CINCINNATI (AP) Joe Burrow threw five touchdown passes in regulation, then had a 9-yard score in overtime as the Cincinnati Bengals rallied to 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 overtime and drove 70 yards in five plays. Tennessee took over but couldn’t 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 from the Tennessee 35.
Tennessee (1-7), entering as a 13 1/2-point underdog, gave Cincinnati all it could handle while playing without injured wide receiver Carnell Tate and standout passer 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 with 1:17 left when Burrow connected with Tee Higgins for an 18-yard touchdown.
Burrow completed 33 of 48 passes for 462 yards. It wasn’t a flawless game for the seventh-year franchise quarterback, who was picked off three times by Titans safety Amari Hooker.
Hooker became the first NFL player to throw three interceptions in a game since the New York Jets’ Jordan Whitehead against Buffalo in Week 1 of the 2023 season. The last Titans player to do so 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 touchdowns 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 touchdown streak to five games.
Cincinnati also got its first safety since 2024 in the third quarter when Demetrius Knight Jr. and Dexter Lawrence took on Tony Pollard in the end zone to give the Bengals a 23-21 lead with 46 seconds left in the third quarter.
Ward finished 26 of 40 for 340 yards and two touchdowns. He put the Titans back on top with a 15-yard pass to Wan’Dale Robinson with 3:42 left. Gunnar Helm then caught Ward’s pass for the 2-point conversion to give Tennessee a 36-29 advantage.
Pollard has rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns, 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 that a team lost consecutive games after holding a lead of at least 13 points in the first quarter.
Titans; CB Marcus Harris (ankle) and LB James Williams Sr. (groin) were out in the second quarter. CB Kevin Winston Jr. (shoulder) left in the third quarter. WR Carnell Tate (shoulder), RB Tyjae Spears (knee) and P Tommy Townsend (knee) were inactive.
Bengals: Linebackers Cedric Johnson (left ankle) and Cashius Howell (right wrist) as well as CB DJ Turner (left ankle) were injured in the second half.
Titans: Take their bye week before hosting Jacksonville on Nov. 15.
Bengals: Face the Atlanta Falcons in Madrid next Sunday.
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