The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Tennessee Titans 43-36 in overtime on Sunday, Nov. 1, and are 5-2 for the first time since 2021. They are just behind Pittsburgh (6-2) in the AFC North and ahead of Cleveland (5-3).

The offense is the reason. Cincinnati has scored 206 points, 29.4 a game, second in the NFL behind Buffalo, and has a point differential of +48, fifth in the league.

Points per game, through Week 8

Two of the losses were close, and the wins have come in very different ways. Here is the season so far.

1. Sept. 13Won 33-27 against Tampa Bay at home. The Bengals led 24-10 at halftime, and Joe Burrow threw for 254 yards.
2. Sept. 20Won 20-6 at Houston. The Texans were held to two field goals.
3. Sept. 27Lost 30-27 at Pittsburgh. Burrow threw three touchdown passes and the game was tied 17-17 at halftime.
4. Oct. 4Lost 22-17 against Jacksonville. Burrow threw 54 passes for 428 yards and two interceptions, and the team ran for 23 yards.
5. Oct. 11Won 31-24 at Miami. Burrow threw four touchdown passes, and the Bengals converted 9 of 13 third downs.
6. Oct. 18Bye week.
7. Oct. 25Won 35-13 at Baltimore after trailing 13-0 at halftime. Cincinnati scored 35 unanswered points.
8. Nov. 1Won 43-36 in overtime against Tennessee after trailing 13-0. Burrow threw for 462 yards and five touchdowns and ran in the winner.

Cincinnati has been outscored 47-28 in the first quarter, a margin of -19, the only quarter it loses. It has trailed after one quarter in four of seven games (Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, Baltimore and Tennessee), been tied in two and led in one.

From the second quarter on, the Bengals have outscored opponents 171-111, a margin of +60, and they won the overtime 7-0.

Points the Bengals scored, by quarter

Points the Bengals allowed, by quarter

At Baltimore on Oct. 25, the Ravens led 13-0 at halftime and outgained the Bengals 258-59. After the break Cincinnati scored on its first five possessions, outgained Baltimore 298-101 and won the fourth quarter 21-0. Baltimore became the first team since 1950 to lead by 13 or more at halftime and lose by 20 or more.

A week later Tennessee scored on its first three drives and led 13-0 after one quarter. This time the game went the distance. Tennessee led 36-29 with 3:46 left, Burrow drove 81 yards and tied it with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Tee Higgins with 1:17 to go, and in overtime Burrow scrambled 9 yards for the winning score.

Joe Burrow has thrown 20 touchdown passes, one more than Las Vegas’s Kirk Cousins for the NFL lead. He has completed 195 of 267 passes (73.0 percent) for 2,115 yards, 302 a game, with six interceptions and two rushing touchdowns.

Burrow's touchdown passes, by game

He has thrown for 13 touchdowns in the last three games. Against Tennessee he became the only quarterback besides Norm Van Brocklin in 1951 with at least 450 passing yards, five touchdown passes, a rushing touchdown and multiple interceptions in a game.

Tee Higgins has 43 catches for 726 yards, second in the NFL behind Seattle’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and has topped 100 yards three times. Ja’Marr Chase has the same 43 catches and 61 targets, with 492 yards and six touchdowns.

Receiving yards for the Bengals' top targets

The passing game is most of the offense. Cincinnati has 2,019 net passing yards and 562 rushing yards, and Chase Brown has 340 yards on 94 carries, 3.6 a carry.

The Bengals have sometimes been loose with the ball. They have turned the ball over 10 times, four of them against Tennessee, and have taken it away 11 times. Their third-down offense has been steady, 46 of 87 (52.9 percent).

Bengals turnovers, by game

The defense has allowed 158 points, 22.6 a game. Against Tennessee Dexter Lawrence had seven tackles, a sack, a fumble recovery and a share of a safety, and before the Bengals’ last drive of regulation he told Burrow to “go be legendary.”

The Bengals play the Atlanta Falcons at the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid on Sunday, Nov. 8, at 3:30 p.m. local time, which is 4:30 p.m. in Cairo. It is Cincinnati’s third international game and its first since London in 2019. The Falcons are 3-5 and were shut out 16-0 by Tampa Bay on Nov. 1.

1. Sun., Nov. 8Bengals vs. Falcons in Madrid, 3:30 p.m. local time (4:30 p.m. in Cairo)
2. Sun., Nov. 15Steelers at Bengals, 8:20 p.m. ET (3:20 a.m. Monday in Cairo)
3. Mon., Nov. 23Bengals at Commanders, 8:15 p.m. ET (3:15 a.m. Tuesday in Cairo)

Cincinnati has trailed by 13 in each of its last two games and won both, and there is no bye to rest on. A faster start is the thing to watch: the Bengals have trailed after the first quarter in three of their last four games.