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There’s a moment every season where you can feel the temperature shift — not in the weather, but in the team.
A moment where a locker room gets a little louder, helmets pop a little harder, and a group that’s been grinding for months suddenly has its spark back.
For the Bengals, this week felt like that moment. With standout performances, Tee Higgins played a crucial role in turning the tide.
Tee Higgins walked back onto the practice field with the stride of someone who knew he was cleared, healthy, and absolutely playing. After a concussion scare that had him sidelined and a bit subdued last week, Higgins returned with a full workload and all the body language you want to see. Jokes in the locker room. Confident cuts. No hesitation.
Cincinnati will take that — and need it.
Because the Bengals aren’t walking into Buffalo with a full deck. They’re walking in with the offense finally intact and the defense still taped together. And that sets up one of the more intriguing matchups the Bengals have faced this season.
Tee Higgins return changes a lot — the geometry, the matchups, the tone
Let’s start with the obvious: when Tee Higgins is out, the Bengals’ offense loses more than just a big receiver. They lose spacing. They lose the threat on the backside. They lose a guy who can go win in traffic on third down when the play design breaks and Burrow just needs an adult in the room.
You could feel that absence the last few weeks.
With Tee Higgins back, the playbook stretches. The deep middle opens. Ja’Marr Chase stops drawing two-and-a-half defenders on every snap. And Joe Burrow gets the freedom to play quarterback rather than magician.
This is especially true against Buffalo, a team that has historically done well when they can crowd the intermediate field and shrink throwing windows. Against the Bengals, that only works if Tee Higgins is standing on the sideline with a hat on.
He’s not this week.
He’s in. Full speed. And in a game that will almost certainly require Cincinnati to throw early and often, Tee Higgins’ return is the best news the Bengals could get.
The other side of the story: Hendrickson is still out — again
For all the optimism on offense, the defensive side comes with a reality check.
Trey Hendrickson is out. Not limited. Not questionable. Out.
The hip/pelvis injury that’s nagged him since Week 8 still isn’t ready, and the Bengals lose their emotional anchor on defense — the guy who closes games, who forces the quarterback into bad decisions, who changes down-and-distance with a single snap.
Like with Tee Higgins, you don’t replace Hendrickson’s presence. You survive it.
And in fairness, the Bengals have survived it better than expected.
Joseph Ossai has settled into the role with a calmness and consistency that didn’t exist earlier in his career. He’s played more controlled, he’s picking his spots, and he’s no longer the guy flying past the quarterback by three yards. He’s not Hendrickson, but he’s given Cincinnati enough to stay afloat.
Still — this defense without their alpha edge rusher is a different unit. Buffalo knows that.
But here’s the twist:
They’re hurting even worse.
Bills defense injuries report reads like a warning siren
It didn’t get as much attention nationally, but the Bills are entering this game without two of the most important defensive players on their roster.
Joey Bosa — out.
Hamstring and wrist. Their premier pass rusher. The guy they traded for to disrupt games like this.
Terrel Bernard — out.
Their leading tackler. Their defensive signal-caller. The linebacker who cleans everything up in the middle.
A.J. Epenesa — banged up.
“Limited” all week with a foot issue.
Suddenly, the Bills aren’t just a little thin up front — they’re missing the exact type of players who historically give Burrow problems.
No Bosa or Bernard, and possibly no Epenesa or a limited version of him.
A shaky offensive line of their own.
A tight end room with Dalton Kincaid nursing hamstring and knee issues.
This isn’t a scenario where one team is limping in and the other is loaded.
This is two teams walking toward the same December fight, but only one of them gets its second-best offensive player back.
The matchup this creates: Bengals offense vs. Bills defense becomes the whole story
When you run all the variables out to the edge, the picture looks like this:
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Cincinnati gets Higgins back to pair with Chase and Burton.
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Burrow looks as sharp as he’s looked since his return.
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The run game — while streaky — is healthy.
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Buffalo’s best pass rusher is out.
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Their defensive quarterback is out.
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Their pass-rush rotation is thinned out.
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Their secondary has been inconsistent all year.
If you’re the Bengals, this is screaming at you:
Throw the ball. Throw early. Throw downfield. Throw until they stop you — and they probably can’t.
This isn’t a game to manage. This is a game to take.
The Bengals defense? They just need to hold serve
The truth is simple: Cincinnati doesn’t need to pitch a masterpiece. They just need to survive the waves, hold Buffalo to field goals when possible, and give Burrow enough possessions to let the offense dictate the terms.
Yes, Hendrickson being out is a hit — a big one. But Ossai has been serviceable. Cam Sample is healthy. The interior is still stout. And this isn’t a game where the Bengals need four sacks.
They need one or two key disruptions. One turnover. One moment where Josh Allen tries to make a superhero play and Ossai gets a hand on his arm.
The rest?
Let the offensive firepower do what it was built to do.
The bottom line on injuries
This game was always going to be about the quarterbacks. Tee Higgins returning just tilts it further in Cincinnati’s direction. Buffalo losing Bosa and Bernard tilts it further still.
The Bengals aren’t completely whole. But they’re whole in the places that matter most right now — the passing game, the speed positions, the areas where games like this are won.
If Tee Higgins gives Cincinnati even 85% of his usual production, the Bengals walk into Buffalo with more offensive weapons, a clearer identity, and a better path to victory than the injury report might suggest.
And if he gives them 100%? Buffalo is in trouble.
