Joe Burrow's Six Touchdowns Lift Bengals to a 43-36 OT Win Over Titans

Joe Burrow produced the first six-touchdown game of his NFL career on Sunday, November 1, 2026, leading the Cincinnati Bengals to a wild 43-36 overtime win over the Tennessee Titans at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. Burrow threw five touchdown passes, a career high, and then ran for a nine-yard touchdown in overtime, finishing with 472 total yards in a game Cincinnati trailed 13-0 in the first quarter and 36-29 with less than four minutes left in regulation.

Key Points

• The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Tennessee Titans 43-36 in overtime in Week 8 at Paycor Stadium.
• Joe Burrow finished 38 of 48 for 462 passing yards and five touchdowns, plus a nine-yard rushing touchdown in overtime, for six touchdowns in total.
• Tee Higgins caught 10 passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns, and Ja'Marr Chase caught 11 passes for 141 yards and one touchdown.
• Cam Ward threw for a career-high 304 yards and two touchdowns for Tennessee, while Tony Pollard ran for 117 yards and two touchdowns.
• Cincinnati improved to 5-2, while Tennessee fell to 1-7 heading into its bye week.

What Happened

Tennessee, playing days after trading defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons to the Chicago Bears for two first-round picks, started like a team with nothing to lose. Joey Slye kicked a 46-yard field goal, Tony Pollard broke loose for a 41-yard touchdown run, and Slye added a 29-yard field goal for a 13-0 lead in the first quarter. Cam Ward had 109 passing yards in the opening quarter alone, the most in an opening quarter of his NFL career, and the Titans outgained Cincinnati 252-212 in the first half while holding the ball for more than 16 minutes.

Cincinnati fought back before half-time. Burrow threw a 30-yard touchdown to Ja'Marr Chase, and a one-yard touchdown to third-string tight end Jack Endries, giving the Bengals a 14-13 lead at the break despite Ward's fast start. The second half was even wilder. After a series of turnovers to open the third quarter, Burrow hit Tee Higgins for a 17-yard touchdown to make it 21-13. Pollard then ran for a one-yard touchdown, Ward ran in the two-point conversion, and the game was tied 21-21 with 7 minutes 47 seconds left in the third quarter.

The chaos continued. Amani Hooker, who finished with three interceptions, picked off Burrow for a third time, but Tennessee was backed up on its own goal line and Pollard was tackled for a safety, giving Cincinnati a 23-21 lead. Burrow then threw his fourth touchdown, a 25-yard pass to Mike Gesicki, but the two-point attempt failed and the lead was only 29-28 after Tennessee had taken a 28-23 lead on an 11-yard touchdown from Ward to Chimere Dike, following a Burrow fumble recovered by Kevin Winston.

With 3 minutes 46 seconds left, Ward threw a 15-yard touchdown to Wan'Dale Robinson and found Gunnar Helm for the two-point conversion, putting Tennessee ahead 36-29. Burrow answered with his fifth touchdown pass, an 18-yard strike to Higgins that tied the game 36-36 and tied his single-game career high for touchdown passes. Tennessee had about a minute to try for a winning field goal, but Ward drove only to midfield, took a sack on third down, and punted. Cincinnati chose to play for overtime rather than go for it, and the game went to the extra period.

In overtime, Cincinnati received the kick and went 70 yards in five plays. Burrow scrambled in from nine yards out for his sixth touchdown of the day, his first on the ground, giving the Bengals a 43-36 lead. Ward's drive to tie the game ended on an incomplete pass on fourth down, and Cincinnati held on for the win.

Background: Joe Burrow Six Touchdowns Titans

Burrow's final line was remarkable for both its brilliance and its messiness. He completed 38 of 48 passes for 462 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions, was sacked three times, and was responsible for four turnovers in total, including a fumble. He added three runs for 10 yards, including the overtime winner. His 462 passing yards plus 10 rushing yards gave him 472 total yards, and he passed Carson Palmer for fourth place on the Bengals' all-time passing-yardage list, having entered the game needing 232 yards to do so.

It was Burrow's third game with five touchdown passes, after two such games in 2024, but the first time he had added a rushing touchdown to reach six in total. Four different receivers caught touchdown passes from him against Tennessee: Higgins twice, plus Chase, Gesicki and Endries. Higgins' 10 catches for 155 yards marked his 18th career 100-yard receiving game, and his second straight game with more than 100 yards, the third time in his career he has done that in back-to-back games. Chase added 11 catches for 141 yards.

Tennessee's effort deserved more than a loss, and it showed why the Simmons trade had not ended its season. Ward finished 26 of 40 for a career-high 304 yards and two touchdowns, finally breaking the 300-yard barrier as a professional. Pollard led the Titans with 117 yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns. Helm had five catches for 76 yards and a key two-point conversion catch. Defensively, Hooker led the secondary with three interceptions in Simmons' absence, and Jacob Martin had three sacks on the defensive line. The Titans also lost starting left guard Peter Skoronski, who was carted to the locker room with a hamstring injury and was questionable to return, and cornerback Marcus Harris was hurt in the second quarter but walked off under his own power.

Reactions

The immediate reaction to the game was split between admiration for Burrow's resilience and concern about how close Cincinnati came to losing to a 1-6 team at home. Burrow's six touchdowns, including the overtime winner he scored himself, were the headline, but his four turnovers, three interceptions and a fumble, were the warning. Cincinnati overcame them because its stars made plays when they mattered most: Higgins twice, Chase, Gesicki and Endries in the passing game, and Burrow himself with his legs in overtime.

For Tennessee, the performance was a statement of intent after a difficult week. The Titans had traded their best defensive player, were missing Simmons, and still took a 13-0 lead, led 36-29 late, and forced overtime against a 4-2 team. Ward's career-high passing day, Pollard's running, Helm's emergence and Hooker's three interceptions all suggested a team that, while 1-7, is not giving up on its season. The frustration will be that, having done so much, the Titans could not finish the game, either in regulation, when Ward's final drive stalled at midfield, or in overtime, when his fourth-down pass fell incomplete.

Cincinnati's defence also had its moments, including the safety that gave the Bengals a 23-21 lead and the overtime stop that sealed the win. But the unit was repeatedly put in difficult positions by turnovers, and Tennessee's ability to score 36 points on the road, without Simmons, will be a concern for a team with playoff ambitions. The Bengals won because their quarterback produced six touchdowns; they nearly lost because they gave Tennessee too many chances to stay in the game.

Why It Matters

The win keeps Cincinnati firmly in the playoff picture at 5-2. Teams that win games like this, in which they trail by 13 points early, trail again late, turn the ball over four times and still find a way in overtime, tend to believe they can win anywhere. Burrow's performance, flawed and brilliant at the same time, reinforced his status as one of the league's most dangerous quarterbacks when a game is on the line. His move past Palmer on the franchise passing list added a historical marker to a day that already had a personal best.

For Tennessee, the result matters in a different way. At 1-7, the Titans are not going anywhere in the standings this season, but they showed, days after trading Simmons, that they will keep fighting. Ward's first 300-yard game, Pollard's running and a defence that produced three interceptions of Burrow are building blocks for a young team heading into its bye week. The challenge now is to turn moral victories into actual victories, because a team that plays this well and still loses will eventually need to learn how to finish.

What Happens Next

Tennessee now enters its bye week at 1-7, with time to rest, to assess Skoronski's hamstring injury, and to prepare for its next game on November 15 against Jacksonville. The bye comes at a good time for a team that has played hard but has little to show for it, and for a young quarterback who has just had the best passing day of his career. The Titans will hope the bye helps them turn close defeats into wins in the second half of the season.

Cincinnati, at 5-2, heads into an international trip next, according to pre-game coverage, with momentum and a quarterback in historic form. The Bengals will want to clean up the turnovers: four in one game is losing football against most opponents, and Burrow himself would be the first to say so. But they will also travel knowing they have a quarterback who can throw five touchdowns, run for a sixth, pass a franchise legend on the all-time list, and still win a game his team trailed twice. That is a powerful combination to take anywhere.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many touchdowns did Joe Burrow score against the Titans?

Joe Burrow totalled six touchdowns: five passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown, the nine-yard winner in overtime.

What was the final score of Bengals vs Titans on November 1, 2026?

The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Tennessee Titans 43-36 in overtime at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Sunday, November 1, 2026.

What were Joe Burrow's stats against Tennessee?

Burrow completed 38 of 48 passes for 462 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions, and ran three times for 10 yards and one touchdown.

Who were Burrow's top targets?

Tee Higgins caught 10 passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns, and Ja'Marr Chase caught 11 passes for 141 yards and one touchdown.

What are the Bengals' and Titans' records now?

Cincinnati improved to 5-2, while Tennessee fell to 1-7 and now enters its bye week.

Related coverage: Lions beat Vikings 19-15 to end unbeaten run, Jaguars hammer Colts 42-7 and Josh Allen passes Jim Kelly for Bills record.

Sources: The Tennessean, NBC Sports, Cincinnati Bengals official recap, Cincinnati Enquirer and Bengals Wire, November 1, 2026. The featured image is an illustrative generated stadium scene, not an actual game photograph.