Bills 'The Team to Beat,' Says Bengals WR Tee Higgins

The Buffalo Bills have claim over the Cincinnati Bengals as being the AFC's best team ... at least for now.

The Cincinnati Bengals have every reason to be confident headed into Monday night's meeting with the Buffalo Bills at Paycor Stadium.

Winners of seven straight, the Bengals (11-4) are arguably the hottest squad in the league and once again look like the team that made a stellar run to the Super Bowl last season.

But according to Bengals receiver Tee Higgins, it's "obvious" that the current top-seeded Bills (12-3) are still one step ahead, at least until Cincinnati potentially comes away with a huge win.

"They're playing great football right now," Higgins said Thursday. "Obviously, they are the team to beat. They're No. 1 in the AFC. That statement is true."

Higgins is intent on giving his opponent its flowers. But for the Bills, when it comes to two all-world receivers like Ja'Marr Chase and 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.

For now - at least record-wise - the Bills are the team to beat since they control their own destiny to a first-round bye. But all it takes is one big win on Monday for the Bengals to make a significant stake in that claim.

The Bills and Bengals kickoff at 8:30 p.m. ET on Monday.

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You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7

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