Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase (back bruise) active vs. Texans

The Cincinnati Bengals won’t have their No. 2 wide receiver, but they’ll have their No. 1 on Sunday.

Pro Bowl wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase is active for the Bengals’ Week 10 tilt against the visiting Houston Texans.

Chase, who was considered a 50-50 shot at best to suit up on Sunday morning, did what was necessary in pre-game warmups to determine he was fit to be active, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport.

In the Bengals’ Week 9 victory against the Buffalo Bills, Chase went high for a pass and came down with an ugly thump onto his back. He remained in the game, but drew a questionable designation after he missed practice Wednesday and was limited on Thursday and Friday.

On Thursday, Chase said he’d undergone an MRI that revealed no damage but he was dealing with a back bruise.

Chase’s absence Sunday would have been massive in and of itself, but it would’ve been magnified in combination with wideout Tee Higgins being out. Higgins was ruled out for the game Friday due to a hamstring injury.

Cincinnati enters Sunday on a four-game winning streak and Chase has unsurprisingly played a crucial part. During Cincy’s winning streak, Chase has totaled 35 receptions for 413 receiving yards with four touchdowns. On the season, Chase’s 64 catches, 697 yards and four TD catches are all tops on the Bengals.

Quarterback Joe Burrow‘s top target is good to go with the Texans (4-4) and Bengals (5-3) set to kick off Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.