The Cincinnati Bengals will face the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 8. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding WR Tee Higgins.
Is Tee Higgins Playing in Week 8?
Tee Higgins was a new addition to the Cincinnati Bengals’ Friday injury report. He was limited by a quadricep injury on Friday and is now considered questionable to face the Eagles on Sunday.
Late-week downgrades are never good for fantasy players. Typically, they suggest that the player was injured during practice. We’ll need to watch for a Higgins update throughout the weekend ahead of Week 8’s game.
Higgins missed the first two weeks of the 2024 season after suffering a hamstring injury during practice. The Bengals struggled without him, posting just 224 yards and 10 points in a Week 1 upset to the Patriots before losing a tight game to the Chiefs in Week 2.
Since returning, Higgins has out-targeted fellow Cincinnati WR Ja’Marr Chase 45 to 37. He’s been a top-36 fantasy WR in each of the past three weeks, including a WR4 finish in Week 5 and a WR9 finish against the Browns last Sunday.
We’ll continue to monitor the Bengals’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Tee Higgins in Week 8?
Ja’Marr Chase is the highlight-producing receiver and the player on this team who can change a game with a single play, but this is truly a 1A and 1B situation. Since Higgins debuted in Week 3:
Chase:
- 37 targets (two in the end zone)
- 29 catches (six on third downs)
- Two drops
Higgins:
- 45 targets (three in the end zone)
- 29 catches (nine on third downs)
- Zero drops
Higgins took a crossing pattern to the house for a 25-yard score last week and will rank as a strong start for me weekly. That said, I have one nit to pick, and it’s enough for me to look elsewhere in a DFS setting.
We saw the Eagles heat up the Giants last week with eight sacks. This is a different situation, but it should be noted that Higgins has only been targeted on 8% of his routes this season when Joe Burrow is pressured. Chase is likely to win the quality of target competition with Higgins, and if he also gets the edge in the quantity department, I’m a little concerned.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 8 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Tee Higgins’ Fantasy Points Projection in Week 8
Higgins is projected to score 16.7 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 5.8 receptions for 77.4 yards and 0.5 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
Tee Higgins’ Week 8 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 11:45 PM ET on Saturday, January 25.
Conference Championship WR PPR Rankings
1) A.J. Brown | PHI (vs. WAS)
2) Terry McLaurin | WAS (at PHI)
3) DeVonta Smith | PHI (vs. WAS)
4) Khalil Shakir | BUF (at KC)
5) Xavier Worthy | KC (vs. BUF)
6) Hollywood Brown | KC (vs. BUF)
7) DeAndre Hopkins | KC (vs. BUF)
8) Keon Coleman | BUF (at KC)
9) Dyami Brown | WAS (at PHI)
10) Mack Hollins | BUF (at KC)
11) Amari Cooper | BUF (at KC)
12) Curtis Samuel | BUF (at KC)
13) Olamide Zaccheaus | WAS (at PHI)
14) JuJu Smith-Schuster | KC (vs. BUF)
15) Jahan Dotson | PHI (vs. WAS)
16) Jamison Crowder | WAS (at PHI)
17) Luke McCaffrey | WAS (at PHI)
18) Justin Watson | KC (vs. BUF)
19) Johnny Wilson | PHI (vs. WAS)
20) Parris Campbell | PHI (vs. WAS)
21) Nikko Remigio | KC (vs. BUF)
22) Ainias Smith | PHI (vs. WAS)
Philadelphia Eagles at Cincinnati Bengals Insights
Philadelphia Eagles
Team: Since 2022, the Eagles have been the best team in Weeks 1-9 (20-3, 87% win rate) but rank 12th in win percentage after Week 9 (9-8, 52.9% win rate).
QB: Jalen Hurts is coming off of a double Tush Push game, his 13th regular season game with multiple rushing scores since 2021, the most in the league.
Offense: The Eagles are still the only team yet to score in the first quarter this season. Philly’s six-game streak without scoring in the first quarter is tied for the longest streak to begin a season since 2000 (done most recently by the 2021 Jets).
Defense: The Eagles allow 9.3% of passes to the slot to result in a touchdown, the third-highest rate in the league (only the Texans and Colts have been worse).
Fantasy: You had more receiving yards than DeVonta Smith last week and with the Eagles allowing pressure at the highest rate in the league (46.1%, no other team is at even 43%), the down weeks could continue.
Betting: The Eagles are just 2-8 ATS in their last 10 road games against the AFC North (0-2 ATS in Cincinnati over that stretch).
Cincinnati Bengals
Team: The Bengals are 3-3 over their past six games, with their three wins coming against teams with five victories this season (Panthers, Giants, and Browns). The three losses came against teams on the other end of the spectrum (Chiefs, Commanders, and Ravens).
QB: Joe Burrow wasn’t himself when active last season – he completed just 29.4% of his deep passes with a 59.3 passer rating on such passes after consecutive seasons with at least a 50% completion rate and 107 passer rating. Through seven weeks this season, he’s completed 57.6% of his deep passes with a 129.1 passer rating.
Offense: The Bengals are blitzed at the second-lowest rate in the league (17.3%).
Defense: The Bengals own the third-lowest sack rate in the NFL (4.6% of dropbacks) through seven weeks.
Fantasy: Chase Brown received 60% of the Bengals’ rush attempts in Week 7, the third straight week he’s led them in carries. Brown’s percentage of team carries has increased six weeks in a row (every game since Week 2).
Betting: The Bengals are 0-3 ATS at home this season – they covered eight of 12 such games in the two seasons prior.
