Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) talks with wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) after a play as the punting team takes the field in the second quarter of the NFL Week 11 game between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. The Chargers led 24-6 at halftime. Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Tee Higgins Sums Up Bengals Issues This Season: 'Finish The F*****g Game'

Originally posted on Cincinnati Bengals on SI
By Russell Heltman | Last updated Nov 18, 2024 6:51 AM ET

The Bengals season is close to over before December as the team failed to "finish" another winnable game on Sunday night. Tee Higgins had a monster outing against Los Angelese in his return from injury (nine catches, 148 yards, one TD).

Yet, Cincinnati sits in the AFC's 10th seed as of this writing following the 34-27 loss.

"I don't think we need to change nothing," Higgins said about the team. "We playing hella good football. If you look at the stats, both sides of the ball, like today, We played hella good football. I don't know what it is, man, we just got to finish. That's the word. That is the word for the week, finish the f*****g game. So as long as we do that, we'll be alright. I'm gonna look past this one. Obviously, it's a tough loss. Hats off to those guys over there. Ain't gonna discredit them. They played a hell of a game. We just got to go back, figure it out, and come back next week, two weeks, and finish."

It's a good thought and the right message, but completely false. Cincinnati needs to start, maintain, and finish, failing to pull that off again on Sunday night as L.A. blitzed to a 24-6 halftime lead. The defense has been horrific this season. Both sides of the ball are not carrying equal weight.

Good teams win close games and bad teams lose them.

Cincinnati is 1-6 in one-score games this season. That's a bad football team, which now needs help to crack the playoffs, while likely having to win every game the rest of the season to make it.

"Take it week by week, you know, rest up this next week," Higgins said about what's next for the team in likely his final few months as Bengal. "Figure out what we need to do next, and come back December 1, and try to start there 1-0."