The Tennessee Titans surprised the football world when they took the Cincinnati Bengals to overtime before ultimately falling in a 43-36 battle. Despite the loss, there were a lot of things to be encouraged by, especially offensively. The Bengals’ high powered offense kept swinging away, but the Titans punched back every single time.

Obviously, there are no morale victories in the NFL, but for a team that’s lacked offensive firepower all year long, this was a sight for sore eyes.

As for the other side of the ball, well, let’s just say it wasn’t nearly as promising. Having said all of that, let’s not waste anymore time and jump right into this week’s positional grades breakdown.

QB Grade: A

QB Cam Ward played arguably the best game of his career on Sunday. He topped 300 yards for the first time in his career, while also having an adjusted completion percentage of 80 percent (26/40), per PFF. Ward also connected on eight explosive throws — his most all season. 

But as encouraging as those numbers are, the tape really stood out.

Cam Ward looked like a completely different QB in Week 8 for the #Titans. He was extremely effective working the MOF, kept the footwork/ball placement as clean as I've ever seen from him, (generally) worked well from within the pocket, and still sprinkled in a few highlight… pic.twitter.com/j9nxUDlZGc

— Drew Beatty (@IronCityFilm) November 2, 2026

For the first time this season, Ward played a complete game where he looked comfortable, decisive, confident, and accurate throughout the contest.

The second-year QB certainly had some plays he wants back, but this was a massive step in the right direction for his overall development. Ward had his offense going toe-to-toe with one of the most stacked offensive units in the NFL. And he notably did it without his top target, WR Carnell Tate, while also losing his top two blockers by the end of the game.

The overall use of tempo really seemed to help Ward get settled in, because for the first time all year, there was zero hesitation in his game. Once he saw something open, he ripped it, and it resulted in him looking like a true franchise quarterback for the first time all season.

Another thing that jumped off the page was his willingness to change velocities on a ton of his throws. That in itself is a massive improvement from earlier this season when he routinely missed some easy throws due to the unnecessary velocity he used on seemingly every throw.

Ward appears to be growing right before our very eyes, and it finally culminated in an incredible performance on Sunday.

Now the question becomes, can he sustain this success and build off it, or was this just an occasional flash-in-the-pan type of performance?

RB Grade: A

RB Tony Pollard had another phenomenal game for the second straight week. The Memphis product totaled 137 yards and two touchdowns on 24 touches (117 rushing, 20 receiving).

This is the second consecutive week where Pollard has topped the 100-yard mark, subsequently increasing his trade value one week from the deadline. 

It’ll be interesting to see if Pollard is still on the team come next Tuesday, but if he isn’t, that means the Titans probably got another offer they couldn’t turn down as the team tries to load up on as many draft picks as they can before next April.

WR Grade: B

With Tate out with a shoulder injury, this group entered the game with minimal expectations. Yet, to my surprise, they performed admirably as a unit. Second-year receivers Chim Dike and Elic Ayomanor combined for eight catches for 107 yards and one touchdown.

Meanwhile, the veteran tandem of Calvin Ridley and Wan’Dale Robinson combined for 67 yards, a few backbreaking drops, and one touchdown.

It’s clear that once Tate returns, Tennessee needs to commit to the youth movement in that room. Robinson has been a massive disappointment and should honestly be relegated to a backup role after the bye.

As for Ridley, a trade would be the best-case scenario, but at minimum, he should be seeing minimal snaps the rest of the way. A divorce is inevitable at the end of the year, so giving those reps to your younger and more productive receivers makes a ton of sense, especially following the performances we saw Sunday.

TE Grade: B+

TE Gunnar Helm had his best game of the season, leading the team in receiving yards (76) while also holding his own as a blocker. Tennessee could use more performances like this out of its young TE, especially in the passing game.

Helm is a big body with reliable hands in the middle of the field, and Ward took advantage of it throughout the contest.

As for TE Daniel Bellinger, he continues to be a valuable part of the run game while also finding his spots as a pass catcher, reeling in three catches for 36 yards. 

In total, the two of them combined for 112 receiving yards on Sunday, resulting in Bellinger (88.2) and Helm (79.1) earning the team’s top two grades offensively.

OL Grade: B-

OL Coach Carmen Bricillo deserves a ton of credit for the job he’s done this season. His unit entered the game already down to his third RG, and by the end of it, he was down his top two offensive linemen as well.

Both RT JC Latham and LG Peter Skoronski left the game prematurely and their status going forward is uncertain. Yet, despite the adversity, he continues to field a competent unit.

No position group on the team embodies the saying “next man up” like Bricillo’s unit. Ward was only sacked twice, albeit one of those was critical at the end of regulation.

They’ve also played a massive role in Pollard’s recent breakout, using gap schemes to help create sizable lanes for him to hit. Nonetheless, only allowing two sacks when you’re down three starters, two of which are Pro Bowl caliber, is undoubtedly still noteworthy.

A ton of credit goes to RG Atonio Mafi, LG Garret Dellinger, and OT James Hudson for holding their own against a formidable Bengals front. 

And while losing Skoronski and/or Latham for any period of time is less than ideal, this group at least looks equipped to be able to handle it, should that end up being the case. In total, this group allowed a combined 16 pressures, two QB hits, and two sacks.

DL Grade: B-

This unit may no longer have the household names outside of DT John Franklin-Myers,  but that didn’t stop this group from

Playing inspiring football on Sunday. DE Jacob Martin was a constant nuisance for Bengals QB Joe Burrow, recording seven pressures and three sacks before the day was done.

It wasn’t the cleanest performance as a whole, but for a group that lost their leader just a few days earlier, they more than held their own. The Titans’ DL combined for 16 of the team’s 22 pressures to go with Martin’s three sacks. 

LB Grade: C

The trio of Anthony Hill Jr. (14), Cedric Gray (three), and Cody Barton (three), combined for 20 total tackles on the day. Hill, in particular, bounced back after a rough game in coverage last week, allowing just 17 yards on five targets to go along with his team-leading 14 tackles.

It’s clear that Hill is rapidly developing into a vital piece for this defense, and frequent performances like this are a big reason why.

DB Grade: D

If it weren’t for an absolutely ridiculous three interception performance by S Amani Hooker, this group would easily get an F. So, the fact that Hooker’s performance could only elevate this group to a D tells you how bad it really was.

After having solid games in back-to-back outings, CBs Cor’Dale Flott and Joshua Williams got a brutal reality check on Sunday. 

The two of them gave up a combined total of 240 yards on 21 targets, most of which came against the Bengals’ star WR tandem Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.

However, it was Williams who they picked on most. Burrow produced a perfect passer rating of 158.3 when targeting the fifth-year corner, totaling an absurd 146 yards when throwing his way.

CB Alontae Taylor also got his first playing time since being benched a few weeks ago. He helped fill the void at nickel left by CB Marcus Harris’ injury, and he made his presence felt in the run game and as a blitzer. 

Unfortunately, Burrow picked on Taylor in coverage, completing all five of his targets for 75 yards.

It was clear early and often that this secondary was not equipped with the type of talent they need to slow down a high-powered offense like the Bengals’, and Burrow's 400+ yards and five-touchdown performance is evidence of that.

Specialists Grade: B

With P Tommy Townsend out, the team leaned on veteran P Thomas Morstead and it proved to be a good decision. Morstead punted the ball three times for 134 yards, with one of those landing inside the 20.

K Joey Slye was a perfect two-for-two on his attempts, but was potentially robbed of a game-winning attempt thanks to the sack on the Titans’ final drive of regulation.

That would’ve undoubtedly bumped this up to an A, but it was still a solid outing all around, nevertheless.