3 overlooked Joe Burrow throws that helped Bengals defeat Titans

Seven players caught at least one pass from Joe Burrow in Sunday's 43-36 overtime win for the Bengals over the Tennessee Titans. Samaje Perine and Jack Endries were both only targeted one time.

Perine hauled in a nine-yard reception on the second play of overtime, and Endries hauled in a one-yard touchdown that gave the Bengals a 14-13 lead just before halftime.

Coming into this season, there was a lot of conversation about the Bengals' wide receiver depth behind Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Sunday, though, showed that depth is good heading into mid-November. Mike Gesicki has a touchdown in five straight games and six out of seven overall this season, and Dohnte Meyers has gone from a great training camp story to an integral part of the Bengals' receiver room and special teams.

Burrow has trust in a lot of receivers right now. Several players caught passes from Burrow in the fourth quarter and overtime Sunday in got-to-have-it situations.

On a day where Burrow was historically good, three throws are getting overlooked, but they stand out for the growing trust he has in the Bengals deep group of pass catchers and also for how ridiculously accurate and prolific Joe Burrow is at throwing the football.

1. 10:07 4Q - 3rd&3 from the Bengals 34-yard line; Bengals trailing 28-23

Tensions were high in Paycor Stadium going into this play. The Bengals had just turned the ball over on their previous offensive possession, their fourth of the day, and Tennessee cashed in with a touchdown to take the lead. After a Chase Brown run on 2nd&4 gained just one yard, there were boo-birds coming down from the crowd. Then on 3rd&3, Burrow coolly found Mike Gesicki on the right side of the field for 18 yards and a badly needed first down.

It was just Gesicki's second catch of the game, but it would be the first of three receptions for him in the fourth quarter that accumulated 48 yards. Four plays after his third-down reception, Gesicki hauled in a 25-yard touchdown for his sixth score of the season and to give the Bengals a 29-28 lead. Gesicki is now tied for the most touchdowns he's ever scored in a season, and that was back in 2020, when he caught six touchdowns in his third season with the Dolphins.

This season, Gesicki has 17 receptions for 241 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 14.2 yards per reception.

Every Mike Gesicki catch so far this season:

Touchdown
First down
First down
First down
First down
Six yards
Touchdown
Six yards
Touchdown
Seven yards
First down
Touchdown
Touchdown#WhoDey

- SleeperBengals (@SleeperBengals) October 31, 2026

Fourteen of Gesicki's 17 receptions are for first downs or touchdowns. He set the tone for this season in Week 1, catching five passes for 78 yards and a touchdown, including three catches for 52 yards on the Bengals' final first-half drive that led to a field goal. Now, Gesicki has a touchdown in five straight games, the longest streak for a tight end in Bengals' franchise history.

2. 8:03 4Q - 3rd&10 from the Titans' 48-yard line; Bengals trailing 28-23

Don't let Gesicki's emergence and Tee's career-year overshadow the incredible connection Burrow and Chase have. They've been on the same page going all the way back to their first season at LSU in 2018. This play on Sunday shows the timing Burrow and Chase have on a difficult throw as Burrow is getting hit from a defensive stunt.

First of all, this play was set up by a 10-yard reception by Chase Brown on 2nd&20, which the Bengals were in after Burrow was sacked on first down. So getting back into third-and-manageable is impressive in and of itself.

Then on 3rd&10, the Titans ran a stunt with defensive end Jacob Martin looping around the left side of the Bengals' offensive line. It gave him a free rush at Burrow, but he didn't sack him. While he hit him hard, Burrow got rid of the ball just in time and layered a throw around multiple Titans' defenders to Chase on the far side of the field.

It gained 23 yards, and it set up Gesicki's 25-yard touchdown on the next play.

Burrow with the strike to Ja'Marr Chase with pressure bearing down on him pic.twitter.com/c6XAMTLjEW

- Bengals & Brews (@BengalsBrews) November 2, 2026

Chase had 11 receptions for 141 yards and a touchdown on Sunday, his first game with 100+ receiving yards and his first game with 10+ receptions. Even though Chase only" has 492 receiving yards through seven games, he still has six touchdowns on the season, touchdowns in three straight games and five of his last six.

And if Chase has 10 receptions on Sunday, he'll tie Michael Thomas for the most games with 10+ receptions by a player in his first six seasons all-time with 18.

For what it's worth, Chase is still on pace for 148 targets, 104 receptions, 1,195 receiving yards, and 15 touchdowns this season. Even if that's a down" year, it'd still be a great year. But don't worry; Chase had eight receptions for 130 yards and two touchdowns the last time the Bengals played the Falcons... and he didn't even play in the second half of that game.

3. 3:01 4Q - 2nd&3 from the Bengals' 26-yard line; Bengals trailing 36-29

This is my favorite play of the game. Tennessee just scored what could have been a back-breaking touchdown to take a 36-29 lead. I don't know about you, but I didn't know what the Bengals were going to do on their ensuing drive. It felt to me that it could go either way. But after this play, I was confident the Bengals were going to score and tie the game.

Burrow was in trouble on this play, but he bounced out of the pocket and started rolling to his left. It wasn't Chase or Higgins who caught the pass, though. It was Dohnte Meyers. The standout in training camp and the preseason, and who recently starred in the CFL, came across the field and made a diving 18-yard reception to move the chains and get the offense rolling.

we not talking bout this play enough pic.twitter.com/JCMkluz14u

- Khiicapalot (@Not_Gstreets) November 2, 2026

In that big of a spot, with Burrow escaping the pocket, it was Meyers making an incredible catch to gain the Bengals' first down on the drive that ultimately tied the game late in the fourth quarter.

Five plays later, Tee Higgins caught his second touchdown to tie the game at 36-36.

Through seven games, Meyers has 16 receptions for 175 yards. Ten of those catches are for first downs, and he also has one rush for 10 yards that gained a first down against Tampa Bay. On special teams, Meyers has 11 punt returns for 103 yards and a 9.4 average, and he has 25 kick returns for 660 yards and a 26.4 average. Meyers had three receptions for 34 yards on Sunday, including two receptions in the fourth quarter for 27 yards.

Joe Burrow is averaging 302.1 passing yards per game. Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins both lead the Bengals with 43 receptions. But other players are also stepping up, as evidenced by their performances on Sunday and through seven games this season. The Bengals not only have the best wide receiver duo in the NFL, but they also have one of the NFL's overlooked but deepest groups of pass catchers.

That may be what lifts Joe Burrow to the pole position of the MVP race and ultimately wins him his first MVP award.