The Cincinnati Bengals are likely going to be missing star wide receiver Tee Higgins for at least this week’s Thanksgiving matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, if not longer. Andrei Iosivas has played better over the last few weeks, but hasn’t shown nearly enough to be relied upon as the second receiver for this offense, as you can see from his PFSN receiver impact score of 61.3.
Iosivas has a CROE of -10.6% and a yards after catch over expected of -0.71. However, there is a receiver who has shown he can make plays when given the opportunity, and his name is Mitch Tinsley.
Will the Cincinnati Bengals Give Mitch Tinsley More Snaps?
Before the season started, not many knew the name of Mitch Tinsley. However, after a strong training camp and preseason, the hype around him began to rise. The talk about him really exploded in Week 2 when he came in and caught a beautiful one-handed touchdown pass from Jake Browning against the Jacksonville Jaguars, on his only target.
After that game, Tinsley only saw five targets over the next eight games. He caught two of those targets for 36 yards, but failed to see any significant playing time. However, this week, he saw a considerable uptick in playing time because Ja’Marr Chase was out of the game due to a one-game suspension for spitting on Jalen Ramsey last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Tisnley didn’t make a significant impact in the early part of Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots. However, in the fourth quarter, he made two huge plays to keep the Bengals in the game and give them a chance to win it. The first play was a 17-yard touchdown pass from Flacco with 4:40 remaining in the game to bring them within three. He dusted one of the best cornerbacks in the league, Christian Gonzalez, off the line and caught the touchdown.
Then, on the final drive of the game, Tinsley caught a fourth-and-eight pass from Flacco to give the Bengals the first down and was also able to get out of bounds to stop the clock. It wasn’t the flashiest or most jaw-dropping play, but it was a play you need your number three receiver to be able to make consistently, and Iosivas has failed to make big plays in those situations this year consistently.
Ja’Marr Chase will be back this week against the Ravens, but Higgins will miss the game. This will be the ideal opportunity to get Tinsley in the game and see what he can really do. The Bengals have been reluctant to do that so far this year, but they may not have a choice this week. Can Tinsley make the most of the opportunities? We will all have to wait and see for ourselves.
