Higgins caught one of five targets for 17 yards in Sunday's 13-10 win over Detroit.
Wounded quarterback Baker Mayfield (shoulder/knee/foot) misfired most of the day -- wide receivers caught only seven of 15 targets -- so Higgins' 20 percent catch rate was not all on him. He saw an increased level of activity Sunday, playing 72 percent of the snaps (53 of 74), and the five targets were Higgins' most since Week 5. That usage was due to injuries to Donovan Peoples-Jones (groin) and Anthony Schwartz (concussion). Somewhere between Week 5, when Higgins caught a touchdown, and the Browns' prior two games, he fell out of favor with the coaching staff. Higgins played a combined 29 of 107 snaps (27 percent) Weeks 9 and 10, but there were just too many injuries heading into Week 11 to keep him in the doghouse. His role next Monday in Baltimore will depend on the health of others, including Jarvis Landry, who aggravated a previous knee injury against the Lions but fought through it.