What Will Ja’Marr Chase’s Absence Mean for Tee Higgins and the Bengals’ Offense?

CINCINNATI — Maybe it’s because he’s had a little longer to process it. Perhaps it has to do with what Tyler Boyd said, that the Cincinnati Bengals “have a bunch of humble guys in this locker room.” Or, Tee Higgins may be simply more focused on what lies ahead than in the past.

Whatever the reason, Higgins was far less effusive about his game-tying, grab-and-stab touchdown that has played on loop on highlight shows since he pulled it off in the final minute of Saturday’s 27-24 overtime win against the Minnesota Vikings.

Tee Higgins Has a Chance To Prove He’s a No. 1 Receiver

That is, even if he was a little contradictory in the process.

“I probably won’t ever get an opportunity to do that again,” Higgins said. “It was a crazy play. I’m definitely glad it happened. But other than that, it’s just another play. You’ve got to keep moving forward.”

#Bengals WR Tee Higgins on THE touchdown.
“It was a crazy play. I’m definitely glad it happened.” pic.twitter.com/XWIbi5G9CZ

— Jay Morrison (@ByJayMorrison) December 20, 2023

Asked where he’d rank it among his best catches, Higgins said, “Probably top five.”

Offensive Brian Callahan has a far different rating scale.

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“Probably the best one I’ve ever seen,” he said. “I mean, in person, plays that I’ve seen, that’d be one of the better ones. Just because it was a pure freak, physical play.

“Just to see the way Tee broke off the route, came back to the ball, beat the DB to the spot, getting both feet down, and then whatever that circus act was where he spins back — I can’t even move my arm that far,” Callahan added. “It was unbelievable. I’ll remember that one for a long, long time.”

Duplicating the style points will be close to impossible, but the Bengals are hoping there is a repeat in production from Higgins with Ja’Marr Chase not able to go Saturday in Pittsburgh due to a right shoulder injury.

The Bengals and Higgins have been in this spot before. Last year a hip injury forced Chase to miss four games. One of them was at Pittsburgh and featured Higgins catching nine passes for 148 yards as the Bengals racked 408 yards and 37 points — one shy of their most ever in 54 road games at Pittsburgh.

“I don’t think it changes anything for me,” Higgins said of not having Chase on the field. “I’ve still got to go out there and be the receiver I am. We’ve got guys like Andrei [Iosivas] and TB [Tyler Boyd] and Charlie [Jones] to step up, so I don’t think it’s going to be any different.”

But Higgins did allow that his fourth quarter against the Vikings, in which he caught four passes for 61 yards and two touchdowns, has some significance given the limited snaps he’s had with backup quarterback Jake Browning compared to the hundreds he’s played with Joe Burrow.

“Obviously, it gives Jake more trust in me, so it’s very important,” he said.

The Bengals went 3-1 in the four games Chase missed last year. Higgins scored in two of them and topped 100 yards in the other two.

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“We’ve had plenty of games without Ja’Marr. We’ve played plenty of games without Tee,” Callahan said. “We have plenty of other guys that have to fill in, and that’s just the nature of the whole league right now. If you look around, there’s a lot of teams that are dealing with the same stuff, and guys have got to keep stepping up and raising their level of play and keep trying to find ways to win.”

In addition to Higgins, Trenton Irwin also stepped up during Chase’s absence last year, and the added reps and invaluable trust built with Burrow paid off huge after Chase had returned. It was exactly a year ago when the Bengals went to New England in Week 16 to play on Christmas Eve when Irwin, even though each of the big three started the game, caught two touchdowns and just missed a third.

He knows his role will expand on Saturday, and he’s ready.

“It’s exciting,” Irwin said. “I do whatever my job is whatever week it may be to help the team win. Part of the reason I’m here is because of the receiver I am.

“Lately my job has been to know everything,” he continued. “I’m big enough and fast enough to play outside. I think it’s a unique combination to be able to win in whatever way needed.”

Oddly enough, Irwin didn’t catch a pass or even have a target last week when the Bengals nearly tied the NFL record for most players with 2+ receptions in the same game, falling one player short.

Whether Irwin’s role on Saturday looks like the Vikings game or last year’s Patriots game remains to be seen.

But there is no mystery around Higgins. He’s said he wants to be a No. 1 receiver, and he’ll have a chance to do that when he enters free agency in March.

Saturday in Pittsburgh will be an audition of sorts when it comes to that.

Higgins is aware of all of that, of course, but he said nothing is going to change in terms of his approach or attitude.

“We don’t change anything we do,” he said. “We’ll just keep being who we are.”

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