The Tennessee Titans offense had a great day in Cincinnati, and Cam Ward threw for 300 yards for the first time in his NFL career. It still ended in a 43-36 overtime loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Ward did great things in this game. He showed real progress. However, he still couldn’t come up big when it mattered most. That continues a troubling theme that has followed him through his first 25 NFL starts.

Brian Daboll was in his bag early for Cam Ward and the Titans

The start looked a lot like the Cleveland Browns game a week ago. Ward came out dealing. Tennessee got a field goal on the opening drive, then the defense forced a three-and-out. It looked like the Titans were getting the fired-head-coach, interim-coach bump I talked about in the Jeffrey Simmons trade aftermath.

Ward threw accurately, played on time and on schedule. He controlled the offense and managed the other 10 players around him, especially when the Titans went uptempo. Robert Saleh said postgame he thinks the uptempo approach helps Cam, and you can see it on the field.

Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll called plays I don’t think anybody has seen from this team this season. I don’t know why it took until the eighth game for the fourth-and-1 call on the opening possession, when Ward picked up 6 yards with his legs. Tennessee converted two 2-point conversions, Tony Pollard punched in a touchdown run, and an end-around showed some real creativity in the play design.

This is a team that failed a million times in short-yardage situations, especially at the goal line, in the first seven weeks. Against the Bengals, the Titans were GOOD in those spots. They did it without JC Latham for most of the second half and Peter Skoronski for almost all of the fourth quarter and overtime.

Pollard also kept making himself look not-washed (which plenty of Titans fans believed in the offseason). He went over 100 rushing yards with two touchdowns again.

Four Bengals turnovers still weren’t enough for the Titans

The defense was a wild ride. Tennessee intercepted Joe Burrow three times, and Alontae Taylor forced a fumble on a botched handoff exchange between Burrow and Chase Brown.

Burrow also had a record day against this defense. Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase both went over 100 yards with ease. Mike Gesicki scored a touchdown for the fifth consecutive game. Burrow capped it by running in the game-winning touchdown after an easy six-play drive in overtime.

The offense had its own hiccups. Ward fumbled on a sack in the third quarter. Pollard was tackled for a safety on a strange delayed handoff call while backed up in his own end zone, which gave Cincinnati a 23-21 lead.

But the Titans fought back. A touchdown and another 2-point conversion put them up 36-29 late in regulation before the Bengals answered.

Cam Ward’s lack of a clutch gene is a growing concern

Here’s the stat that keeps following Ward: he has yet to throw a touchdown pass before the fourth quarter this season. The last two weeks, Tennessee outscored the Browns and Bengals 27-7 in the first quarter. Ward played well in those starts, but the touchdowns have all come from Pollard.

The last time he truly stunk to start a game was in Indianapolis, when the Titans fell behind 13-0, he threw a lot of bad balls, and he finished with 102 passing yards. Tennessee still won that game.

So the first halves are trending up. The finishes are not.

The missing clutch gene is a growing concern for the Titans’ young quarterback. Tennessee needed about 12 to 15 more yards at the end of regulation to set up Joey Slye for a game-winning field goal. After an incompletion, Ward scrambled 7 yards on second-and-10. That left a very manageable third-and-3.

Then Ward took a 13-yard sack. He looked unclear on where to go with the ball, and the banged-up offensive line got bull-rushed and mauled. It was a failure by all 11 on offense. Still, Ward couldn’t make the play when the Titans needed him most.

Overtime brought more of the same. I’ll give Ward a lot of credit for one moment. Austin Schlottmann snapped the ball before Ward called for it in the shotgun, and Ward scooped it off the turf and threw it away. That could have been a game-ending fumble or a backbreaking sack. Instead, it was just third-and-long.

A nice catch by Chimere Dike set up a fourth-and-3. Ward couldn’t find Elic Ayomanor on a play that had zero chance.

I don’t want to take away from how impressive this game was for Ward. I honestly don’t know the last time the Titans offense looked this good, and it’s something he has to build on. But once again, in a big moment, he couldn’t get the points Tennessee needed to win.

It’s a mistake roulette game the Titans offense keeps playing. . . and it’s beyond frustrating.