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While defense theoretically wins championships, the modern NFL is all about high-powered passing offenses. On Thursday Night, though, the Cincinnati Bengals will be without a key player within their passing attack: Tee Higgins.
On Wednesday, November 15, news broke that the former Clemson man wouldn't be available for Thursday night's divisional showdown against the Ravens. Given the stakes of that matchup—The Bengals are out of a playoff spot and need to start gaining ground ASAP—that absence will sting.
With that in mind, let's break down the finer details of Higgins' injury.
Here's all you need to know.
Higgins (Hamstring) Will Not Play on Thursday
While Thursday Night Football may give NFL fans another opportunity to watch their favorite athletes, there can be some logistical challenges for the teams taking the field. That could have bitten Higgins and the Bengals.
The receiver missed Week 10's loss with a hamstring issue. Since Cincinnati is returning to action less than a week later, the odds of recovery were stacked against him.
According to the Bengals' official injury reports, Higgins didn't participate in practice on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. Unsurprisingly, he was ultimately ruled out for Thursday's contest.
Higgins Hit the Sidelines at a Bad Time
When you consider the talent within the Bengals' offense, it's easy to write Higgins off as the third wide receiver.
While the wideout's 2023 stats (27 catches for 328 yards and two touchdowns) don't seem impressive, it's worth noting that he seemed to be hitting his stride before getting hurt.
Week 8 saw Higgins catch five passes for 69 yards in a win over San Francisco. The next time out, he pulled in eight receptions for 110 yards while beating Buffalo.
Barring those two games, what was his other big performance? Eight catches for 89 yards and two touchdowns during Week 2. And that came against the Ravens, who are Thursday Night's opponent.
How Does the Higgins Injury Affect Cincinnati?
If you take Week 10 in isolation, Higgins' absence wasn't much of a problem. The Bengals lost but did so while scoring 27 points. Joe Burrow threw for 347 yards (plus two touchdowns and two interceptions) while both Ja'Marr Chase and Tyler Boyd both piled up more than 100 receiving yards.
With that being said, though, there are still obvious downsides to playing without someone of Higgins' quality.
While the receiver can sometimes be the odd man out in Cincy's offense, he plays a valuable role. As one of two deep vertical threats, Higgins stretches the defense and forces the opposition to make some tough decisions. Can you afford to double-team Higgins with Chase also on the field? How do you take away the deep ball without being overrun up front?
With Higgins sidelined, though, Chase is squarely within the spotlight.
"All they were doing was playing their No. 1 corner against our No. 2 receiver and doubling me," he explained after facing the Texans.
It's also worth noting that the Bengals are last in rushing yards per game, suggesting that they need a good passing attack to put up points. And while Burrow, Chase and Boyd are a potent unit, missing Higgins will make things that much tougher.
The Bengals' Injuries Go Beyond Higgins
Given that he's part of a high-flying Cincinnati offense, Higgins' injury has stolen most of the headlines. He's not the only Bengal out of action, though.
On Wednesday's injury report, Andrei Iosivas also earned the "Out" designation. The rookie hasn't done much this year (23 yards and two touchdowns on four total receptions), but he is another pass-catching option who won't be at Burrow's disposal. Charlie Jones is also questionable, but he's only caught one pass this season.
On the other side of the ball, defensive end Sam Hubbard will also miss Thursday Night's contest with an ankle issue. His absence, however, is somewhat mitigated by Trey Hendrickson's clean bill of health. Despite missing Monday's practice and being limited on Tuesday, he participated fully in Wednesday's practice and no longer has an injury designation.
How To Watch Bengals vs. Ravens
Even with Higgins on the sidelines, the Bengals vs. Ravens matchup could be a treat. While Thursday Night games aren't always the highest quality, the stakes of this game add some real spice. Heading into the game, NY Times Upshot gives Cincinnati around a 44 percent chance of making the postseason.
While a loss makes things a bit tougher (the Bengals' odds would sag to about 35 percent), a win would be a boon. Beating the divisional leaders gives Burrow and company around a 60 percent chance of reaching the postseason. And, as the cliché says, anything can happen once you're playing single-elimination games.
Combine those stakes with the quality on both rosters, and you could be staring down a fine way to spend your Thursday night.
If you want to tune in, the game will stream on Prime Video at 8:15 p.m. ET, with Al Michaels (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst) and Kaylee Hartung (sideline) on the call.
In market, the action will also be available on local ABC affiliates (WCPO [ABC/9] Cincinnati and WMAR [ABC/2] Baltimore) and NFL+.
About the writer
Joe Kozlowski is the Newsweek Sports Team Lead based in New York. His focus is covering U.S. sports. He is especially passionate about ... Read more