Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin had some high praise for Cincinnati Bengals star wide receiver Tee Higgins after Pittsburgh's 44-38 victory over the Bengals in Week 13. Higgins had five receptions for 69 yards and a touchdown in the game, and he was one of Cincinnati's highest-graded players from the contest.
Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. spent most of his afternoon shadowing Higgins up and down the field, and he was called for several penalties for getting a little too physical with Cincinnati's star receiver. While discussing the Steelers' defensive approach in the game, Tomlin compared Higgins to a dominant NBA legend.
"When we play Shaq [Shaquille O'Neal], we're going to use our fouls," Tomlin said.
That's a major compliment from Tomlin, as O'Neal was the most dominant player in the NBA during his peak playing days, and his presence demanded a lot of physical attention. That's clearly where the comparison comes in. Tomlin elaborated a bit on Pittsburgh's plan when it came to defending Higgins.
"Tee is a goon. ... You cannot let a dude like that beat you up," Tomlin said. "You gotta match the fire with the fire. You hope you do it clean enough that it doesn't draw a bunch of penalties. We weren't as successful in that regard today. We'll keep working, but one thing we're not going to do is let that guy goon us."
Tomlin's vocabulary is awesome, first of all. Second, he certainly sounds like a guy who would love to coach Higgins next season, and who could blame him? Higgins has proven to be an extremely productive player over his first five seasons in the league, and he would be a major weapon for any offense that he's added to.
Higgins will be a free agent over the offseason, and the Steelers have been floated as a potential landing spot for the sure-handed receiver. This makes Tomlin's comments especially intriguing. Plus, if Higgins defected from Cincinnati to Pittsburgh, he wouldn't have to move too far.
Obviously it remains to be seen if the Steelers would actually be interested in Higgins in free agency, or if Higgins would want to play in Pittsburgh. One thing is for sure though: Seeing Higgins in the black-and-yellow would be a tough pill to swallow for Bengals fans.
