After a disastrous showing in Week 1, the Cincinnati Bengals are in desperate need of a win during a massive Week 2 matchup against their biggest AFC Rival: the Kansas City Chiefs. While it certainly wouldn’t be uncharted territory for Cincinnati under Zac Taylor, a 0-2 start would certainly trigger a panic amongst the fans given the constantly deteriorating salary cap situation. For that reason, Cincinnati needs to be sure that they have their best players on the field and ready to rumble on Sunday.
Cincinnati Bengals Receiver Misses Practice on Thursday Due to Injury
On that front, Cincinnati may be in dire straits after superb secondary wide receiver Tee Higgins was seen in street clothes during the team’s practice on Thursday afternoon. While it is still possible that Higgins could dress for the last contact practice of the week on Friday, the odds of him playing against the reigning Super Bowl Champions is definitely low at this point.
Tee Higgins walks into Thursday’s practice – not in uniform.#Bengals | @WLWT pic.twitter.com/H5oonSlQ6C
— Olivia Ray (@OliviaRayTV) September 12, 2024
Brutal Accusations Regarding Higgins’ Commitment to the Team
While it would be totally understandable for Higgins to miss time with a nagging hamstring injury, especially after NFL Insiders like Adam Schefter said he is unlikely to play this week, there are still fans that are skeptical of a legitimate injury. Higgins recently addressed the press regarding the theory that the injury is fake since Higgins is riding out a one-year contract that happens to be fully guaranteed.
“I just don’t understand why fans think I’m faking an injury, when for me to get an extension for a contract, the deadline is over,” Higgins told ESPN. “I just don’t understand why they think I’m faking an injury. It doesn’t make sense to me.”
Diminished Prospects for Saturday
Without Higgins in the lineup, the team will need to rely solely on the ability of former All-Pro wideout Ja’Marr Chase and a slurry of unproven youngsters to be on the receiving end of superstar quarterback Joe Burrow. While Chase is certainly a spectacular option, the argument can be made that he isn’t 100% yet after missing much fo the preseason due to a bitter contract dispute with the front office. The corps of young talent on this roster is also fairly talented but the other options simply haven’t been involved in massive matchups like they’re going to be dealing with this weekend.
Even though Kansas City is a heavy favorite after Cincinnati laid an egg in their first game of the season, football is an emotional game. Week 1 against New England was the textbook definition of a trap game so after an embarrassing loss in the first week of the season, this squad could come out with a ton of rage and adrenaline to take out on their greatest foe. After an impressive display from the offensive line last week, look for Cincinnati to once again attempt to implement the rushing attack to soften the Kansas City defense and also take the pressure off of this explosive passing attack.
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