Pros
- The Bengals may lean on the pass less this week (and call more rushes) given that they be rolling out backup quarterback Jake Browning.
- Accounting for their underlying traits and matchup dynamics, the leading projections forecast the Bengals to pass on 60.8% of their chances: the 6th-highest clip on the slate this week.
- The leading projections forecast Tee Higgins to accumulate 8.6 targets this week, on balance, placing him in the 91st percentile among wideouts.
- While Tee Higgins has been responsible for 18.9% of his team’s targets in games he has played this year, our trusted projections expect him to be a more integral piece of Cincinnati’s passing attack in this contest at 25.5%.
- After accumulating 71.0 air yards per game last year, Tee Higgins has produced significantly more this year, now sitting at 82.0 per game.
Cons
- The Bengals are a 3-point favorite in this week’s game, indicating a rushing game script.
- At the moment, the 4th-slowest paced offense in the NFL (adjusted for context) according to the predictive model is the Bengals.
- Opposing offenses teams have been wary to pass too much against the Pittsburgh Steelers, averaging the 9th-fewest attempts in football (a measly 34.1 per game) this year.
- Tee Higgins’s 56.0 adjusted receiving yards per game this year indicates a noteworthy reduction in his pass-catching prowess over last year’s 74.0 rate.
- Tee Higgins’s 57.2% Adjusted Completion Rate this season conveys a noteworthy decline in his pass-catching ability over last season’s 71.6% mark.
Projection
THE BLITZ
70
Receiving Yards