T
he Cincinnati Bengals are going global. Coming off of a 43-36 overtime win over the Tennessee Titans in Week 8 of the 2026 NFL season, the Bengals are shifting focus onto their next game against the Atlanta Falcons, hungry to extend their winning streak to three straight and improve to 6-2. But this week is tougher, especially since they have to travel to Madrid, Spain.
The Bengals are the designated away team against the Falcons, taking them on at Bernabéu Stadium– home of Real Madrid CF. International travel takes a lot and on Monday, coach Zac Taylor revealed his team’s travel plans for the matchup.
Taylor Reveals Bengals Travel Plans
After the Los Angeles Rams struggled in their Week 1 game in Melbourne, Australia– largely due to an unconventional travel plan– Taylor is not taking any chances with his team. That is why the team plans to travel to Spain after practice on Tuesday, and get multiple practices in at the Spanish National Team Training Facility prior to Sunday’s kickoff.
“The week shapes up different,” Taylor told Joe Reedy of the Associated Press. “It speeds up the coaches a bit so that the comfort of being here in our office is different than on the road. As much as you can get done here before you get on the plane, you’d prefer to do that. Clean things up as you go. You treat it like a six-day week.”
The goal is to acclimate to the time change and environment before the team plays a full-length football game. The Rams, who lost 27-7 to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1 in Australia, arrived in Melbourne just over 24 hours before kickoff. The Bengals, who are 5-2 and eager for a return to the playoffs, do not want to risk a bad performance because of jet lag.
The Game and the Bengals Schedule the Rest of the Way
The Bengals and Falcons kickoff at 9:30 a.m. eastern time in what will be the seventh international game of the NFL season. On a two-game winning streak since their bye week, the team is already close to matching their win total from a season ago– finishing 6-11 in 2025.
After taking on the Falcons, they return to Cincinnati for a matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Bengals end the month with a road game against the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football in Week 11 and a home game against the New Orleans Saints in Week 12. In December, they are on the road for three out of their five games, facing the Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts on the road while hosting the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 14 and the Baltimore Ravens in Week 17. The Bengals final game of the season is at home against the Browns on either Jan. 9 or Jan. 10.
Zac Taylor Reveals Bengals’ Travel Plans for Madrid Game vs. Falcons