CINCINNATI (AP) — Joe Burrow threw five touchdown passes in regulation and then scrambled untouched for a 9-yard score in overtime as the Cincinnati Bengals rallied for a 43-36 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
Cincinnati — which has won three straight and is 5-2 for the first time since 2021 — got the ball first in OT and went 70 yards in five plays. Tennessee took over but could not get a first down. Cam Ward, who had the first 300-yard passing game of his two-year career, threw an incomplete pass to Elic Ayomanor on fourth-and-3 at the Tennessee 35.
Tennessee (1-7), which entered as a 13 1/2-point underdog, gave Cincinnati all it could handle while playing without injured wide receiver Carnell Tate and standout pass rusher Jeffery Simmons, who was traded to the Chicago Bears on Thursday.
There were three lead changes and a tie in the fourth quarter alone. The Bengals tied it at 36-all with 1:17 remaining when Burrow connected with Tee Higgins for an 18-yard touchdown.
Burrow completed 33 of 48 passes for 462 yards. It wasn’t a clean game for the seventh-year franchise quarterback, who was picked off three times by Titans safety Amari Hooker.
Hooker became the first NFL player with three interceptions in a game since Jordan Whitehead of the New York Jets against Buffalo in Week 1 of the 2023 season. The last Titans player to do it was Kevin Byard III against Cleveland in 2016.
Ja’Marr Chase and Higgins each had 100-yard receiving games for the fourth time since 2021. Higgins had 10 receptions for 155 yards and two TDs and Chase added 11 catches for 141 yards and a score.
Burrow also threw TD passes to Mike Gesicki and Jack Endries. Gesicki’s 25-yard catch in the fourth quarter extended his streak to five games with a touchdown.
Cincinnati also got its first safety since 2024 in the third quarter when Demetrius Knight Jr. and Dexter Lawrence tackled Tony Pollard in the end zone to give the Bengals a 23-21 lead with 46 seconds left in the third quarter.
Ward was 26 of 40 for 340 yards and two touchdowns. He put the Titans back on top with a 15-yard TD pass to Wan’Dale Robinson with 3:42 remaining. Gunnar Helm then caught Ward’s pass for the 2-point conversion to give Tennessee a 36-29 advantage.
Pollard rushed for 117 yards and two TDs, giving him five in the last two games.
Tennessee led 13-0 at the end of the first quarter. According to Sportradar, it was the fourth time in NFL history a team has lost consecutive games after holding a first-quarter lead of at least 13 points.
Injuries
Linebackers Cedric Johnson (left ankle) and Cashius Howell (right wrist) along with CB DJ Turner (left ankle) suffered injuries in the second half.
