Veteran tight end Tyler Higbee, the Los Angeles Rams‘ leading receiver in Monday night’s 27-9 wild-card game win over the Minnesota Vikings, exited the game with a chest injury and was taken to a local hospital.
After the game, head coach Sean McVay told reporters that Higbee was in stable condition, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
On Tuesday, it was learned that Higbee traveled home with the Rams and miraculously is expected to play against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
Although he did not play more than 12 snaps, Higbee finished the game as the Rams’ leading receiver with five catches for 58 yards. He had two receptions for 27 yards on the Rams’ opening drive of the game, which resulted in a TD.
Entering Monday night, Higbee had eight catches for 66 yards and two TDs in three games. His first start of the season did not come until Week 16 after recovering from a torn ACL and MCL in his right knee, which he suffered during the Rams’ 2023 wild-card game against the Detroit Lions.
Higbee has 361 receptions for 3,668 yards and 24 TDs in his career, including a career-high 734 yards in the 2019 season.
Puka Nacua (990 yards) and Cooper Kupp (710 yards), the team’s top receivers during the regular season, despite playing just 11 and 12 games, were limited to a total of six catches for 73 yards and no touchdowns in the game against Minnesota. Regardless of their struggles, Higbee stepped up and helped the Rams get out to the early lead, and they never surrendered the rest of the game.
After their wild-card game was moved to Glendale, Arizona, due to the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, the Rams face a road test at the Eagles in the divisional round on a short week. It will be the second meeting between the two teams this season, with Philadelphia claiming the first game, 37-20, in Week 12.
Before resting their starters before the Week 18 game against the Seattle Seahawks, the Rams had won five straight games to claim the NFC West following that setback to the Eagles.
With Higbee suiting up against Philadelphia’s No. 1 defense in the NFL (17.4 PPG), according to TeamRankings, that gives QB Matthew Stafford another viable option down the field, mainly if Nacua and Kupp are limited like they were vs. the Vikings.
