Story by
Clemson stars take over in Bengals 950-yard overtime win
- Story by
- Clemson stars take over in Bengals 950-yard overtime win
Tee Higgins and Dexter Lawrence spent Sunday passing a football game back and forth without ever sharing the field.
Whenever the Bengals needed any sort of points, Tee Higgins was your guy. Whenever the Bengals needed another possession or one final stop, Lawrence gave the ball right back to him.
Advertisement
The sequence that tied the two former Tigers together began early in the third quarter. Boye Mafe knocked the ball out of Cam Ward's hands, and the 350-pound Lawrence picked it up at the Tennessee 25 with what felt like achres of open grass in front of him.
For a few glorious seconds, Lawrence appeared convinced he was taking it all the way to the house. Titans guard Atonio Mafi eventually caught him at the 17, but Cincinnati needed only one more snap. Joe Burrow found Higgins near the front pylon for a touchdown that gave the Bengals a 21-13 lead. The recovery was the first of Lawrence's NFL career, while the ensuing pass was Burrow's 175th career touchdown.
Lawrence was involved again later in the quarter when he and Demetrius Knight Jr. brought down Tony Pollard in the end zone for a safety. The play gave Cincinnati a 23-21 lead, though nobody was holding anything for long in a game that produced 950 yards of offense and nine offensive touchdowns.
Advertisement
Burrow finished with a video game like 462 yards, five passing touchdowns, three interceptions, and another score on the ground. Cincinnati gained 510 total yards, its most in three years, while Tennessee answered with 440 behind Ward and Pollard.
Higgins was the cleanest part of all that chaos. He caught 10 of his 11 targets for 155 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 15.5 yards every time Burrow found him. Ja'Marr Chase added 11 catches for 141 yards, giving Cincinnati two receivers over 100 yards in the same game for the fourth time in their careers.
With Cincinnati trailing 36-29 and only 1:17 remaining, Higgins split the defense and secured an 18-yard strike from Burrow to force overtime.
The performance continued a ridiculous month for Higgins. He has now posted a monster month of games, garnering 157, 148 and 155 yards over his past four appearances, three of the four largest receiving totals of his career. Through seven games, he has 43 receptions for 726 yards and four touchdowns, putting him on a 17-game pace of roughly 104 catches and 1,763 yards.
Advertisement
The Titans advanced to Cincinnati's 45-yard line and faced third-and-3 with 32 seconds remaining, leaving them within striking distance of a game clinching field goal. Mafe crashed inside, Lawrence looped around him and dropped Ward for a 13-yard loss. Tennessee punted, and Lawrence later called it the biggest play of his NFL career.
The Clemson contribution went deeper than the two headliners. Barrett Carter recorded eight tackles, bringing him to 58 through seven games, while Myles Murphy added a season-high six. Cincinnati's three former Clemson defenders combined for 21 tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery.
Burrow finished the job with a nine-yard rushing touchdown on Cincinnati's opening possession of overtime. The defense then stopped Tennessee on fourth down, securing the Bengals' third consecutive victory and improving their record to 5-2.
Advertisement
Contact us at @Clemson_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Clemson Tigers news, notes and opinions .
This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Clemson stars take over in Bengals 950-yard overtime win
