Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow iced his reputation as one of the coolest late-game performers in the NFL Sunday during a remarkable 43-36 overtime victory over the Titans where his offense froze the clock all the way back to Harry Truman, Bobby Thomson, and 1951.
And for good measure, he ran in the winner in overtime from nine yards out to become the first NFL quarterback to throw for five touchdowns and run for one while throwing for at least 450 yards since Norm Van Brocklin in 1951, when Winston Churchill returned to office.
Burrow also staged a comeback Sunday, and as if to show up any naysayer who may have wondered about just how clutch he is, try absolutely money.
He pulled off not one fourth-quarter comeback and one winning drive, but two when you really look at it as the Bengals and Titans drained belief out of the Paycor Stadium sellout of 66,209.
During that wild fourth quarter Burrow brought the Bengals back from holes of 29-28 and 36-29, nose tackle Dexter Lawrence had a word with him.
"I looked at him and told him he was legendary," said Lawrence, who was pretty memorable himself. Sunday. "And go be legendary, and that's what he did. It was on my heart. I've saw him walking to get on the field, and it was just on my heart."
Burrow showed plenty of heart after throwing three interceptions for the first time since the 2022 opener and responded by drilling 79% of his passes (38-for-48) for 462 yards, the third-best game of his career. During the final three drives that were all touchdowns, he sifted 15 of 16 passes for 214 yards as he racked up his seventh fourth-quarter comeback and 10th game-winning drive, and first since their last overtime game, a win over Denver in Christmas week of 2024.
Pro football historian Ryan Michael told Bengals.com Burrow's 115.5 rating is the second-highest ever by a quarterback with three interceptions.
"For any murmurs and whispers, I'm not sure who they're talking about," said left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. "No. 9 is lightning, and he always gives us the best chance to win."
Dexter Rules As Mafe Measures Up
To a man, and Burrow led the pack on this, the Bengals agreed they haven't won shootouts like this the last three years, and they could look at the Jets and Bears last year and the Ravens and Steelers the year before.
The defense needed to make just one play in those losses, and on Sunday, the man they traded for their first-round pick did what they got him to do.
After Burrow tied it with 1:17 left in regulation on an 18-yard frozen rope to wide receiver Tee Higgins in the post, the Titans edged to field-goal range on third-and-three from the Bengals 45 with 32 seconds left. Until Lawrence wrecked it with a stunt worked with edge Boye Mafe and he turned a field goal into a punt and a win.
It was Lawerence's fifth sack of the season. All in the fourth quarter.
"I work in the muddy part of the field, and that was a grinding sack coming with (27) seconds left," Lawrence said. "I worked it with Boye. We saw something we liked and it happened."
What happened is that Mafe went inside and Lawrence outside. "I didn't see (Ward) until he was scrambling right at me from the pocket."
Mafe, another defensive addition, this one via free agency, said he looked at Lawrence and Lawrence looked at him, and they had "a communication." We knew what we wanted to do. The biggest thing is trusting each other and knowing we have each other's back."
Mafe and Lawerence teamed up for what would have been the play of the day on a normal day.
Early in the third quarter, Mafe picked up his second strip sack of the season and fourth sack in as many games at the Titans 29 and the 350-pound Lawrence picked up the rolling ball at the 25 and thought he was gone until guard Antonio Mafi dragged him down at the 17.
But a robust Sexy Dexy dance still ensued when Lawrence led his defenders into the end zone for the crowd-pleasing celebration.
On the next snap, Burrow led wide receiver Tee Higgins to right pylon for a 21-13 lead.
Mafe got dinged on the play. "I kind of pulled my head up, looked over, and saw he had the ball in his hands, and went back down," said Mafe who didn't miss a snap. "One thing I didn't know. Dex is actually fast."
Lawrence thought he was in.
"I didn't know somebody was that close," Lawrence said. "Better awareness or something, or ask someone to pick up a block for me or something."
Ja'Marr and Tee Have A Day
The torrid Higgins keeps piling it up with 10 catches for 155 yards. In the last month, he's also had 157 and 148 yards for the second, third, and fourth best games of his career.
And wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase had his first 100-yard game of the year with 141 on 11 catches, but he wasn't happy with the outing. Two of Burrow's interceptions were headed for Chase with one a miscommunication on a scramble drill and the other an underthrown bomb where Chase had people beat for a touchdown.
"I don't think I need to make sure about that," Burrow said about calming Chase. "He's a pro, and guys get emotional sometimes. That's how it is. I like when he gets emotional like that. It usually means I need to do a better job of throwing him the ball. That's a good reminder."
The crowd was getting restless with the Bengals down 13-0 when they had to call a timeout as the play clock wound down on a third-and-18 from the Titans 30 after left guard Dylan Fairchild's holding penalty negated running back Chase Brown's spectacular on-his-back 20-yard touchdown catch on third-and-eight.
Burrow then turned the game as play resumed when he split the pocket and in mid-stride, just before he hit the line of scrimmage, gunned a 30-yard touchdown pass to Chase cutting across the back of the end zone beating cornerback Joshua Williams.
"It was a deep curl. I put my hand up to convert it to a go route," Chase said. "Then it was just the scramble drill."
Both receivers were immense on third-and-long, each converting two third downs of at least ten yards.
Higgins loves OTs. He walked off the Denver win here in '24, with the first Bengals' overtime offensive touchdown ever, and he put this one into overtime.
"Overtime wins are always an exhale win," Higgins said. "Shout out to those guys over there (on the Titans). They're a really great team over there, and they played a really complete game. Shout out to us for overcoming what we weren't doing out there and we ended up winning."
It was the fourth time Chase and Higgins had 100 yards in the same game and their biggest onslaught since Higgins had a career-high 194 and Chase added 125 in the 2021 game Burrow threw for 525 yards.
"He's a whole different receiver this year than last year ," Chase said. "Run after the catch, more on back shoulder throws with Joe. It's hard to cover that when you're constantly switching it up every game. I love what they're doing and can only be better from here."
Slants and Screens
Linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. came up with a huge safety (the Bengals' first one in two years), when he gave the Bengals a 23-21 lead in the last minute of the third quarter as his well-timed blitz dumped Titans running back Tony Pollard in the end zone.
Knight said it came from studying the Titans' silent count and the signals between Ward and his guards …
The game's final snap came with 5:40 left in OT from the Titans 35 on fourth-and-three and the Bengals expecting quick game from the Titans. The Bengals got a big push up front and Ward threw it too quickly for wide receiver Elic Ayomanor slanting in front of cornerback D.J. Ivey at the 40.
First the Bengals called time out, then the Titans.
"Just see what they come out in. Get a better call. They didn't like their call, either, and called timeout," said Bengals safety Jordan Battle. "Quick game or option route."
It was quick. Too quick.
"It won't be me. If they get a first down, it won't be my man," said Ivey of his mindset. "You watch what they do, and they came out in two by two split, so it's either going to be a slant of back shoulder. He threw it so fast, it almost hit me in the face before I turned around." …
The defense finished without three regulars going down in the fourth quarter, one a starter. And that was their best cover player, cornerback DJ Turner II. Rotational ends Cashius Howell and Cedric Johnson also went out and an update is expected in a few days …
