Tee

Higgins

The Bengals found the end zone on their first offensive drive of the day when Joe Flacco connected with Higgins down the right sideline for a 28-yard score. It would be the only touchdown the Bengals would muster in the defeat, and the biggest play by any Bengals receiver on a day that saw Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase locked down. Higgins has found the end zone in four-straight games with Flacco at the helm and has averaged 7.3 targets in those games. He’ll profile as a high-end WR2 in Week 12 against the Patriots.

The oft-injured Burrow, who suffered his toe injury in Week 2, said the Bengals’ record and postseason hopes could factor into whether he returns this season. “We’ll see how these next couple weeks go,” Burrow said in his first news conference since the injury. “There’s a lot that goes into it. There’s a lot of variables that you have to consider.” Burrow on Monday practiced for the first time since September, “throwing passes to receivers not facing any defenders,” according to ESPN’s Ben Baby. Burrow, Baby said, “sported a different pair of shoes during his limited practice and acknowledged there is additional hardware in his cleats.” Joe Flacco is set to start Week 11 against the Steelers. Burrow should be rostered in all fantasy formats in case he returns in the season’s final month.

Higgins left the fourth quarter of Sunday’s wild affair with the Bears with an unknown injury, but it appears to have just been a concussion evaluation. Higgins will get a week off with Cincinnati’s bye upcoming in Week 10 and should be considered likely to be available in Week 11 against the Steelers.

Joe Flacco peppered Higgins with targets in the first half in response to the Bears double and triple teaming Ja’Marr Chase. A game that featured a whopping eight lead changes — including four in the fourth quarter — saw Higgins come down with three downfield shots; he may have suffered an upper body injury on the last jump ball. Leading the Bengals with a 35 percent air yards share on Sunday, Higgins continues to benefit from Flacco’s willingness to push the ball downfield. He now has four touchdown receptions over his past three games. As long as Flacco is able to play through his shoulder injury, Higgins profiles as a high-variance WR2/3 option in 12-team formats. The Bengals play the Steelers in Week 11 after their Week 10 bye.

With Ja’Marr Chase soaking up 19 targets, there wasn’t much receiving volume to go around for the rest of the wideouts. The good news for fantasy managers is that Higgins did as much damage as possible on his only catch of the day. He blew by the Jets’ secondary for an easy 44-yard score in the second quarter. Higgins had 18 targets in Joe Flacco’s first two starts with the Bengals. He should see more work in Week 9 versus the Bears, keeping him in the WR2 ranks.

It’s a WR1 statline that was still something of a fantasy heartbreaker, as Higgins opted against scoring a second touchdown and securing the 100-yard bonus when he slid down short of the end zone on what would have been a 35-yard score. With 1:47 remaining and the Bengals trailing by one, Higgins passed up the sure score to set up a clock-killing field goal attempt. The plan ended up working to perfection as Cincinnati pulled out a 33-31 victory. Pittsburgh did get the ball back with seven seconds remaining, but that is neither here nor there. Higgins’ big statline did pale in comparison to Ja’Marr Chase, who, uhh, drew the third most targets in NFL history with 23. Chased turned those looks into 16/161/2. Life under Joe Flacco has been an infinite upgrade for both Chase and Tee. They now have 10 days to rest up for a plus Week 8 home matchup with the Jets. Higgins is officially back in the top 20 at wideout.

Higgins operated as a complementary chain-mover in this one, coming down with a handful of leaping grabs. Higgins nearly scored a 14-yard touchdown on an in-breaking route in the Packers’ red zone but he was brought down at the one-yard line. The back of his helmet slammed down against the turf on the play, prompting the sideline spotter to call him off the field for a concussion evaluation. Although he was able to return before the drive ended, Joe Flacco looked Tanner Hudson’s way for the touchdown instead. Higgins is back on the WR2 radar with Flacco under center. They face the Steelers in Week 7.

Higgins caught a pass from Joe Flacco on an in-breaking route inside the Packers’ red zone. He rumbled forward through contact but was brought down inside the one-yard line, landing on his back, at which point the back of his helmet rocked back and bounced off the turf. The Bengals attempted to go no huddle on the following play but were called for a false start. The call then came in from the sideline spotter, calling for Higgins to be examined by the independent neurologist for a concussion. He passed the screening and returned within a few plays.

The Bengals pulled the plug on Jake Browning after three disastrous starts. They traded for Flacco earlier this week and the journeyman will make his debut on the road against a stout Green Bay defense. It’s a tough spot for a quarterback who just joined the team, but Flacco is no stranger to spot-starts. Flacco is only a low-end QB2 for his first game as a Bengal, but his addition should boost the floors of Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Both receivers were struggling to put up usable fantasy scores under Browning until they padded their box scores in garbage time last week. Flacco will look to get them going before the fourth quarter in Week 6.

Flacco may help steady fantasy values for Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, but it’s not like the Bengals have a significantly better offensive line than the Browns. They may, in fact, have a worse running game. Flacco jumps in to the superflex QB2 consideration zone while Chase and Higgins don’t take an appreciable step forward, but perhaps grab a little extra floor. This is a patch job for the Bengals, who simply couldn’t keep giving snaps to Jake Browning after his disastrous showings and lack of confidence the last few weeks. Browning is a drop in all leagues.