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          Bengals' Joe Burrow has 3 TD passes in wild game

          • Ben Baby, ESPN Staff WriterDec 15, 2024, 03:36 PM ET
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              Ben Baby covers the Cincinnati Bengals for ESPN. He joined the company in July 2019. Prior to ESPN, he worked for various newspapers in Texas, most recently at The Dallas Morning News where he covered college sports. He provides daily coverage of the Bengals for ESPN.com, while making appearances on SportsCenter, ESPN's NFL shows and ESPN Radio programs. A native of Grapevine, Texas, he graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor's degree in journalism. He is an adjunct journalism professor at Southern Methodist University and a member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).
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          It looked like Jordan Battle was going to have a scoop-and-score, until it was fumbled away at the last moment.

          The Cincinnati Bengals safety was on the verge of crossing the goal line for the second straight Bengals defensive touchdown in as many series. But Battle bobbled the ball and watched it squirt through the back of the end zone, negating a potential score and giving the Tennessee Titans the ball back in a game filled with errors.

          On the previous possession, Titans starting quarterback Will Levis had his third interception of the day returned for a 40-yard touchdown by safety Geno Stone. That prompted Tennessee to swamp Levis with back-up Mason Rudolph.

          The two teams combined for nine turnovers in the first three quarters.

          Even the offense scored, it wasn't conventional.

          On third-and-goal from the Titans' 2-yard line early in the third quarter, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow found defensive end Sam Hubbard for a touchdown that tied the game at 14.

          Throughout the year, Hubbard has had a few offensive snaps. On this specific play, Cincinnati took wide receivers Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase off the field and opted for a heavy personnel package that featured Cincinnati's starting defensive end as an edge blocker.

          Hubbard shook loose and caught the contested reception for his first career offensive touchdown. According to ESPN Research, it was the first receiving touchdown by a primary defensive player since Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons caught one last season.

          Hubbard and Burrow have known each other for a long time. The two played together at Ohio State for three years before Burrow transferred to LSU for the final two years of his college career.

          Hubbard later threw his third touchdown pass of the game, a 38-yarder to Tee Higgins and the Bengals led 24-14 at the half.

          Burrow also threw a TD pass to running back Chase Brown after evading two tacklers.

          Titans rookie defensive tackle T'Vondre Sweat had the first crack at Burrow. But Burrow wriggled away from that tackle, scrambled loose and then made defensive end Ali Gaye miss before Burrow found Chase in the end zone.

          According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Burrow had 9.01 seconds to throw and scrambled 24.5 yards before firing the ball to Brown.

          It was a good bounce-back for Burrow after he threw an interception on Cincinnati's opening possession.

          The turnover fest continued in the second half. One series after Burrow was picked off, Tennessee's Will Levis returned the favor with a pick-six. Cincinnati safety Geno Stone, floating in the middle of the field, intercepted Levis' pass and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown. That score gave the Bengals a 31-14 lead with 7:24 left in the third quarter.

          Levis was subsequently benched.