Bills Must Choose vs. Bengals: Ja'Marr Chase or Tee Higgins?
When it comes to watching the Cincinnati Bengals, the team's top offensive weapons tend to jump right off the screen, oftentimes quite literally.
It's no secret who the Buffalo Bills (12-3) will have to put their defensive focus on when they visit the Bengals (11-4) at Paycor Stadium Monday night. But when it comes to two all-world receivers like Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, trying to defend against them and stopping them are obviously two completely different things.
Higgins and Chase have built a reputation as not only two of the league's best young receivers, but two of its best overall. Despite both guys missing time with injuries this season, Higgins is 11th in receiving yards (1,022) while Chase is 18th (960). Chase is also in a six-way tie for the third-most receiving scores (eight) while Higgins has seven touchdowns of his own.
It clearly helps that the duo has a MVP candidate like quarterback Joe Burrow throwing to them, as he is currently second in the league in passing yards (4,260). But each side has the other to thank for such impressive production.
For the Bills, stopping both of them is virtually impossible. Buffalo may have to follow the old cliche of "let him get his" while attempting to shut everything else down.
Limiting either Higgins or Chase will almost certainly result in the other having a huge game. This means the Bills will be left with a not-so-fun choice of who should receive less attention in the secondary or in double-teams down the field.
At least there's positives in knowing that other teams haven't statistically let both receivers have a field day against them in the same game. Through nearly two full seasons together, Chase and Higgins have both had at least 100 receiving yards in a game just once (including playoffs), and it happened to come on a day where Burrow threw for the third-most passing yards in a single game (525) in league history. While having both receivers reach 100 yards on their own is no easy feat, it's possible in a pass-happy Cincinnati offense.
Having one of the elite receivers finish with a big game is looking like it'll be the trend again on Monday considering the lack of success Bengals running back Joe Mixon has had in recent weeks on the ground. Since his incredible five-touchdown game against the Carolina Panthers on Nov. 6, Mixon has failed to reach the end zone or top 100 rushing yards in a game.
If the Bills hold both Chase and Higgins to below the century mark and out of the end zone, they likely win the game. But considering the Bengals have all their offensive weapons clicking in a game that will swing the tide of who could get a first-round bye, it's an easy bet that Cincinnati's elite offense will come out with a fiery intent.
The Bills and Bengals kickoff on Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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