The Bengals and Falcons had already settled into garbage time by the time Sunday’s NFL Madrid game took a strange turn at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
With Cincinnati up 34-17 and less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter on Nov. 8, the lights suddenly went out in the $2 billion venue, leaving fans around the world staring at a darkened soccer stadium. Samaje Perine was in the middle of a run when the outage hit, and the play was wiped out by NFL officials even though the clock was nearly out.
The interruption sparked immediate confusion and plenty of jokes on social media, with viewers wondering if the problem was on their end. One post captured the moment bluntly: "I thought my TV was messing up, but no, the lights went out in the Madrid Stadium in the #Bengals vs #Falcons game. #NFL https://t.co/Zg0udLc7AV"
The blackout didn’t last long. Power returned moments later, and the game moved on without the outage affecting a key sequence.
It was a bizarre scene, but not one football has never seen before. The source of the comparison is the 2013 Super Bowl, when the lights went out at Mercedes-Benz Superdome for 34 minutes before the Baltimore Ravens went on to beat the San Francisco 49ers 34-31.
For Cincinnati, the night still ended with a win and a 6-2 record in the 2026 NFL season, putting Joe Burrow and the Bengals among the AFC’s top teams.
The Bernabeu, of course, is usually home to Real Madrid in La Liga and the UEFA Champions League. On Sunday, though, it was the backdrop for a different kind of star power, with Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Bijan Robinson giving international fans a look at the NFL in Spain.
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The NFLs push into Spain got an easy, natural boost before Week 9, and Bijan Robinson was at the center of it. The Falcons running back showed up in Madrid wearing a Real Madrid jersey, a fitting nod in a city where soccer still sets the tone and where the league is trying to make its case to a new audience. For Atlanta, it was the kind of crossover moment that can make an international trip feel bigger than just another road game.
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Falcons Get Called Out For A Costly Problem They Keep Creating
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Kevin Stefanski did not hide his irritation afterward, singling out the self-inflicted pre-snap penalties as a problem that cannot keep showing up. Atlanta is now 3-6, and the margin for error only gets thinner with the Kansas City Chiefs waiting next on the schedule. [Read more 🡒]