In theory that could happen here too if the The wideout duo could have beaten the Colts corners last week, too, but Indianapolis cut loose the underneath of the defense and the Bengals coasted mostly on their running back production.
Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins both can easily beat Byron Murphy and Akayleb Evans. This shouldn't be read as 'good' or 'bad' but rather a measured tweak from the receiver's baseline projection. Receivers are left with an Upgrade, Downgrade, or Even verdict based on their projected matchup. But it's part of the puzzle, and it's worth keeping track of. Even against a bad corner, a good receiver can be denied the opportunity if the pass rush or something else outside his control complicates things. Receivers rarely see the same corner every play, be it due to formation quirks or zone coverage calls by the defense, so a receiver's fortunes depend on much more than just the quality of the corner they're likely to see the most in a given game. This post will have to be a little shorter and lean more on speculation/generalities than the entries to come, because teams haven't yet conclusively revealed their personnel tendencies. This article will go game by game for the Week 14 slate looking at the top wide receivers from an offense and, based on the inside/outside and left/right splits of those receivers, identify the cornerbacks most likely to face them in man coverage.
