As if to underscore the Bengals' Abominable Snowman Offense, wide receiver Tee Higgins had on a winter hat complete with ear flaps when he met the media after Friday's practice.
Higgins has been cleared to play Sunday (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's FOX 19) in Buffalo after missing the Thanksgiving night win in Baltimore with a concussion. The Buffalo News forecast for Sunday calls for a high of 31 degrees, a wind of 11 miles per hour, and snow showers, which fits in nicely with Higgins and his band of Ice Station Bengals.
Quarterback Joe Burrow, according to Next Gen Stats, in games played in and after December including the postseason, has the highest completion percentage (71.1), most yards per game (296), and the best passer rating (105.4) across the 55 years of the merger.
Since 1970, Joe Lee Burrow and Santa have been December locks.
And Higgins (remember, he could have been the Super Bowl MVP) has eight of his 100-yarders in 17 such games. Five of his top seven career games have been in December. For a guy who grew up in Tennessee and stayed south to play at Clemson, no problem for Higgins and his game seven-Bill-Russell-rebound catches.
"I just try to put my best foot forward. Get a win. That's what I do each and every week," Higgins said. "It just so happens to be that way. Hopefully, keep it going. Just do my best to help the team get a win, whether I get 100 or 30 yards."
The numbers say he should do closer to 100. The Burrow Bengals have won all three of their sub-freezing games, and Higgins had 128 yards on eight catches in the 21 degrees of Foxboro in the 2022 Christmas Eve win over the Patriots, and a few weeks before that had 148 yards on nine catches during a 27-degree win in Pittsburgh.
Last year in Pittsburgh amid 19 degrees, Burrow hit an astounding 37 of 46 passes for 277 yards in the 19-17 win. In those three freezing games, he has fired eight touchdowns and five interceptions for a passer rating of 98.6 and a completion percentage of 73.7.
Higgins watched Burrow come back from his 74-day absence in style last week and can't wait to re-join Burrow for the first game in three months with Burrow, Higgins, and running mate Ja'Marr Chase.
"I watched the game, and it looks like fun," Higgins said. "It looked like everything was clicking, playing complementary football. The defense was getting turnovers, the offense was scoring off those."
He especially enjoyed the guys feasting on the NBC turkey after it was over, particularly defensive end Joseph Ossai struggling to eat while being interviewed.
"The interviews after. Ossai had me laughing so hard," Higgins said. "A lot of joy. Just seeing it was great."
Coaching Connections
You don't need to be Pro Football Focus to know the key to the game is the Bengals stopping the Bills' No. 1 rush offense. Especially since reigning MVP Josh Allen already has ten interceptions after having six all last year.
Tackle B.J. Hill, captain of the Bengals' next-to-last ranked run defense, calls Bills running back James Cook one of the best in the league. The 5-11, 190-pound Cook is second in the league with more than 1,200 yards on a 5.3 yard-per-clip.
"Reminds me of his brother," said Hill of Dalvin Cook. "Very strong, makes you miss. They run it with him and the quarterback, and we've got to make sure (Allen) doesn't get out. He'll get out sometimes, but we have to rush together."
The Bills are getting a lot of ink for running their duo play so many times last week against the Steelers on the way to 249 yards on the ground, but the Bengals say that's pretty common to run the same run play when a team has a two-score lead fairly early, like the Bills did halfway through the third quarter.
Hill says the way to stop that duo play, double-team blocks executed without pulling an offensive lineman, is to simply be physical and stand ground. The Bengals say they need to be particularly stout on the edge and on the perimeter in the secondary, as well as looking to the linebackers to take the proper angles because duo runs can pop in multiple places throughout the defense.
The Bengals defense has improved on the ground the last three games in a string of slugfests with the Steelers, Patriots, and Ravens. They didn't let any of those games get away on the ground, holding them to an average of 114 yards per game and 4.2 per rush, much better than early in the year.
"We're doing the little things better," Hill said. "You keep paying attention to detail, you're going to be OK."
Bills defensive coordinator Bobby Babich goes way back with Burrow. Babich played cornerback for Jimmy Burrow at North Dakota State at the turn of the century, where Joe's dad was the defensive coordinator.
Babich's Bills have allowed fewer than 175 pass yards in each of their last four games (five of the last six) for the second-longest active streak in the league. The son should provide one of their biggest tests. In addition to facing Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield in that six-game stretch, the Bill have also faced Aaron Rodgers, Mason Rudolph, Davis Mills, Andy Dalton, and Tua.
Slants and Screens
A combined 158 career sacks won't be on the field Sunday. The Bengals' Trey Hendrickson (hip/pelvis) is out of his fifth straight game. The Bills' Joey Bosa is out after hurting his hamstring last week in Pittsburgh …
With the injuries to Hendrickson and cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt, Hill is the only defensive starter from their last trip to Buffalo, the 27-10 AFC Divisional win over the Bills where they held Allen to 25 of 42 passing for a 68 passer rating.
Other starters who came off the bench in that game are edge Joseph Ossai, cornerback Dax Hill, and nickel Jalen Davis. Edge Cam Sample is also coming off the bench again …
Offensively for the Bills, Allen is back, as is left tackle Dion Dawkins, tight end Dawson Knox and wide receiver Gabe Davis. Wide receiver Joshua Palmer is doubtful …
