The Cincinnati Bengals will face the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 9. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding WR Tee Higgins.
Is Tee Higgins Playing in Week 9?
Tee Higgins missed Week 8 with a quadricep injury and is unlikely to return in Week 9.
On Wednesday, head coach Zac Taylor labeled Higgins day to day. He was officially a DNP on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday; he’s almost certain to miss Sunday’s game against the Raiders
The Cincinnati Bengals’ WR2 was a late addition to the club’s injury report in Week 8, only popping up after injuring his quad at Friday’s practice. He was considered questionable for Sunday’s game against the Eagles but did not play.
Higgins missed the first two weeks of the 2024 season after suffering a hamstring injury during practice. The Bengals struggled without him, posting just 224 yards and 10 points in a Week 1 upset loss to the Patriots before losing a tight game to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2. Cincinnati scored only 17 points in their Week 9 loss to Philadelphia.
We’ll continue to monitor the Bengals’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Tee Higgins in Week 9?
A quad injury at Friday’s practice resulted in Higgins being a late add to the injury report and ultimately resulted in him sitting out against the Eagles. Week 8 was his third missed game of the season and eighth over the past two years, introducing more health risks than the star receiver had through his first three NFL seasons (four total missed games). As for what we saw before last week’s DNP:
Chase:
- 37 targets (two in the end zone)
- 29 catches (six on third downs)
- Two drops
Higgins:
- 45 targets (three in the end zone)
- 29 catches (nine on third downs)
- Zero drops
Why am I not hesitating to go back to Higgins this week in the least? In Weeks 1-8, Higgins was targeted on 37.3% of his routes when Joe Burrow wasn’t pressured, a rate that far exceeded Chase’s 22.3% rate. When you fold in blitz rate to pressure rate, the Raiders, despite having the monster that is Maxx Crosby, are as poor a defense as there is in the league.
I like the Bengals in this game. In their past four wins, Higgins has averaged 8.3 targets and 16.8 PPR points per game. I like his chances of getting there in this spot, and that’s why he has the potential to flirt with WR1 status as he trends toward kickoff.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 9 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Tee Higgins’ Fantasy Points Projection in Week 9
Higgins is projected to score 0 fantasy points.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insights: Las Vegas Raiders Defense
It has been a pretty poor season for the Raiders’ defense, outside of a couple of relatively promising results against the more middling offenses they have faced. This unit was completely pulled apart by the Carolina Panthers in Week 3, which should be fairly telling in itself.
The combination of being in the bottom 10 when it comes to getting pressure without blitzing, forcing turnovers, and red-zone defense is far from ideal. The rest of the numbers are not a disaster by any means, but those three are a part of the core elements that defenses need to do well in order to have success.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Tee Higgins’ Week 9 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 10:30 AM ET on Sunday, December 1. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Weekly Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 13 WR PPR Rankings
1) A.J. Brown | PHI (at BAL)
2) Justin Jefferson | MIN (vs. ARI)
3) Nico Collins | HOU (at JAX)
4) Ja'Marr Chase | CIN (vs. PIT)
5) Puka Nacua | LAR (at NO)
6) Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET (vs. CHI)
7) George Pickens | PIT (at CIN)
8) Mike Evans | TB (at CAR)
9) Tyreek Hill | MIA (at GB)
10) CeeDee Lamb | DAL (vs. NYG)
11) Terry McLaurin | WAS (vs. TEN)
12) Cooper Kupp | LAR (at NO)
13) Tee Higgins | CIN (vs. PIT)
14) Drake London | ATL (vs. LAC)
15) Malik Nabers | NYG (at DAL)
16) Courtland Sutton | DEN (vs. CLE)
17) DK Metcalf | SEA (at NYJ)
18) Khalil Shakir | BUF (vs. SF)
19) Calvin Ridley | TEN (at WAS)
20) Zay Flowers | BAL (vs. PHI)
21) Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA (at NYJ)
22) Ladd McConkey | LAC (at ATL)
23) Jayden Reed | GB (vs. MIA)
24) Jameson Williams | DET (vs. CHI)
25) Jauan Jennings | SF (at BUF)
26) Davante Adams | NYJ (vs. SEA)
27) Deebo Samuel Sr. | SF (at BUF)
28) Jaylen Waddle | MIA (at GB)
29) Garrett Wilson | NYJ (vs. SEA)
30) DeVonta Smith | PHI (at BAL)
31) Darnell Mooney | ATL (vs. LAC)
32) Amari Cooper | BUF (vs. SF)
33) Michael Pittman Jr. | IND (at NE)
34) Marvin Harrison Jr. | ARI (at MIN)
35) Tank Dell | HOU (at JAX)
36) DeAndre Hopkins | KC (vs. LV)
37) Jakobi Meyers | LV (at KC)
38) DJ Moore | CHI (at DET)
39) Xavier Worthy | KC (vs. LV)
40) Brian Thomas Jr. | JAX (vs. HOU)
41) Keenan Allen | CHI (at DET)
42) Jordan Addison | MIN (vs. ARI)
43) Quentin Johnston | LAC (at ATL)
44) Rome Odunze | CHI (at DET)
45) Jerry Jeudy | CLE (at DEN)
46) Wan'Dale Robinson | NYG (at DAL)
47) Elijah Moore | CLE (at DEN)
48) Christian Watson | GB (vs. MIA)
49) Noah Brown | WAS (vs. TEN)
50) Marquez Valdes-Scantling | BUF (vs. SF)
51) Xavier Legette | CAR (vs. TB)
52) DeMario Douglas | NE (vs. IND)
53) Nick Westbrook-Ikhine | TEN (at WAS)
54) Keon Coleman | BUF (vs. SF)
55) Adam Thielen | CAR (vs. TB)
56) Brandin Cooks | DAL (vs. NYG)
57) Ricky Pearsall | SF (at BUF)
58) Kayshon Boutte | NE (vs. IND)
59) Alec Pierce | IND (at NE)
60) Devaughn Vele | DEN (vs. CLE)
61) Ray-Ray McCloud III | ATL (vs. LAC)
62) Darius Slayton | NYG (at DAL)
63) Rashod Bateman | BAL (vs. PHI)
64) Jalen Tolbert | DAL (vs. NYG)
65) Mike Williams | PIT (at CIN)
66) Jalen McMillan | TB (at CAR)
67) Joshua Palmer | LAC (at ATL)
68) Tyler Lockett | SEA (at NYJ)
69) JuJu Smith-Schuster | KC (vs. LV)
70) Michael Wilson | ARI (at MIN)
71) Tre Tucker | LV (at KC)
72) Van Jefferson | PIT (at CIN)
73) Demarcus Robinson | LAR (at NO)
74) Parker Washington | JAX (vs. HOU)
75) Kendrick Bourne | NE (vs. IND)
76) Mack Hollins | BUF (vs. SF)
77) Adonai Mitchell | IND (at NE)
78) Tyler Boyd | TEN (at WAS)
79) Calvin Austin III | PIT (at CIN)
80) Dontayvion Wicks | GB (vs. MIA)
81) Justin Watson | KC (vs. LV)
82) Diontae Johnson | BAL (vs. PHI)
83) KaVontae Turpin | DAL (vs. NYG)
84) Marvin Mims Jr. | DEN (vs. CLE)
85) Lil'Jordan Humphrey | DEN (vs. CLE)
86) John Metchie III | HOU (at JAX)
87) Ja'Lynn Polk | NE (vs. IND)
88) Jalen Nailor | MIN (vs. ARI)
89) Troy Franklin | DEN (vs. CLE)
90) Odell Beckham Jr. | MIA (at GB)
91) Kalif Raymond | DET (vs. CHI)
92) Tim Patrick | DET (vs. CHI)
93) Jahan Dotson | PHI (at BAL)
94) Olamide Zaccheaus | WAS (vs. TEN)
95) Malik Washington | MIA (at GB)
96) Nelson Agholor | BAL (vs. PHI)
97) Bo Melton | GB (vs. MIA)
98) Tylan Wallace | BAL (vs. PHI)
99) Luke McCaffrey | WAS (vs. TEN)
100) Mecole Hardman Jr. | KC (vs. LV)
101) Tutu Atwell | LAR (at NO)
102) Jalen Brooks | DAL (vs. NYG)
103) Dyami Brown | WAS (vs. TEN)
104) Xavier Hutchinson | HOU (at JAX)
105) DJ Turner | LV (at KC)
106) Tyler Johnson | LAR (at NO)
107) Robert Woods | HOU (at JAX)
108) Jalen Reagor | LAC (at ATL)
109) Jake Bobo | SEA (at NYJ)
110) Jordan Whittington | LAR (at NO)
111) Greg Dortch | ARI (at MIN)
112) Jonathan Mingo | DAL (vs. NYG)
113) Sterling Shepard | TB (at CAR)
114) Parris Campbell | PHI (at BAL)
115) Trey Palmer | TB (at CAR)
116) DeAndre Carter | CHI (at DET)
117) Laviska Shenault Jr. | SEA (at NYJ)
Las Vegas Raiders at Cincinnati Bengals Insights
Las Vegas Raiders
Team: The NFL team average is 4.5 yards per carry—the Raiders failed to reach 3.5 in five of eight games last season (Week 8: 21 carries for 33 yards).
QB: Gardner Minshew’s average depth of throw over his past four appearances (ending with Sunday’s mark against the Chiefs): 8.3 – 7.7 – 6.2 – 4.6.
Offense: The Raiders either scored or went three-and-out on every drive on Sunday against the Chiefs.
Defense: Before Sunday, the Raiders hadn’t allowed more than five third-down conversions in a game this season (28.9% conversion rate). Amidst Kermit Gate, Patrick Mahomes picked up 12-of-16 (75%) opportunities.
Fantasy: What made Jakobi Meyers great on Sunday? A season-low 5.8% aDOT and 42.2% slot usage (under 23% in each of his two games before his injury).
Betting: The Raiders have covered five of their past seven road games, with three of those covers coming by more than six points.
Cincinnati Bengals
Team: The Bengals have three wins this season – against the Panthers, Giants, and Browns.
QB: Joe Burrow’s red zone completion percentage is down to 53.7% from 67.4% last season
Offense: The Bengals have averaged under 5.0 yards per play three times this season, two of which have come in the past two weeks.
Defense: Cincinnati blitzed 28.6% of the time on Sunday (their highest since Week 3), but created pressure on a season-low 13.6% of Philadelphia dropbacks.
Fantasy: With Tee Higgins sidelined, Mike Gesicki’s role reappeared. The tight end had twice as many targets on Sunday (eight) as he had in the month prior.
Betting: The Bengals are 0-4 ATS at home this season, failing to cover three of those games by double figures.