As expected, star WR Tee Higgins will be back week 13 for the Cincinnati Bengals. Higgins missed the last 3 weeks after he injured his hamstring in practice. The Bengals refused to add Higgins to the IR making his return this week all but inevitable.

Unfourtunalely for Higgins and the Bengals, star QB Joe Burrow will not be back this year. Higgins has not caught passes in a game from Jake Browning yet, so that is a new dynamic to look out for. Browning has predictably been bad for the Bengals offense and the pass catchers. The overall passing volume has been down since Browning entered the lineup, and the targets have been spread throughout the team.

Having Higgins back is going to help the offense, but Jake Browning being the QB will hurt more than Higgins will help against a good Jacksonville Jaguars defense. Higgins was starting to heat up with Burrow in his last game 3 weeks ago, but with Browning in, there is no optimism he will be able to support several pass catchers. Ja’Marr Chase is still the alpha, and with less overall pass volume, it’s best not to trust Higgins in his first game back.