understands that until the Bengals start generating a different result on the field, he’ll continue to be asked questions about why Cincinnati can’t seem to finish games this season.

With their postseason hopes on the line, the Bengals came out flat on both sides of the ball in Cincinnati’s Week 11 loss to the Chargers. The team rallied in the second half and had two different chances to take the lead in the final minutes, but resorted back to the team they’ve been all year and couldn’t finish.

And now the Bengals enter their bye week with a 4-7 record with plenty of time to unpack the spiral this season has turned into.

“Ask Zac … ask the coaches — don’t ask me,” Chase said of why the Bengals’ can’t finish games. “That’s not my job.”

When reporters followed up to clarify Chase’s comments as to why he feels like it’s not his job, Chase brought up play-calling.

“I play football on the field,” Chase said. “I don’t call plays for us, you know? So, I can’t really do nothing.”

Chase is turning in his best professional campaign, as is quarterback Joe Burrow, and yet the Bengals would be on the outside looking in if the playoffs started this week. They’re both visibly frustrated and their feelings are justified based off their consistent individual performances.

Trey Hendrickson, Chase and Burrow continue to be the only three players on the Bengals’ roster who consistently make impact plays week in and out. They’re holding up their end of the bargain, yet the Bengals still can’t find a way to win games when they need it most.

For a season that started with Super Bowl expectations, it’s quickly turning into one of the more disappointing and perplexing seasons in team history.

There’s not just one reason why the Bengals have a losing record and have yet to beat a team with a winning record. The blame doesn’t stop with one specific player, coach, front office member, etc. This season has been a collective failure for everyone involved.

But above all, one theme sticks out more than any: The Bengals don’t execute in crunch time.

Look no further than what took place with Evan McPherson on Sunday night. Despite a terrible performance in the first half of the Bengals’ 34-27 loss to the Chargers, the Bengals still had two chances to take the lead in the final minutes.

McPherson, who signed a three-year extension with the Bengals this summer, missed two field goals – one from 48 yards and the other from 51 yards out. He’s now made only six of his 12 field goal attempts of 40-plus yards this year.

When asked what he said to McPherson after missing the kicks, Burrow said he said “nothing.” Chase was also asked if he had any conversations with McPherson after the missed kicks.

In typical Chase fashion, he continued to answer with brutal honesty.

“He knows to make those kicks,” Chase said. “That’s why we paid him those bucks — to make those kicks in crunch time.”

That’s where the Bengals sit right now, lost and looking for answers and its why Chase – or Burrow – wasn’t able to confidently say they believe this version of Cincinnati’s team can make it into the playoffs following another heartbreaking loss.

“Honestly, I don’t know, man. I have no clue,” Chase said.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Frustration mounting in Bengals’ locker room as Ja’Marr Chase sounds off