The most significant injury the Cincinnati Bengals suffered right before the playoff showdown with the Baltimore Ravens was the loss of right guard Alex Cappa.
But a quieter, just as important injury might be lurking under the surface.
Onlookers all saw receiver Tee Higgins take a massive hit while fully extended trying to catch a pass that left him down on the field and caused him to miss at least a few plays.
Appearing on 700 WLW with Lance McAlister, Bengals radio analyst Dave Lapham said that Higgins suffered a hip pointer that could cause him a tough week leading up to the game:
Lap on Tee:
He suffered a hip pointer.
It's not a hip pointer on the outside…it's just above the groin area. Those are very painful. It's going to be interesting to see how debilitating it is as he goes through practice this week. #BengalsLine
LISTEN https://t.co/dNBZrsyCrN— LanceMcAlister (@LanceMcAlister) January 9, 2023
The knee-jerk reaction might be to point out that Higgins returned to the game. But it’s also worth pointing out that adrenaline likely fueled some of that (just as it probably did Cappa celebrating in the locker room on a scooter) and the days leading up to the game could be more problematic for Higgins.
Losing Higgins would be a massive problem for the offense against one of the best defenses they’ve seen all year. He and Joe Burrow just missed on a few game-changing plays in Week 18, too.
If nothing else, Higgins will likely show up on the injury report all week and it’s something to closely monitor.
