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Titans Week 8 Stock Report: Jacob Martin, Amani Hooker Among 4 Surging in 43-36 OT Loss
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- Titans Week 8 Stock Report: Jacob Martin, Amani Hooker Among 4 Surging in 43-36 OT Loss
Jacob Martin and Amani Hooker gave the Titans' defense its best day in the first game after the Jeffery Simmons trade . Tennessee still left Paycor Stadium with a 43-36 overtime loss and a 1-7 record.
Tennessee jumped out 13-0, led 28-23 and 36-29 in the fourth quarter, and forced four turnovers as a 13½-point underdog. Joe Burrow answered with touchdowns on his last three drives, the final one a 9-yard scramble in overtime.
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"That's the sixth time this year," Robert Saleh said of losing late .
The bye week gives Nashville two Sundays to stew on this one. Here's whose stock moved.
Rising: Jacob Martin
Nov 1, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Tennessee Titans defensive end Jacob Martin (57) reacts in the first half against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images
Martin entered the week with a 45.8 PFF grade that ranked near the bottom of the league's edge rushers. He left with a career-high three sacks, three tackles for loss and six pressures, according to the team's count .
The biggest one came on fourth-and-2 from the Tennessee 5, a 15-yard sack of Burrow that took points off the board. Martin is up to 6.5 sacks, a personal best.
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"Hell of a game by us, but it really sucks not to win," Martin said.
Falling: Wan'Dale Robinson
Tennessee Titans tight end Daniel Bellinger (82) breaks a tackle from Cincinnati Bengals safety Bryan Cook (6) in the first quarter of the NFL Week 8 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Tennessee Titans at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026.
Robinson caught the go-ahead touchdown with 3:46 left, but his day had a costly early stretch. DJ Turner II punched the ball out on a screen at the Cincinnati 37 in the second quarter, the Bengals' first takeaway , and Cincinnati took its first lead before halftime.
He finished with six catches for 57 yards. With Carnell Tate out, Tennessee needed its veteran slot receiver to be the steady one, and the fumble plus a couple of drive-stalling drops made it harder.
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Rising: Amani Hooker
Nov 1, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Tennessee Titans safety Amani Hooker (37) reacts after catching an interception in the third quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images
Hooker became the first Titan with three interceptions in a game since Kevin Byard in 2017, and the first NFL player to do it since Jordan Whitehead in 2023. Saleh said he is playing at a Pro Bowl level.
"It's just preparation throughout the week," Hooker said. That production also makes him one of the more interesting names on the roster with the Nov. 10 deadline eight days out, a question we took up Sunday night .
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Rising: Tony Pollard
Tennessee Titans running back Tony Pollard (20) runs for a touchdown in the first quarter of the NFL Week 8 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Tennessee Titans at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026.Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Pollard ran 21 times for 117 yards and two touchdowns, his second straight 100-yard game. He has five touchdowns in the last two weeks, and his 40-yard score in the first quarter went through what looked like half of Cincinnati's defense.
He came into Sunday with an 80.5 PFF grade , seventh among running backs. A 29-year-old back playing this well on a 1-7 team is exactly what contenders shop for in the next eight days.
Falling: Titans' cornerbacks
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1) runs through the end zone with a touchdown catch in the second quarter of the NFL Week 8 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Tennessee Titans at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026.
Burrow threw for 462 yards and five touchdowns. Ja'Marr Chase caught 11 passes for 141 yards, Tee Higgins had 10 for 155 and two scores, and the Bengals went 15 of 16 for 214 yards on their last three possessions, all touchdowns .
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Marcus Harris left with an ankle injury in the second quarter, which thinned the group further. This was the pass defense ranked 26th by success rate coming in, and nothing Sunday moved that number in the right direction.
Rising: Cam Ward
Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward (1) throws a pass in the second quarter of the NFL Week 8 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Tennessee Titans at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026.
Ward completed 26 of 40 passes for 304 yards and two touchdown passes with no interceptions, his first 300-yard game in the NFL. He ran in one two-point conversion and threw another to Gunnar Helm, who caught five passes for 76 yards.
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The one blemish is the one he talked about. Ward took a 13-yard sack at the Cincinnati 45 with about 30 seconds left in regulation, which pushed the Titans out of field-goal range.
"I can't take a sack," Ward said.
Falling: Robert Saleh
Nov 1, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Tennessee Titans head coach Robert Saleh reacts in the first half against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images
Tennessee led by 13 in the first quarter for a second straight week and lost again, only the fourth time a team has done that in NFL history, according to the AP. The decision that will get replayed is the delayed draw from the 3-yard line right after Hooker's third interception, which ended with Pollard tackled in the end zone for a safety.
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Saleh's defense also gave up an 81-yard drive to tie it with 1:17 left. Two weeks off won't erase a pattern of late collapses that keeps showing up on his watch.
More on the Tennessee Titans
This story was originally published by Athlon on Nov 2, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add Athlon as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
