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Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown runs the ball in the first quarter of their game against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026 at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati.
No music was blaring in the locker room after the Cincinnati Bengals secured an overtime win over the Tennessee Titans.
They left the field relieved to get their third straight victory but disappointed in the overall performance. The Bengals fell behind 13-0 and then needed to rally twice in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime, where they finally secured a 43-36 win over the one-win Titans on Sunday at Paycor Stadium.
It was so bad fans were booing in the first half, but Cincinnati buckled down when it mattered most to improve to 5-2. Here are five takeaways from the win:
Joe Burrow’s “stressful day”
Joe Burrow overcame four turnovers to become the second quarterback in NFL history with 450 passing yards, five passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown in a single game and the first since Norm Van Brocklin in 1951.
Burrow called it a “stressful day” filled with a lot of emotions because of the sloppy performance, but after losing a fumble early in the fourth quarter, he led the Bengals on three straight touchdown drives, including an 18-yard pass to Tee Higgins with 1:17 left in regulation and on the opening possession in overtime when he ran it in himself from the Titans’ 9-yard line.
Two of his interceptions were on deep passes to the red zone intended for Ja’Marr Chase, including one in the first quarter and another late in the third quarter when Chase was wide open and likely would have scored. The other was an underthrown pass to Mike Gesicki, but all three were picked off by Amani Hooker.
Burrow is now 2-35 in games where the Bengals trailed with less than eight minutes left.
“I felt like we moved it pretty well all game, we just had four turnovers,” Burrow said. “It’s hard to win that way. Today we did, but you can’t make a living that way.”
Slow starts still an issue
Last week, the Bengals also fell behind 13-0 in the first half but outscored the Ravens 35-0 in the second half to secure a big win. They had hoped to carry the momentum from that second half into a complete game Sunday and that just wasn’t the case.
This time, they rallied in the second quarter but never could put the Titans away.
When asked what the Bengals need to do to get off to better starts to games, Burrow said they just need to be more consistent and “learn from every win and loss.”
Defense got the job done at the end
The Bengals struggled against the worst offense in the league for most of the game, but in crunch time they buckled down to get the stops needed to win the game. Lawrence sacked Cam Ward for a 13-yard loss on third down as the Titans to push them out of field goal range at the end of the fourth quarter, and Cincinnati allowed Tennessee just one yard on its four-play drive in overtime.
Ward, the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2025, hadn’t thrown for more than 265 yards in his first 24 career games, but finished with 304 yards passing and two touchdowns with no interceptions Sunday.
“We as a defense have to step up in those moments,” defensive end Boye Mafe said. “… Obviously, we know what the situation is. We have to get a stop here. There's no ifs and buts about it. We know what the situation is, what they're going to do, so you got to show up in that time. And I just appreciate my teammates, appreciate everybody for working in that moment and showing up.”
Cincinnati also played some of its best defense after the offense turned over the ball. The Bengals held Tennessee to a field goal after Burrow’s first pick, Lawrence’s fumble recovery followed the second interception and the Bengals forced the safety after the third pick.
The Bengals also were playing the final 12 minutes and overtime without D.J. Turner, who injured his left ankle flying in for a tackle on a 22-yard run by Tony Pollard. Tennessee scored the next play for a 28-23 lead.
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Leaning on Higgins and Chase
Bengals coach Zac Taylor said when the game was on the line, they just needed to lean more on their biggest playmakers, and Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase came through as usual.
Higgins finished with 155 yards and two touchdowns on 10 catches and 11 targets to continue his impressive season as the team’s leading receiver. He had the game-tying grab to send the game to overtime, and he and Chase had three of the four catches on the five-play, 70-yard drive in overtime.
Chase had 141 yards and one touchdown on 11 catches.
“Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time moments, and we were able to do that today,” Higgins said.
Same game Bengals would have lost before
Although Taylor is looking for a more complete performance, he pointed out that these were the types of games the Bengals lost in the past. The important thing has been finding ways to win, despite adversity.
“You watched us play the last two years, and some of these games have gone the other direction,” Taylor said. “So, for our guys, particularly late in the fourth quarter and overtime, to step up and seal the game, I’m to going to dismiss that. I’m proud of the guys for fighting through the whole time and finding ways for each guy to step up and make some plays so we could walk out a winner.”
Cincinnati remains in second in the AFC North behind Pittsburgh (6-2), as Cleveland (5-3) and Baltimore (4-4) both lost. The team now rides a three-game winning streak into Madrid, Spain, for an international game against the Atlanta Falcons next week.