Bengals-Titans Ends in NFL's First-Ever 43-36 Final as Cam Ward Posts His First 300-Yard Game

Cincinnati’s 43-36 overtime win over Tennessee on Sunday was already one of the wildest games of Week 8. It also produced a final score the NFL had never seen. CBS Sports confirmed the game was a scorigami, the 1,098th unique final score in league history and only the third of the 2026 season.

Joe Burrow’s six-touchdown day got most of the headlines. Here is the other side of it: how the score happened, what the loss means for Cam Ward and the Titans, and what comes next for both teams.

What is a scorigami, and how did 43-36 happen?

A scorigami is a final score that has never happened before in NFL history. According to CBS Sports, this one needed a few strange twists:

• With the game tied 21-21 in the third quarter, Tennessee running back Tony Pollard was tackled in the end zone for a safety, putting Cincinnati up 23-21.
• The Bengals later went for two after a touchdown and failed, which left them at 29.
• With under four minutes left, Tennessee led 36-29, a score that has happened before. Burrow then led an 81-yard drive and found Tee Higgins for an 18-yard touchdown with 1:17 left to tie it.
• In overtime, Burrow went 4 for 4 for 51 yards and ran in a 9-yard touchdown for 43-36.

It was Cincinnati’s first scorigami since a 22-18 win over New England in 2022 and Tennessee’s first since a 45-26 win over Detroit in 2020, per CBS Sports.

Cam Ward’s first 300-yard game

For Tennessee, there was a real positive in the loss. Cam Ward went 26 of 40 for 304 yards and two touchdowns, his first 300-yard game, according to the team’s recap. He threw an 11-yard touchdown to Chimere Dike for a 28-23 lead in the fourth quarter and a 15-yard score to Wan’Dale Robinson for a 36-29 lead with 3:46 left. He also ran in a two-point conversion.

His one big mistake came early in the third quarter. Ward was sacked and lost a fumble deep in his own territory, and Burrow hit Higgins for a touchdown on the next play.

“It was a good game,” Ward said. “But at the end of the day, we are trying to win games here - that’s what the fans want, and that’s what we want.”

Other standout Titans

• Amani Hooker: three interceptions of Burrow
• Jacob Martin: three sacks, including a 15-yard sack on a Bengals fourth-and-2 at the Tennessee 5
• Tony Pollard: 117 rushing yards and two touchdowns, including a 40-yard run
• Joey Slye: field goals from 46 and 29 yards in the first quarter

Robert Saleh: “The last five minutes we have to figure it out”

The Titans were close to two-touchdown underdogs and led 13-0 in the first quarter, but penalties and turnovers cost them, the team wrote. Coach Robert Saleh sounded like a man who has given this speech before.

“I feel like I am standing up here every week saying the same thing: I think our guys fight their tails off,” Saleh said. “But the last five minutes we have to figure it out, we have to win.”

Defensive lineman Solomon Thomas said much the same: “We have all the right pieces - we are not missing anything. We just have to finish these games.”

Joe Burrow’s place in the record book

CBS Sports noted that Burrow (462 passing yards, five touchdown passes, one rushing touchdown) is only the second player in NFL history with at least 450 passing yards, five touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown in the same game. He also threw three interceptions, all to Hooker. Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase each topped 140 receiving yards.

Standings and what’s next

• Bengals (5-2): Cincinnati has won three straight and faces the Atlanta Falcons in Madrid next Sunday, the NFL’s second regular-season game in Spain, according to the AP.
• Titans (1-7): Tennessee has a bye in Week 9 and returns Sunday, Nov. 15, against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Nissan Stadium.

FAQ

Earlier coverage: Bengals Beat Titans 43-36 in Overtime as Joe Burrow Throws for 462 Yards, Scores Six TDs (Nov 1)