'Points win championships' — NFL Hall of Famer supports Bengals' controversial decision and sees them as Super Bowl contenders
If any NFL Hall of Famer is going to support the Cincinnati Bengals paying both Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins simultaneously, it's going to be a wide receiver like Michael Irvin.Irvin famously won three Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys in the 1990s as one of the foundational pieces to an offense football historians still […]
If any NFL Hall of Famer is going to support the Cincinnati Bengals paying both Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins simultaneously, it's going to be a wide receiver like Michael Irvin.
Irvin famously won three Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys in the 1990s as one of the foundational pieces to an offense football historians still talk about. He was also by far the best receiver on that team, whereas the Bengals of today have two that are relatively close in terms of talent.
It's a dynamic Irvin believes in. He told Kay Adams as much when Adams brought up the popular belief that paying both wideouts was unwise.
"I don't concur with that conclusion at all," Irvin said to Adams Monday morning. "And I don't concur with that conclusion with the conclusion of defense wins championship. Points win championships. Let's not get it twisted. You can play, if you've got a 100-snap game, you can play 99 plays, great. If you give up one point and you have zero points, you lose that game.
"Points win championships," Irvin reiterated. "So if you got your two wide receivers, and know you have a quarterback, one of the best quarterbacks, let's maximize the opportunity to get points, and we can find people to put together a pretty good defense. But if the other team got to put up 35 points a game, you got a pretty good shot at winning."
For better or worse, that may be something the Bengals will have to prepare for. While constructing a competent defense under their current circumstances isn't impossible, expectations for the offense are significantly higher in comparison.
Irvin points to a different obstacle Cincinnati had to overcome as evidence for why they can finish the job this time around.
"Absolutely," Irvin said in calling the Bengals Super Bowl contenders. "They got to the Super Bowl with what we [called] the worst offensive line to ever make it to the Super Bowl, because they had those beasts. . .so they're shaking it up in more ways than one."
The Bengals have received plenty of criticism for taking this leap, a leap they told everyone they were planning to make, but a leap nonetheless. But Irvin proves it's not all hate coming their way.
If nothing else, Cincinnati is investing in the talents that got them so very close to winning it all three years ago. It's not what most would do in this situation, but Irvin isn't wrong for referring back to the team's previous success.
Receivers supporting receivers is never shocking to see, anyways.
Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins’ special bond is something the rest of the NFL world can’t seem to grasp
Two best buds playing football together. What’s not to love?
