The Cincinnati Bengals put on an offensive show in their 34-17 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Nov. 8 at the Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, Spain. However, one team was particularly unhappy about not being selected to play in this year’s game.
It was the second straight season that the NFL held a regular-season game in Madrid, and if anyone needed to be sold on American football, the Bengals offense made a case for them to follow the sport.
Joe Burrow went 24-for-29 on his pass attempts for 271 passing yards and three touchdowns while recording a passer rating of 140.1. Moreover, Burrow wasn’t the only one producing in Madrid, as Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase put on a show.
Higgins recorded five receptions on six targets for 32 receiving yards and two touchdowns, while Chase had 10 receptions on 12 targets for 155 receiving yards and one touchdown.
The Bengals’ offense left their mark in Spain, but NBC 5 Cincinnati’s Charlie Clifford revealed that the Kansas City Chiefs wanted to be part of this game in Madrid.
“The backstory behind today’s game in Madrid: The Chiefs were unhappy about being passed over,” Clifford reported on X during the Bengals-Falcons game on Nov. 8. “Kansas City, [the Miami Dolphins] and [the Chicago Bears] are the only three teams with exclusive NFL marketing rights in Spain.
“After Miami hosted the inaugural game, Kansas City was expected to get the 2026 matchup. Instead, the Atlanta Falcons were selected, and the Cincinnati Bengals ended up bringing the larger crowd.”
Dexter Lawrence II on Cincinnati’s Offense, Joe Burrow
After the Bengals’ win over the Falcons, defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence II spoke to Sky Sports and shared his thoughts on what he sees from the team’s offense as they went off for 34 points.
“They’re continually wanting to get better, and every week they’ve improved and helped the defense out a lot,” Lawrence said postgame on Nov. 8. “When they’re doing their thing, getting off the field, holding onto the ball and scoring, it makes things easy for us.
“Teams can only really do one thing, and that’s pass the ball. We love when they’re playing well, and we hope they stay hot.”
Furthermore, Lawrence went into detail about the performance from Burrow, who looks to be putting together an MVP campaign.
“I always whisper in his ear and tell him, ‘Be legendary. Be a legend. That’s who you are.'” Lawrence added. “You don’t have to go outside yourself. Just be you and that’s what he does.”
Dexter Lawrence II on Bengals’ Defensive Performance
Meanwhile, the Bengals defense did enough to limit the Falcons’ offense as they held Atlanta to 17 points and only 162 passing yards. Lawrence also spoke about the defensive performance from Cincinnati as the team moves to 6-2 ahead of a crucial game in Week 10 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“We want to be physical,” Lawrence said. “We don’t want to let guys feel like they can do whatever they want against us. When you give up three-way goals and two-way goals all the time, that’s not good. We want to be dominant up front and stout. That’s what we want to put on tape.”
Chiefs Reportedly Had Strong Reaction to Bengals-Falcons Game in Madrid