CINCINNATI — ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith did not hold back in his criticism of Tee Higgins’ recent comments about the Bengals’ slow starts to seasons.
Cincinnati is 1-11 in the opening two weeks under Zac Taylor, but Higgins told Mad Dog Sports Radio’s Adam Schein he doesn’t like the narrative that Cincinnati needs to start fast.
“I really don’t like the narrative of getting off to a hot start,” Higgins told Schein. “I just feel like at the end of the day, we just got to execute as a team. Offense got to complement the defense, defense got to complement the offense, and special teams got to complement both. At the end of the day, it just comes down to executing as a team and finishing the game all the way through the fourth quarter.”
Smith called the comments some of the “most ignorant” of 2025.
“I respect Tee Higgins. I’m a fan, and I’m glad he got his bag, just like Ja’Marr Chase got his bag. He deserves it, but that’s one of the most ignorant quotes of the year,” Smith said on ESPN’s First Take. “That’s going to be a top 10 ignorant quote of the year. The Cincinnati Bengals have started 0-2 in five of the six seasons under coach Zac Taylor. I have called for an investigation into Zac Taylor and his coaching staff as to what they’re doing once the season is over, until mid-September, because they don’t show up ready to play to start the season.
“They just don’t. They are 1-11 in the first two games of a season under Zac Taylor, 1-11. That is embarrassing. So to me, for somebody like Tee Higgins coming off just missing the playoffs, to utter those words out of his mouth, you either are completely lost or you can’t count. And I’m certainly not gonna question his intelligence. He can count. He knows what 0-2 has meant for the Cincinnati Bengals. He knows what kind of position this puts them in. That was a foolish statement on his part.”
This narrative is going to follow the Bengals until they start stacking solid starts to seasons.
Cincinnati gets one of its best chances yet to start well in September. Cleveland is on the board in Week 1, and the Browns are tied for the lowest betting win total in the NFL (5.5 wins).
Week 2 marks a home matchup against Jacksonville, which enters the season with a 7.5 win total and will be a betting underdog in the game barring multiple major Bengals injuries. The path is there to start ending this discussion once and for all.
