The Cincinnati Bengals and Chicago Bears put on an absolute show in Week 9. The Bengals seemed down and out after a backbreaking red zone interception by Joe Flacco. However, the Bengals’ defense stepped up, made a stop, and gave the offense a chance. They scored a touchdown and recovered the onside kick. They went right back to Tee Higgins, who has been having a great day, but came up with an injury after a huge kick.
What Happened to Tee Higgins?
Higgins made a huge catch to get the Bengals into scoring position for the lead. He came down hard and stayed down.
Higgins was dominant and terrorized the Bears’ defense. It’s hard to imagine that he will return with so little time left in the game.
Tee Higgins have a day. What a catch to move the Bengals downfield.
CHIvsCIN on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/eYg6jjWww2
— NFL (@NFL) November 2, 2025
After a miraculous comeback and a monstrous offensive performance from Joe Flacco, Higgins, and Ja’Marr Chase, the Bengals’ offense had to come back on the field after their defense surrendered a 58-yard touchdown with 17 seconds on the clock.
Higgins was immense with seven catches, 121 yards, and two touchdowns. Flacco threw for 470 yards and four touchdowns. It doesn’t look like age is having any effect on how well Flacco can sling the pigskin. Chase was up to his usual behavior with another game over 100 receiving yards for himself. Somehow, it wasn’t enough.
MORE: 7-Round 2026 NFL Mock Draft
The defense allowed 576 yards as the Bears’ offense just steamrolled any efforts at stopping them. Even after giving up 500+ yards of offense to the New York Jets, nothing changed for the Cincinnati defense. In fact, it was worse. Once again, they had a chance to come up with the big stop despite struggling for most of the game. And they couldn’t do it.
The missed tackle by Jordan Battle will come to haunt the Bengals when they look back at this game. Battle led the team with 12 tackles, but it will all be for nothing as the one he had to make got away, and Loveland rumbled into the end zone to avoid the late collapse.
The Bengals must take a hard look at their defense following the past two weeks. On the bright side, the offense has looked the part under Flacco, though. They will be hoping that Higgins’ injury is minor and that he will be back next week. Higgins is the 45th-ranked wide receiver in the league based on PFSN’s WR Impact metric with an impact score of 75.4. He is one of the best second-option receivers in the league, and today was a prime example of his talent.
The Bengals’ season is likely over as they fall to 3-6. Despite their efforts, the loss is going to sting, and barring a miraculous turnaround, they will be spending the playoffs on their couches once again.