We’re through the wildcard round of the playoffs, and the AFC matchups had very little to offer. The Chargers went to Houston and were defeated by the Texans by a score of 32-12, and it was really never close. Justin Herbert picked a bad time to have a four-interception game.

Then there was the AFC North rivalry game between the Steelers and Ravens in Baltimore. Surely that had to be a great game, right? Nope. The Ravens won by a score of 28-14, but, again, it was really never close. The Ravens just walked all over the Steelers in another fairly boring game.

Finally we had the No. 7 seed Denver Broncos facing off against the Buffalo Bills in upstate New York. That game finished with a score of 31-7 in Buffalo’s favor. The Broncos will be good. They already are good. They have something in Bo Nix, but they’re not ready for the playoffs yet.

The Cincinnati Bengals would have been the No. 7 seed if the Chiefs had defeated the Broncos in Week 18 instead of sitting their starters and taking a dive. I’m not saying they would have defeated Buffalo. What I am saying is I know Joe Burrow and the Bengals’ offense scores more than one touchdown against the Bills. I am saying they could have given football fans the only decent AFC playoff game over this past weekend.

And if they won, it would have set them up with another playoff matchup against the Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium. If that’s not must-see TV then I don’t know what is.

Of course, this is the Bengals’ fault. They hold 100 percent of the blame. Had they not literally fumbled away a win over the Patriots, and you’re not reading this. That can be said about most of their losses in the 2024 season. There was really only one game in which they were completely outclassed, and that was against the Eagles. They had legitimate shots at winning the other games, though.

Luck is when preparation meets opportunity, and luck is absolutely a thing in the NFL. There’s a reason bad teams have bad luck, and there’s a reason good teams have good luck. The Bengals were definitely unlucky in 2024, and they allowed an MVP-caliber season from Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase’s Triple Crown, and Trey Hendrickson leading the league in sacks to go to waste.

Hopefully they’ll prepare differently for the 2025 season.

Now then…..

The Bengals have a lot of guys who are going to be free agents heading into the coming offseason. They include:

• Tee Higgins
• Joseph Ossai
• BJ Hill
• Mike Hilton
• Cam Sample
• Mike Gesicki
• Ryan Rehkow

Outside of Sample, who was lost for the season with a torn Achilles, every guy listed above had a major positive role in 2024. Ossai had a sack in six of the team’s last seven games. Hill is a veteran presence in the interior of the line. Hilton is one of the best in-the-box corners in the NFL. Gesicki and Burrow had a nice thing going, and he was the biggest receiving threat on the team outside Higgins and Chase. Rehkow won the punting job and, for the most part, did well.

The Bengals need to have a discussion on all these guys.

And then there’s Higgins, who showed over and over again why he’s so important to the Bengals offense. When he’s on the field, teams can’t focus just on Chase. That opens things up for Chase, and it also leaves Higgins in one-on-one situations a lot. Look at what Higgins did against the Broncos when he got singled up against Riley Moss. He finished the game with 131 yards and three touchdowns.

There aren’t many secondaries that can handle two wide receivers like Chase and Higgins, let alone a tight end, a running back and a slot receiver.

BUT.

Higgins has been in the league for five years and only played in every game in a season once. He played every game of his rookie season, but missed three games in 2021, one in 2022, and five in 2023 and 2024.

He will be expensive because good wide receivers always are. He’ll be expensive even if he gives the Bengals some sort of discount. And they still need to extend Chase.

If they’re forced into a position where they have to choose between Chase or Higgins, the choice has to Chase. Higgins is great, but Chase is on a whole different level. The Bengals have always been good when it comes to selecting wide receivers in the draft, and they could take that money and spend it elsewhere, like on the defense or on a couple guards.

The Bengals have the money to sign both, and still go after a couple free agents, but that will be an awful lot of money to be tied up between Burrow, Chase and Higgins. Will they be able to extend Amarius Mims when the time comes? Good offensive tackles aren’t cheap either, and the Bengals shouldn’t sign one player at the expense of turning a handful of positions into revolving doors.

The cap is increasing, though, and the Bengals are likely going to cut a handful of players, to free up space.

So where do you land on the Higgins discussion? Do you think the Bengals should pay Higgins and Chase, regardless of the cost? Or, do you think the Bengals should focus on Chase and find a way to replace Higgins in the draft?

Here’s who I’m rooting for in the Divisional round: Texans, Bills, Lions and Rams.

I just don’t want the Chiefs to win again, and I really hope that sitting their starters for two weeks in a row (Week 18 and their bye) comes back to bite them.

I’m petty like that.

Relevant Song Lyrics:

I bet there’s rich folks eatin’ in a fancy dining car
They’re probably drinkin’ coffee and smoking big cigars
Well, I know I had it coming. I know I can’t be free
But those people keep-a-movin’, and that’s what tortures me.