CINCINNATI, Ohio - Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins literally saved his best performance for last against Kansas City on Sunday.
The Bengals were coming out of the final two-minute warning of the game. They were at the Chiefs’ 28-yard line facing a 3rd down and 11. Rather than playing safe and setting up a closer field goal for kicker Evan McPherson, Cincinnati decided to put the game away then and there.
Quarterback Joe Burrow was in a shotgun formation with Samaje Perine to his side. Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase was alone to the right with Higgins and Tyler Boyd together to Burrow’s left. Kansas City tried collapsing the pocket for Burrow, yet he somehow got the ball out of his hands.
Amazingly, Higgins caught the ball in double coverage past the first down marker. Checkmate. Game over.
But according to Bengals head coach Zac Taylor, that was a play that could have gone so many other ways.
“I changed the play call probably three times. And ultimately that’s as simple as a play as it gets,” Taylor said after the Bengals’ 27-24 victory. “For Tee (Higgins), I don’t know how Tee came down with it. The ball was caught way further inside than I’m used to thinking.”
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The complete execution of the play couldn’t have been more perfectly timed. Burrow had Chiefs defensive end Mike Danna in his place a split second before Burrow threw the ball. Higgins then grabbed the 14-yard pass right as cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Joshua Williams converged upon him, narrowing Higgins’ tight window.
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Burrow had just 2.70 seconds to throw with a target separation of just half a yard. Part of that killer play came from Burrow’s killer instinct to prevent Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes from performing any surprises on the Bengals’ defense.
“You know the quarterback they have over there. We can’t settle for a field goal there or else he goes down the field and wins the game. We had to find a way to get that conversion, and Tee Higgins made a big play, just like he did in the AFC Championship. It was the same route and an unbelievable catch,” Burrow said.
The play Burrow is referring to came on a critical 2nd down conversion in overtime of that game which moved the Bengals near field goal range, setting up McPherson’s game-winning kick. Although the window wasn’t as tight, Higgins made a similar leaping grab just past the 1st down market.
Sunday’s play call came to the surprise of Higgins in the huddle. He assumed that the Bengals would play it safe and settle for the points. Once Burrow told his troops otherwise, Higgins said he had the confidence they would set the play in perfect motion.
“Before Joe came in and called the play, me, TB (Tyler Boyd) and Chase were talking. Me and TB thought he was going to run the ball to kill some time and kick the field goal and pray that our defense would go out there and make big plays,” Higgins said on the play call.
“Then, we all three asked Joe at the same time, ‘Run or pass?’ He said, ‘Pass.’ We all looked at each other and said, ‘Let’s get it done.’ We were able to do that.”
Taylor has always emphasized the confidence and trust he has in Burrow and the offense. But even the fourth-year play caller felt slight nerves when he saw the pressure from the Chiefs’ defense.
“There’s a little stress and anxiety that comes from me sometimes, when you’re not sure exactly. But they’re on top of it. They got it,” Taylor said.
Cincinnati had one of their best performances on 3rd down this season. They went 7-for-11 in that category against the Chiefs. The last 3rd down conversion made all the difference as that was the Bengals’ first win this season decided by three points or fewer.
Higgins will be remembered for the way he controlled and corralled the play. But he said the focus should be on his quarterback who was calm, cool and collected in such a moment of high stakes.
“He doesn’t get frustrated. He stays poised in moments through hard moments. It’s just who he is as a quarterback. That’s all you want in a guy leading the team,” Higgins said.
- Mohammad Ahmad covers the Bengals for cleveland.com. You can follow him on Twitter @MohammadAhmadTV and read all his coverage at StrictlyStripes.com.
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