'It's too good. It's hacking' — ESPN analyst boldly claims Bengals' offense has a luxury no other team possesses

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By John Sheeran | Last updated Jun 20, 2025 3:24 PM ET

The Cincinnati Bengals didn't extend the contracts of Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins just for the jersey sales. Having both wide receivers a part of the same offense is an advantage very few teams can relate to.

One could say it's unfair. Deeply unfair, even.

That's what ESPN's Ben Solak had to say when examining where Cincinnati's offense ranks in the NFL.

Solak ranked the Bengals' offensive attack ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs and defended his case on The Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny. His argument began exactly where it should have.

"One of the things I did for the exercise was just kind of go through and try to identify elite players, right? Who's got elite guys? And I look at Joe Burrow throwing to Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins and I go, man, like, it's too good. It's hacking. it's deeply unfair," Solak said. "They're the only team I've got that has an elite quarterback throwing to an elite wide receiver. And then I have Tee as like near-elite, very good. But to me, Tee's one of the 15 best receivers in football, and he's wide receiver two for this team."

Burrow-to-Chase is truly a one-of-a-kind dynamic Cincinnati has on offense. Burrow racked up MVP votes last year despite the Bengals missing the playoffs, and Chase won the triple crown as his top target.

There are other elite QBs in the company of Burrow. Chase has a case for being the best wideout in the game. Only Cincinnati has a player at both positions as good as they are. Elite players at the two most (financially) valuable spots is tough to beat.

Higgins is the X-factor in the offense because of how he can capitalize off the attention Chase receives, and his established connection with Burrow. Solak referenced last year's Week 17 thriller against the Denver Broncos as

"You see how valuable [Higgins] is in games like that Broncos game last year, where it's Pat Surtain against Ja'Marr Chase," Solak explained. "The Broncos' defense is predicated on the idea that because we have a Patrick Surtain, we can make you play left handed in a way that no other defense can, and the Bengals just kind of go 'lol' and throw the ball to Tee Higgins a bunch. So it's just not fair."

Higgins popped off that night with 11 receptions for 131 yards and a career-high three touchdowns, including the game-winner that kept Cincinnati in the playoff hunt.

Too good. Hacking. Deeply unfair. However you want to characterize the Bengals' 1-2 punch at receiver with a top-tier QB throwing them the ball, it's an edge Cincinnati intends to utilize for years to come.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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