CINCINNATI – Tee Higgins is surrounded by Hall of Famers.
No, not in the Cincinnati Bengals locker room.
They are ringing him on a historic list that his him one catch away from making NFL history.
Higgins has caught a touchdown pass in nine consecutive home games, tying him with Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice for the second longest streak of all time.
If Higgins can catch a touchdown pass Sunday against the New England Patriots – from whomever might be throwing the ball – he will tie Hall of Famer Cris Carter for the longest streak in history.
Higgins’ 28-yard touchdown from Joe Flacco last week in Pittsburgh moved him out of a tie for third place with some more of the game’s greats, including Hall of Famers Antonio Gates, Terrell Owens and Carter again.
“It’s been pretty cool,” Higgins said of the streak. “I haven’t really kept up with it, but obviously a lot of people have come up to me. I see stuff on the Internet and whatnot. Hopefully I can keep it going.”
Former Bengals receiver Carl Pickens also had a streak of eight in a row from1994-1995, which was part of an overall streak of consecutive games with a touchdown – regardless of venue – that still stands as a franchise record.
Pickens’ mark of 10 in a row is tied for the second longest in NFL history behind Jerry Rice’s 13 from 1986-87.
There are 12 players with streaks of at least eight games, and three of them did it while playing for the Bengals.
A.J. Green caught a touchdown in nine straight games during the 2012 season.
And T.J. Houshmandzadeh had a streak of seven in the 2007 season.
If Higgins catches one Sunday to extend his overall streak, he will become just the seven player in franchise history to do it in five consecutive games.
Pickens had a separate streak of seven in 1995, and Terrell Owens (2010), Eddie Brown (1989-90) and Darnay Scott (1999) had streaks of five.
The longest active streaks in the league belong to Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride and Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Jalen McMillan with five.
With Ja’Marr Chase suspended, Higgins should see more targets from Flacco or, perhaps, Joe Burrow.
But Higgins also is likely to see much more attention from the New England defense, starting with star cornerback Christian Gonzalez.
If you’re wondering about consecutive home games with any sort of touchdown, Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith holds that mark with 22.
If Higgins gets one Sunday, he will become just the ninth player in NFL history to score a touchdown in 10 straight.
And the second Bengals player.
Pete Johnson had 10 in a row from 1982-84.
The rest of the list behind Smith:
LaDanian Tomlinson 17
Curtis Martin 13
Stephen Davis 12
Marcus Allen 11
Dalvin Cook 10
Cris Carter 10