Bengals Could Lose Two Star WRs vs. Patriots

The Cincinnati Bengals could be without two star wide receivers against the New England Patriots.

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) runs in for a touchdown in the first quarter of the NFL Preseason Week 1 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024. / Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

The New England Patriots are set to face off against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1 NFL action.

For the Patriots, they're looking to open up a new era of football with a win. Jerod Mayo has taken over for Bill Belichick and the roster looks very different as well.

Ahead of Sunday afternoon's game, New England might end up catching a couple of breaks.

Zac Taylor, the Bengals' head coach, provided two very murky updates about star wide receivers Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase.

Zac Taylor says Higgins had little hamstring “tweak” yesterday. As far as him playing Sunday: “We’ll see.”

As for Chase playing: “We’ll see.”

— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) September 6, 2024

If the Patriots end up taking on Cincinnati without Higgins and Chase, they would have a much better chance to end up pulling out a victory.

Joe Burrow is back and healthy for the Bengals. His presence alone will make them a very tough team to beat. However, without Chase and Higgins, the offense is a massive question mark.

Should the two star wide receivers be unable to play, Cincinnati would be relying on Andrei Iosivas, Jermain Burton, Trenton Irwin, and Charlie Jones as their top four wide receivers. None of those players would strike fear into the Patriots' defense.

Obviously, these will be storylines to keep a very close eye on over the next 48 hours. More updates are sure to become available in the very near future.

As for New England, they are dealing with a couple of injury concerns worth monitoring. Josh Uche is dealing with a foot issue, Hunter Henry also has a foot issue, Antonio Gibson is on the injury report with a hip problem, and there are a few other players that are questionable as well.

All of that being said, it will be interesting to see how Week 1 goes for the Patriots. A win would be a great way to start the new regime, but they'll have their work cut out for them against the Bengals.

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