Cincinnati Bengals star receiver Ja'Marr Chase is fully locked in on Thursday's AFC North matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers following Sunday's loss to the Green Bay Packers.

"The next game is always the most important game because it's a divisional game, but also because of the standings and where we are right now," Chase told reporters postgame, including the Jungle Roar Pod's Mike Petraglia.

"The Steelers are going to try and come in and rawdog us and kill us. But we'll be ready for that challenge, and we'll be waiting for it."

Pittsburgh sits atop the AFC North with a 4-1 record following Sunday's win against the Cleveland Browns. Meanwhile, the Bengals (2-4) will have their sights set on upending the Steelers on a short week and flipping their four-game losing skid.

Cincinnati defeated Pittsburgh 19-17 in its 2024 regular-season finale after losing the first game 44-38 against its division rival earlier in the campaign. The Bengals missed the postseason last year despite finishing with a 9-8 record, while Pittsburgh advanced to the wild-card round.

Unlike in both contests against the Steelers last season, Joe Burrow won't be under center for the Bengals on Thursday as he continues to rehab a turf toe injury. Veteran Joe Flacco is in line to make his second start for Cincinnati after debuting Sunday versus the Packers. The 40-year-old completed 29 of 45 pass attempts for 219 yards and two touchdowns, including a 19-yard strike to Chase in the fourth quarter.

"Joe Burrow and Joe Flacco are different," Chase said, per team reporter Geoff Hobson. "I've been playing with Joe for years. I've been playing with Joe Flacco for a week. Those reps I had with him were good enough, but we can definitely get better."

The Bengals' offense has scored fewer than 20 points in three of its past four games. While Cincinnati appeared to find its rhythm in the second half against the Packers, the spark wasn't enough to overcome the deficit.