theathleticuk
CINCINNATI — Tee Higgins has long been accustomed to operating in Ja'Marr Chase's shadow, a dynamic that was evident when he signed a four-year, $115 million extension with the Bengals in March 2025, seated beside his star teammate. Even after Higgins' six-reception, 148-yard, one-touchdown outing sparked a stagnant offense in a 35-13 comeback victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, the headline still centered on Chase's halftime speech. Higgins, however, is unbothered by the lack of spotlight; he doesn't seek cameras and would rather avoid them altogether.
Yet six games into the finest season of his career, Higgins is no longer merely a star in the shadows—he is becoming the main attraction. Following Sunday's showcase, he has amassed 33 catches for 571 yards and two touchdowns. His 95.2 yards per game rank fifth in the NFL and put him on pace to shatter his previous career high of 77.9. He is tracking toward 1,617 yards this season, far surpassing his prior best of 1,091.
Higgins is mindful of these statistics and season-long projections. He enjoys pursuing them but maintains a balanced perspective. "I think about all that, 1,400, a lot of touchdowns, catching every ball, but sometimes that don't happen," Higgins said. "I got a guy next to me that's going to be a Hall of Famer. I go out there and do what I have to do for the team." Lately, that has meant taking on a leading role. Two of the five highest-yardage games of his career have occurred this season.
So it was no surprise that the objective became clear when Joe Burrow unleashed his second-half onslaught on Sunday: target Tee Higgins. The coaching staff's halftime message was simply to string together a touchdown drive after a disjointed first half that featured only eight normal-down play calls, according to head coach Zac Taylor. That drive began on first-and-10 from the 45. Higgins ran an in-breaking route, and Burrow threw with anticipation to the middle of the field. The ball initially spun directly toward dropping linebacker Roquan Smith. Higgins, blazing across the field, wrapped behind Smith and reached back across his face to snatch the ball away for a 19-yard gain into Baltimore territory.
"Tee does a really good job of shaping the route," offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said. "Usually we talk about shaping out cuts to the boundary where you've got to come back down to the ball but the same is true on in cuts. Normally, you just don't see it when the guy comes from behind the defender and then just plucks the ball like Tee does. Just super impressive."
Burrow and Higgins have built so much chemistry over the years that year-to-year differences are hard to spot, but Burrow senses Higgins' growth this season. "He's been so aggressive and as good as I've seen him in contested-catch situations," Burrow said. "He understands what we are trying to do and the plays we are calling. He made some big-time plays. That's who he has been."
The biggest obstacle has been keeping Higgins on the field. He has missed 12 games over the last three seasons and has played in only one of the previous five games against the Ravens. "When he's 100 percent (healthy), I think he's one of the top receivers in the league," receivers coach Troy Walters said. "I think he's matured in terms of understanding the offense, how to get open and Joe trusts him. He's got some of the best hands in the league. For his size, his fluidity, he knows how to run routes. He's put it all together this year."
The Bengals demonstrated on Sunday how effectively they have learned to use Higgins to fill the spaces created by the extra attention Chase draws. On a third-down slant to Higgins, Smith was directly facing Chase on the opposite side, executing a double team while Higgins slipped into the zone for a first down. On Higgins' touchdown, he slipped to the back line with no safety over the top as defenders moved toward Chase on the opposite side. In one of the simplest concepts against Cover 2, Chase ran a five-step out route toward the sideline and Higgins ran a sideline route behind him. When the corner broke to Chase in the flat, Higgins used his 6-foot-4 catch radius to extend for an easy reception by the sideline.
Placing Higgins in those spots is no coincidence, even if the ball's destination can be unpredictable. "It's two things: it is how do we move and position Ja'Marr to funnel the ball to him and then if they take the steps to not allow us to throw the ball to Ja'Marr on this play, what are the steps that they could take to cause us to not be able to throw it to him?" Pitcher said. "OK, then what's the equal and opposite reaction? Well, let's make sure that he's in the position to benefit from the equal and opposite reaction."
Higgins has been benefiting in 2026, particularly in the middle of the field. He has caught 14 of 15 targets in the intermediate middle (10-20 air yards, between the numbers) for 243 yards. That is one catch and 21 yards shy of his career high for a season. It is a small sample size, but it is clear the Bengals increasingly view him as an answer over the middle. "To me, he's productive everywhere," Walters said. "In the past, he's probably more productive outside the numbers with his vertical abilities and ability to change direction, come back on the stem and the routes he runs. Now we are trying to evolve his game to not only outside the numbers, but middle of the field and running different routes. That's a good thing. The more versatility he has as to where he is going to catch the ball, the better we are going to be."
Higgins can be miscast as a finesse outside receiver, especially when playing hurt, as he did two weeks ago in Miami and many times earlier in his career. Certainly, how he has played this year—at one point carrying tacklers 15 yards on Sunday—is hard to miss no matter where he catches the ball. "I just like being known as a receiver that can catch the ball anywhere on the field," Higgins said. "I guess you could say I catch a lot of contested balls. A lot of those middle-of-the-field plays are bang-bang, I just try to be consistent."
Pitcher admits there are times after games when he can be frustrated that either Chase or Higgins were not more involved. That happened with Chase after the opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But with years of experience with the two together, they know how this plays out in the end. "I never really am aware of the statistics with him and Ja'Marr," Taylor said. "I just know if something doesn't go well the game before, it's going to even itself out. I've said that a lot to myself, it's going to even itself out. The production has really been there with Tee."
Higgins is among the NFL's elite right now. Nobody knows if that will continue. If wins like Sunday start stacking, nobody will care. "If I don't get (a goal), I'm not going to cry about it," Higgins said. "If I hit it, good for me, onto the next one. My main goal is to get wins for this team any way I can and get to the big game."
That perspective is why he is still in Cincinnati. Higgins could have left to play as a No. 1 receiver somewhere else, but he preferred to run alongside Chase and hunt for a title. That certainly shoved him into the shadows, in both statistics and storylines. So far this year, the roles have reversed. The Bengals are better for it. "Just how it's playing out," Higgins said, shifting back to the shadows. "(Chase) is going to get it going, though. You best believe that."
Originally reported by theathleticuk.