Bengals News (9/21): Cusp of breakout

Cincinnati Bengals: Tee Higgins could be a breakout player soon
“Tee Higgins (42 routes run) saw significantly more playing time than he did in Week 1 and came down with several catches, including a nice sideline grab on an even better throw by Burrow for his first career catch. His 42 routes run ranked third on the team behind Tyler Boyd (63) and Green (45).”

Cincinnati Bengals hot seat outlook after 0-2 start to Joe Burrow era
An 0-2 start wasn’t impossible to see coming by any means. The Bengals have a rookie in Joe Burrow under center. There wasn’t a preseason. Massive roster overturn happened.

Cincinnati Bengals: 6 Key takeaways from loss to Browns on TNF
But rarely do teams gain so much in a loss. With Joe Burrow putting on a solid performance, the game served as a good outline of where the team needs to go from here.

Zac Taylor says Bengals open to making changes to the offensive line
"Nothing’s off the table. That’s for certain," Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said when asked about making changes. "We don’t want to rush into any decisions and make sure we’re making the right decisions for the group. In some ways, we had a different right guard in there. We need some reps, some live reps. But again, we’ll make the best decisions for that group. We have a couple of extra days here."

Around the league

Giants to work out Devonta Freeman after Saquon Barkley suffered knee injury Sunday
Since rejecting a deal with Seattle in the spring, Freeman has taken a couple of visits but hasn't signed with a new club. Based on the rash of injuries we saw this weekend, it could be just a matter of time before the former Atlanta Falcons workhorse lands a gig.

In brilliant battle of QBs, Seahawks' Russell Wilson comes out on top
The back-and-forth battle had reached its climactic moment, and as 22 men lined up to decide the outcome, a single yard separated Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick from their fates. Of course it did. On a surreal September Sunday night in Seattle, did anyone really expect otherwise?

What we learned from Sunday's Week 2 games
It seemed like someone put baby oil on the Cowboys pigskin early. Dallas fumbled four times in the first quarter, losing three of them to allow Atlanta to bounce out to a big lead. The Cowboys' first five possessions went: three-and-out, fumble, fumble, turnover on downs on a poor fake punt pass, fumble. The Falcons could have been up by more had they not settled for field goals on two short-field possessions early in the game. Each time the Cowboys seemed to cut the gap, the Falcons appeared to answer. But several miscues cost Atlanta. A missed two-point try early kept the deficit to two at the end. Julio Jones dropped a sure TD on a pass from WR Russell Gage. And settling for four FGs came back to bite ATL. The Falcons' collapse will overshadow another huge game from Calvin Ridley (7/109/2), who continues to score TDs and get separation with ease. Ridley is proving he's not a No. 2 WR, but rather a 1B to Julio.

Justin Herbert's impressive debut vs. Chiefs presents looming QB decision for Chargers HC Anthony Lynn
The former Oregon star, who was drafted sixth overall and displays a quiet confidence that is as long as his 6-foot-6 frame, threw for 311 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 18 yards and a score. But in answering any questions about his ability, at least for one game, he created an even more intriguing question: Do the Chargers have a quarterback controversy on their hands?

Nick Bosa, Jimmy Garoppolo, Raheem Mostert exit with injuries vs. Jets
San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa was carted off in their 31-13 win over the New York Jets in the first quarter with a knee injury. The team quickly ruled him out for the remainder of the contest, which was far from done with seeing significant Niners injuries.

Patriots RB James White's father killed in car crash
"My heart's heavy, because one of my teammates, James White -- from Wisconsin, one of the nicest guys, teammates, one of the hardest workers, one of the best people I know -- had a tough one, losing his dad," Wilson said. "I'm not sure what the situation is with his mom, yet. My heart's been heavy all day thinking about him.