Joe Burrow overcame a slow start and four turnovers to lead the Cincinnati Bengals to a third-straight win, though it took overtime to beat the one-win Tennessee Titans.
After falling behind 13-0 for a second straight week, the Bengals rallied to take a lead late in the second quarter but still had to battle from behind on the final drive to send the game to overtime for a 43-36 win against the Titans on Sunday at Paycor Stadium.
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Burrow threw the game-tying touchdown pass to Tee Higgins with 1:17 left in regulation, then ran in the winning score on the opening drive of overtime with seven minutes remaining.
Cincinnati (5-2) rebounded from a similarly slow start last week to earn a 35-13 win at Baltimore with a dominant second half. This time the Bengals took a one-point lead into halftime but trailed twice in the fourth quarter, including a 36-29 deficit with 3:46 left.
Burrow entered the day 1-35 in games where Cincinnati trailed with less than eight minutes left, but orchestrated an impressive final drive in regulation to knot the game at 36 on an 18-yard dart to Higgins. Dexter Lawrence’s third-down sack on Cam Ward pushed the Titans out of field goal range on a 16-yard loss with 27 seconds left, and Cincinnati received the ball first in overtime.
After connecting on passes to Ja’Marr Chase, Higgins and Samaje Perine, Burrow finished a five-play, 70-yard drive in overtime with a 9-yard touchdown run that held for the winning score. Tennessee managed just one yard on its drive to end it.
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The game didn’t start so well for the Bengals, allowing a Titans team that produced the fewest yards in the NFL through seven weeks to outgain them 177-26 in the first quarter. It took some boos from the crowd and a negated touchdown early in the second quarter to snap them out of their nightmarish start.
Burrow shrugged off a bad holding penalty by Dylan Fairchild that nullified his touchdown pass to Brown, connecting with Chase on third-and-18 for the Bengals first score of the day. Burrow climbed through the pocket, threw deep on the run and hit Chase through a tight window for a 30-yard touchdown to cut a 13-0 deficit to six points with 13:20 left in the second quarter.
The defense then got the ball back in Burrow’s hands with a turnover when DJ Turner forced a fumble at the end of a Wan’Dale Robinson catch, and Josh Newton recovered. However, Cincinnati turned it over on downs in the red zone on the ensuing drive.
After a three-and-out by the defense, the Bengals delivered the next trip down the field to take a 14-13 lead into halftime. Burrow connected with rookie tight end Jack Endries in the end zone for his first NFL catch and a memorable go-ahead touchdown with 20 seconds left in the second quarter.
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Burrow threw his second pick on the opening drive of the second half, but the Bengals got the ball right back by forcing a turnover on defense. Boye Mafe came up with a strip sack on Ward, and Lawrence recovered to put Burrow in the redzone. Burrow connected with Higgins on the next play for a 17-yard touchdown and 21-13 lead.
The Titans responded with an eight-play, 63-yard touchdown drive, helped by two defensive pass interference calls and capped by Pollard’s second touchdown run of the day to knot the game with Ward’s two-point conversion run.
The Bengals regained the advantage late in the third quarter when Demetrius Knight Jr. and Lawrence combined on a tackle of Pollard in the endzone for a safety, but Burrow threw another pick and then lost a fumble on a bad exchange with Brown to set up a go-ahead drive for Tennessee.
The lead changed hands two more times before Burrow led the final comeback. He finished with 462 yards and five touchdowns with three interceptions to go along with his one rushing touchdown. Higgins led the receivers with 155 yards and two touchdowns, and Chase had 141 yards and one touchdown.
Ward threw for a career-high 304 yards and two touchdowns, while Pollard finished with 117 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
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