The Cincinnati Bengals (3-8 straight up, 4-7 against the spread) will probably have star quarterback Joe Burrow back at Baltimore on Thanksgiving night, but they won’t have wide receiver Tee Higgins or DE Trey Hendrickson.
Higgins sustained a concussion in Sunday’s 26-20 loss to New England as a 7.5-point underdog, while Hendrickson is going to miss his fourth consecutive game due to a hip injury.
In seven games this year, Hendrickson has 16 tackles, eight QB Hits, four sacks, three tackles for loss, one forced fumble and one pass broken up. He’s been selected to the Pro Bowl in four straight seasons.
Hendrickson had 17.5 sacks last year and in 2023. He has recorded 13.5 sacks or more four times in his nine-year career.
The 31-year-old Hendrickson has 236 career tackles, 163 QB Hits, 81 sacks, 74 TFL’s, 16 PBU and 15 forced fumbles.
The 26-year-old Higgins has 40 catches for 575 yards and seven TDs in 11 games this year. In six seasons with Cincinnati, Higgins has 370 career receptions for 5,170 yards and 41 TDs.
The Clemson product signed a lucrative contract back in the summer to ensure that Burrow, WR Ja’Marr Chase and him would be together with the Bengals well into the future.
Speaking of Chase, he’ll return to the lineup against the Ravens after sitting out the loss to the Patriots after the NFL issued him a one-game suspension.
Burrow fully participated in two practices last week, but Zac Taylor elected to start QB Joe Flacco for one more week. Burrow sustained a toe injury in Week 2 that’s had him sidelined for the last eight games.
“I anticipate him playing, but we’ll continue to work through the week,” Taylor said yesterday.
In Cincinnati’s first two games, Burrow completed 21-of-36 passes (58.3%) for 189 yards and two TDs without an interception.
The LSU product enjoyed a spectacular 2024 campaign. He connected on 70.6 percent of his passes for 4,918 yards with a 43/9 TD-INT ratio. He added 201 rushing yards and two TDs, averaging 4.8 yards per carry.
Burrow finished fourth in NFL MVP voting for the second time in his career last season.
In his six-year career, the 29-year-old Burrow has the best completion percentage (68.5%) in NFL history. He’s led the Bengals to a 40-30-1 record in 71 career regular-season starts. Burrow has a 5-2 record in seven career postseason starts.
Burrow has 19,190 career passing yards with a 142/46 TD-INT ratio. He’s added 809 career rushing yards and 12 TDs.
As of Monday afternoon, most books had Baltimore (6-5 SU, 4-7 ATS) listed as a seven-point favorite with a total of 52. The Bengals were +295 on the money line at FanDuel.