The Cincinnati Bengals will play their final game of the 2024 regular season on Saturday night, but with a win and some help — losses by both the Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins on Sunday — their season could continue into the Playoffs. According to The Athletic’s Playoff Projections model, the Bengals have just a 7 percent chance of reaching the postseason, which means that there is a 93 percent chance that this could be the final game that Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins play as teammates.

Forgive me if my math is off there. Admittedly it was never my strong suit, but the point here is that the expectation for quite some time has been that Tee Higgins, who requested a trade in the offseason and was slapped with the franchise tag instead, would depart Cincinnati after the 2024 season, not because he was dissatisfied with his role, but because the team was unwilling to reach the price-point that a player of Higgins’ stature clearly deserves.

However, in recent weeks, as the Bengals have made a late-season push for the Playoffs thanks in large part to the heroics of this dynamic trio, there seems to be a sense of renewed optimism that Cincinnati could find a way to reach an agreement with Higgins rather than letting him walk out the door for nothing. And that stems from the desire of Burrow, Chase and Higgins to continue playing together beyond the 2024 season.

“Sources say the three have discussed playing together again for years to come. It’s their goal, and privately they have made no secret about it,” writes NFL insider Ian Rapoport. While it was assumed Higgins would depart in free agency, the goal is now to stay together, which explains some of the quotes that have come out of the building recently.”

Those quotes have come from Higgins himself (“I grew a love for this city,”) his MVP candidate quarterback (“You don’t want to make a living out of letting great players leave the building,”) and Chase, who made the most direct statement about keeping Higgins yet.

“Pay the man,” Chase said bluntly after Higgins’ dominant performance against the Broncos in Week 17.

Bengals offense virtually unstoppable with Burrow, Chase and Higgins

It’s not groundbreaking analysis to say that the Bengals would be wise to find a way to pony up the money necessary to keep Burrow, Chase and Higgins around for the long haul. However, if you dig a little deeper into the numbers that these two star receivers have produced with Burrow on the field, you’ll see just how prolific this trio actually is.

Tee Higgins, 58 career games with Joe Burrow at quarterback – 287 receptions, 3,935 yards, 29 touchdowns

Ja’Marr Chase, 54 career games with Joe Burrow at quarterback – 354 receptions, 4,920 yards, 44 touchdowns

For reference, Higgins and Chase have combined to represent 38 percent of Burrow’s career completions, 47 percent of his passing yards, and 53 percent of his touchdown passes. And the trio of Bengals stars has never been better than they were in the 2024 season, despite the fact that Cincinnati may end up one win short of making the postseason.