There are days when Ja’Marr Chase doesn’t need a huge stat line to leave his fingerprints all over a game. Week 7 was one of them.
The Bengals’ star receiver still finished with five catches for 62 yards and a touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens, which is nothing to shrug at. But the real damage came in the space Chase created for everyone else - especially Tee Higgins.
Higgins has been rolling early in the 2026 season, and his numbers through six games tell the story: 33 receptions, 571 yards and two touchdowns. He’s topped 90 receiving yards in four of those six games and has looked nearly impossible to slow down.
That kind of production can make it sound like Higgins is simply breaking out, but that undersells what’s happening. Higgins has never looked like an ordinary No. 2 receiver.
On plenty of teams, he’d be the top option. In Cincinnati, he’s thriving because Chase keeps bending defenses out of shape.
The Ravens had plenty of reason to be locked in on Chase. Baltimore knows how quickly he can tilt a game, and it has paid for it before.
He has gone over 100 yards in his last four games against the Ravens, including a ridiculous 17-catch, 264-yard outing two years ago. So when the teams met again in Week 7, Baltimore clearly built its plan around not letting Chase take over.
That’s where the Bengals pounced.
Joe Burrow and Higgins were everywhere in the second half of that comeback, and Benjamin Solak pointed out how much of it traced back to the attention Chase drew from multiple defenders.
Joe Burrow and Tee Higgins went off in the second half against the Ravens...but it was all about the gravity of Ja'Marr Chase pic.twitter.com/cyLzfLf6yu
- Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) October 26, 2026
Baltimore did a solid job containing Chase relative to what he’s done to them in the past. Even so, the price of that focus was steep. Higgins shredded the Ravens for six catches, 148 yards and a touchdown.
That’s the part of Chase’s value that doesn’t always show up cleanly in the box score. Defenses spend so much energy trying to smother him that the rest of Cincinnati’s passing game gets room to breathe.
Burrow’s favorite deep shot is the go-ball to either Chase or Higgins, giving one of them a chance to win outside. But when Chase is drawing double teams, those chances become less frequent for the Bengals - and more dangerous for the defense when they do pop up for Higgins in single coverage.
There’s also a broader trend at work. More teams are trying this season to put their CB2 on the opponent’s WR1 and use a safety or linebacker to help bracket him, while letting the CB1 attack the WR2.
That setup works well against plenty of offenses. It’s a different problem when the offense has two legitimate No. 1 receivers.
And Higgins wasn’t the only Bengal cashing in on the space Chase helped create. Drew Sample and Erick All Jr picked up easy completions underneath that kept the offense moving, while Dohnte Meyers, Mitchell Tinsley and Chase Brown also saw more touches. Chase may be the headline act, but right now he’s also the force making the whole Cincinnati operation hum.
In Other News...
Bengals Trade Deadline Debate Just Got Much Bigger Than Running Back
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For a team that has tended to lean draft-heavy in building its roster, the more practical fix may be elsewhere on the roster. The Bengals could use help in several spots, and the argument is growing that reinforcements on defense or up front might do more for the stretch run than chasing a high-profile runner. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Trade Buzz Is Zeroing In On A Much More Realistic RB Move
The Bengals search for backfield help has started to sound a lot more practical as the NFL trade deadline approaches, and the name drawing the most attention is a veteran runner who could give Cincinnati immediate stability. The idea is less about chasing a splashy headline and more about finding a proven piece who can slide into the rotation with Chase Brown and help balance an offense that could use another reliable option on the ground.
What makes this possibility appealing is the combination of production and price. Compared with the bigger-name backs who tend to dominate deadline chatter, this is the kind of move that fits a team looking for help without overcommitting long term, especially with an expiring deal in play. Nothing is confirmed yet, but the buzz is clearly pointing toward a more realistic type of upgrade if Cincinnati decides to act. [Read more 🡒]
Jessie Bates Just Reopened A Painful Bengals What-If
Jessie Bates departure from Cincinnati in 2023 still lingers as one of those roster decisions that never really goes away. The Bengals chose not to offer him a multi-year contract, instead using their salary cap space elsewhere, and Bates has handled the business side of it with the same calm he showed on the field. Even so, his exit left a hole at safety that Cincinnati has spent the last couple of seasons trying to patch.
Bryan Cook was brought in to help stabilize that spot, but the larger issue remains the same: the Bengals have not found a clean replacement for what Bates brought. And while the move made sense in the moment from a cap-management standpoint, it has only sharpened the sense that this was one of those franchise crossroads that can be revisited for years. [Read more 🡒]