Will Rashard Higgins continue trend of slot dominance over Chicago Bears
It does not take a football expert to tell the casual fan that the Chicago Bears are having issues in the slot. They started Marqui Christian Week One and Duke Shelley Week Two, and it is hard to say which one performed better. Opponents attacked the weakness, which was whoever was in the slot.
In Week One, primary slot receiver Cooper Kupp torched the Bears for seven catches, 108 yards, and a touchdown. The following week Tyler Boyd went into the slot and walked away with seven catches for 73 yards. Slot receivers are averaging seven catches for 90 yards on the Chicago Bears’ slot corners.
Sunday will be the test that will genuinely expose how weak the Bears are in this area. To be fair to Christian and Shelley, when you look at Kupp and Boyd, you are looking at two of the best slot receivers in the NFL. In 2020, they both finished top five in yards from the slot, per PFF.
It will be a challenge for Shelley and Christian anyways, but facing Boyd and Kupp to start the year is rough. Jarvis Landry typically lines up in the slot for the Cleveland Browns, but he will be out Sunday, leaving Rashard Higgins.
Will Rashard Higgins expose Chicago Bears?
Higgins has talent but has not shown up as a trustworthy every week performer. On the season, he has just two catches for 27 yards. It would be a massive breakdown for the Bears’ secondary if he got loose for seven catches and nearly 100 yards like the first two games.
Beyond that, the Cleveland Browns are a team that wears you down with running backs and tight ends. They line up with three wideouts just 44% of the time, only ahead of Tennessee, San Fran, and Minnesota.
With that in mind, the Chicago Bears will keep their three-down lineman and Alec Ogletree on the field, and we may not see much slot.
Next. Could Browns expose this player?. dark
This game will be the ultimate test, though. If the Browns break tendencies and pick on the slot with Higgins, you know this will be an issue against every team no matter what. If these corners can at the very least shut down Higgins, then you can chalk some of the problems in the first two weeks up to Kupp and Boyd being elite slot options.