Ja'Marr Chase, the NFL's best player, isn't here. And Bengals wide receivers coach Troy Walters is telling you they won't cancel the game scheduled with new head coach Mike Vrabel's streaking Patriots Sunday (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's Local 12) at Paycor Stadium.
He knows because the same day the Bengals were upsetting the 9-0 Chiefs in 2003 at Paycor, he was coming off the bench in Indy with future Pro Football Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison sidelined. Walters, one of Peyton Manning's backup receivers, caught his longest ball of the day for a 46-yard touchdown to go with four catches for 88 yards, and the Colts needed it all to beat the Jets, 38-31.
"The show goes on," Walters says.
Four years later in Detroit, with future Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson out of the lineup, Walters came off the bench and old friend Jon Kitna found him for a go-ahead 15-yard touchdown pass with ten minutes left in the game in the Lions' 37-27 fourth-quarter win over the Bears.
"I told them Monday," Walter says of his room, "this is the opportunity for them."
With the future Hall of Famer Chase sidelined and another nine-win team coming into Paycor Sunday, Walters knows he's got everyone's 1A.
Tee Higgins.
Just like that day in Indy, Manning had 1A Reggie Wayne for 141 yards and tight end Dallas Clark for 100. But they needed Walters to win.
Who is going to be Walters on Sunday?
No. 3 receiver Andrei Iosivas, who becomes No. 2? If he comes off injured reserve after not playing for a month, tight end Mike Gesicki, who is also a No. 2? No. 4 receiver Mitchell Tinsley, who has his one touchdown catch this year not from Joe Burrow or Joe Flacco but Jake Browning?
What about running back Chase Brown? When the Bengals beat the Steelers three years ago without Chase in Pittsburgh, Higgins was monstrous with 148 yards, but it's known as the Samaje Perine Game. Perine, out this week with an ankle injury, had three touchdown catches.
"We don't have 1 over there on the other side. It will be tough," Higgins says. "But we've done it before. We'll be all right."
The Bengals are 3-2 without Chase. They began their ten-game winning streak without him in 2022, winning three straight before he came back and that included a win in Tennessee against the Mike Vrabel Titans. Overall, they average 25 points per game without him.
The last time they were without him, a late 2023 loss in Pittsburgh, they also didn't have Burrow in a game Iosivas and Chase Brown didn't have the roles they have now, and Tinsley and Gesicki weren't with the club.
"I'm always the guy that goes where Ja'Marr is not," says Iosivas, mainly a slot guy who gets outside some. "Ja'Marr goes in the slot. Tee goes in the slot sometimes, too. That's something about our receiver room. We have guys who play everywhere, and it gives our offense flexibility."
Iosivas hasn't had the smoothest of seasons with some drops over the middle, but Walters says he can only think of two, maybe three, easy drops, and the others have been diving or contested. He points to last Sunday in Pittsburgh and his diving catch to convert the first third down, and each day in practice when Iosivas always seems to be the last guy off the field catching extra balls.
"He's just as confident outside as he is in the slot," Walters says.
Iosivas has longed to prove he's a consistent speed threat on the outside, and he'll no doubt get some shots Sunday.
"I'm always trying to show these guys I can do more," Iosivas says. "I've had a chip on my shoulder since I was drafted."
It all gets back to the known, right?
In the three Chase-less wins, Higgins led the way with 148, 114, and 60 yards. While Chase dismantles the record book on Sundays, the 6-4 Higgins quietly sends defensive coordinators bonkers on Tuesday nights.
"I think he kind of gets overlooked here as far as the media and other people," Tinsley says. "I feel like if he was (anywhere) else it would be clear night and day he's a No. 1 receiver."
If Chase is the Mercedes, then Higgins is the Porsche. In fact, Higgins, whose love of cars has been instilled in him by his dad, has both. The Porsche is his favorite. But he's always looking.
"Not enough," Higgins says, when asked how many cars he exactly has.
"Funny story," he says. "When I was in little league, it was hot, and in the middle of a game, I literally walked into the stands and sat by my Auntie, and she bought me Hot Wheels cars. She told me if I go out there and score a touchdown, we'll go to Walmart after the game and get a Hot Wheels car. I went out and scored twice and I got me two Hot Wheels cars.
"I don't know what kind. All I remember is it was purple."
He was talking cars because Flacco was talking cars earlier in the week, and how Higgins always seems to have a sleek, loud thing in a players' parking lot that is quite a contrast to his Ford Expedition.
"I've had one of those," Higgins says.
Flacco and Higgins have more in common than vehicles. They've had about five practices together, and they've connected for five touchdowns. Flacco knew Higgins was a great receiver, of course, but he saw a lot more up close.
"You just assume he could probably go up for the ball and run down the sideline and do those kinds of things. But I think just throwing slants to him and just, little things," Flacco says. "I don't know what he ran in his 40 (4.5), but when he gets the ball in his hand, and the speed that he's able to keep throughout his routes, and when the ball is in the air, through the catch point, he looks like he's just moving. He's got that speed to him. I've thrown a couple of crossing routes to him in practice that I'm just like, whoa. How fast was he going right there?
"I keep saying it, but his ability to attack the ball while it's in the air. It's a very subtle thing, and sometimes you don't even know that's what he's doing. But he has a very good ability to go attack the ball in the air and make it look like maybe even a little better throw than it was."
Something has to give Sunday. Higgins comes in with nine straight touchdowns in home games, a Hall of Fame streak tying him with Jerry Rice, Tommy McDonald, and Raymond Berry. He scores Sunday and he's got the record with Cris Carter and Bullet Bob Hayes.
"It's been pretty cool if you ask me. Hopefully, I keep it going," Higgins says. "I saw the stuff on the internet and whatnot."
The Patriots come in with the second-longest streak in history of eight straight games scoring 23 points and not allowing 23 points, and boast one of the league's top pass defenders in the 6-1 Christian Gonzales.
"The guy's good. Good feet. Technically sound," Higgins says. "He's one of the top corners in the league for a reason."
Chase or no Chase, this is Higgins' time of year. Seven of his 15 games of 100 yards or more have come in November. Six of them have come in December. Apparently, the kid who didn't like the heat but loved Hot Wheels doesn't mind it brisk. Even though when he walked on the Thursday practice field in 50-degree weather, he shivered.
"I don't know why," Higgins says of his big freeze-dried games. "I just go out and try to dominate. That's my mentality."
It doesn't matter what he's driving.
"They're not going to cancel the game," Walters says.
