CINCINNATI — The Bengals entered the season with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins giving Joe Burrow one of the best wide receiver combinations in football.
By the end of Sunday’s loss to Jacksonville, neither was on the field.
Chase left in the second quarter with a concussion and remains in the NFL’s concussion protocol, while Higgins suffered an adductor injury late in the fourth quarter after catching 11 passes for 157 yards. Head coach Zac Taylor has described both receivers as day-to-day as Cincinnati prepares for Sunday’s trip to Miami.
There is still plenty of time for either player to return, and Wednesday’s first injury report should provide a better indication of where things stand. But for a Bengals team sitting at 2-2, the possibility of playing without one or both of its top receivers makes the depth behind them considerably more important.
Fortunately for Cincinnati, Sunday provided at least some reason for confidence.
With Chase already out and Higgins unable to finish the game, Dohnte Meyers and Mitch Tinsley were the last two healthy wide receivers available during Cincinnati’s final possession. Rather than disappearing from the offense, both made huge plays as Burrow drove the Bengals from their own 17-yard line to the Jacksonville 12 in less than a minute.
Tinsley hauled in a 29-yard reception on the drive, while Meyers added a 15-yard catch. Cincinnati ultimately failed to score, but the production from two receivers who entered the season buried on the depth chart was one of the few encouraging developments to come from the loss.
Their opportunity has arrived much earlier than anyone anticipated.
Andrei Iosivas is already on injured reserve with a thumb injury, while rookie Colbie Young missed the Jacksonville game because of a knee injury. Tinsley was not even on Cincinnati’s active roster two weeks ago. The Bengals brought him back from Houston’s practice squad after their receiver room began thinning out.
Meyers, meanwhile, is in his first NFL season after establishing himself in the Canadian Football League. He finished Sunday with seven catches for 82 yards, easily his most productive game since joining Cincinnati.
Neither player is Chase or Higgins, nor should anyone expect them to be. Chase changes how defenses line up before the ball is snapped, while Higgins has repeatedly shown he can become Cincinnati’s primary receiver whenever Chase is unavailable.
The job for Meyers and Tinsley is not to replace that production individually. It is to keep the offense functional if Burrow has to play without some of his best weapons.
There could be opportunities against Miami. The Dolphins enter Sunday 0-4 and have allowed 25.3 points and 335.5 yards per game through the first four weeks. Cincinnati should not need its offense to be perfect to leave South Florida with a win.
But after falling to 2-2, the Bengals cannot afford to treat Miami like a game they can simply survive.
Chase and Higgins remain the biggest questions as the practice week begins. If either can play Sunday, Cincinnati’s offense immediately looks much more familiar.
If neither can, the Bengals are about to find out just how deep their supposedly deep receiver room actually goes.
