Cincinnati Bengals star wide receiver Tee Higgins heads into a Thursday Night Football clash with the Pittsburgh Steelers after a disappointing start to the season. Through six games, he’s averaging just the 55th-most fantasy points per game in PPR formats (8.7) at the wide receiver position. With three quarterbacks under center this season – Joe Burrow, Jake Browning, and Joe Flacco – Higgins has corralled 18 receptions on 35 targets for 220 yards and two touchdowns. 

Higgins has failed to live up to his lofty price tag this draft season in large part due to Burrow’s injury. That being said, he has tallied double-digit points in consecutive games for the first time this season, producing 11.2 points in each of his last two contests. In his first game with Flacco quarterbacking, the veteran tallied five receptions on eight targets for 62 scoreless yards.

Higgins has a long history against this Pittsburgh Steelers defense that he’ll face tonight in primetime. Dating back to his rookie year in 2020, he’s faced them eight times. Pittsburgh has always had a pretty solid defense under Mike Tomlin but this year, the secondary is surrendering the 13th-most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers. Let’s take a look at how Higgins has fared in previous seasons to help determine if he should be in fantasy lineups in Week 7 after a lackluster start to the 2025 campaign.

According to StatMuse, Higgins has recorded 41 catches for 697 yards and four trips to the end zone in eight career matchups with the Steelers. Let’s take a look at his game log:

The veteran wideout is averaging 5.1 receptions on 7.6 targets, 87.1 receiving yards, and 0.5 touchdowns per game against the Steelers. That equates to just north of 15 fantasy points per game. 

Higgins has been pretty boom or bust against the Steelers over his career. Despite three subpar outings, he’s eclipsed the century mark or found the end zone in five of his eight career matchups against Pittsburgh. 

The Steelers are slight favorites on the road in this one, which points to a favorable game script for Higgins. Yes, he’s still getting used to Joe Flacco under center but Ja’Marr Chase can’t eat up all of the targets, especially now that Mike Gesicki has been placed on Injured Reserve. Higgins is only averaging 36.7 yards per game this season, yet DraftKings listed his Over/Under at 47.5 receiving yards. That’s still well below what he’s averaged against Pittsburgh historically. 

Given that the Steelers could get out to an early lead, I expect Flacco to air it out tonight, pointing to a potential opportunity for Higgins to finally break out in 2025. The Steelers are allowing an average of 160.4 yards per game to receivers, so Higgins should be able to capitalize. 

Higgins’ production this week will hinge heavily on game flow — if Pittsburgh gets out to the early lead I’m anticipating, the veteran could be in store for his best game yet of the 2025 campaign. Senior Fantasy Expert Shawn Childs projects him for five catches, 60 yards, and a 50% chance to score. That sounds spot-on, making Higgins a solid start in all formats despite his sluggish start to 2025.