Zac Taylor came home from Spain with his Bengals still in good shape, and now the focus shifts straight to a massive AFC North showdown with the Steelers.
Cincinnati returned safely on Monday after finishing its trip to Madrid, and the injury report remains relatively clean heading into the week. The one new concern is starting guard Dylan Fairchild, who was hurt in Spain. Beyond that, the Bengals appear to be carrying their recent good injury fortune into Sunday night.
“Was really the last play of the game,” Taylor said about Fairchild. “We’ll just see how he feels as the week goes on.”
There are also a few other names trending in the right direction. Cincinnati is hoping to get Kyle Dugger back soon from his lingering quad issue, while the injured reserve timelines for Andrei Iosivas and Jalen Davis are getting closer to the finish line.
The matchup itself has some history attached to it. Sunday night will be the first time since 1975 that two AFC North teams with .750 records or better have met in primetime in October or later.
The Bengals gave the American audience a statement game on Sunday morning, and Joe Burrow was right in the middle of it. He turned in another four-plus touchdown performance and moved himself deeper into the MVP conversation.
“Joe is playing at an unbelievably high level right now,” Taylor said. “It’s difficult not to put the ball in his hands on every play given how everybody is playing around him as well.
We just got to keep this momentum going. This is a fickle league.
We’re in a good spot right now coming out of this trip. We just got to maintain this momentum, and that’s going to be on us to handle the flight back and the rest of the week the right way and be ready to go Sunday night.”
Taylor also pointed to how well Cincinnati managed the trip overall, saying the team understood the challenge and handled it better than the opposition.
“We knew two teams were going to handle the same schedule, and we just wanted to come out and make sure we showed that we’ve handled it better than anybody,” Taylor said while in Spain. “Again, proud of the way all three phases played. There might have been a lull here and there in each phase, but the other side picked us up, and we were able to finish the game the right way.”
Now it all leads to Sunday night, when Cincinnati meets Pittsburgh at 8:15 p.m. ET with control of the AFC North moving forward on the line.
In Other News...
Falcons Get Caught In The NFLs Strangest Madrid Moment
Sundays trip to Madrid turned into more than just another international showcase for the Bengals, with a brief power outage at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium creating one of the stranger moments of the NFL season. The stadium went dark late in the fourth quarter during Cincinnatis game against the Falcons, interrupting the flow of a matchup that had already tilted the Bengals way.
When the lights came back on shortly after, the game resumed under unusual circumstances, and NFL officials had to sort out what happened during the blackout. Cincinnati kept control from there and held on to improve its season record, but the oddest part of the afternoon may be the play that vanished into the darkness and the confusion that followed. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Defensive Progress Could Decide Where Al Golden Ends Up
As the Bengals get ready for their game against the Falcons in Madrid, there is still a larger coaching subplot hanging over the trip. Al Golden, who has been Cincinnatis defensive coordinator since 2025, remains a familiar name in college circles because of his previous run at Notre Dame, and his future in the NFL is not exactly settled. The defense has shown some improvement, which is at least a step in the right direction for a unit that has spent much of the season fighting to find its footing.
Goldens progress in Cincinnati may end up mattering well beyond this season, because it could shape whether he keeps building here or becomes a candidate for other opportunities. His name still carries weight at Notre Dame, and with the Bengals trying to stabilize a defense that has been under plenty of scrutiny, every week seems to add another layer to the question of where he lands next. [Read more 🡒]
Joe Burrow Is Carrying The Bengals Into A Massive Steelers Test
Joe Burrow kept rolling in Week 9, and the Bengals kept pace in the AFC with a convincing win over Atlanta that pushed them to 6-2. Cincinnati looked sharp on offense throughout the afternoon, with Burrow once again steering the attack efficiently and reminding the league why the Bengals have stayed in the thick of the conference race.
Now the focus shifts to Pittsburgh, where a much bigger test awaits next week. Burrows recent form has him sitting atop the MVP conversation, and the Bengals will need that same level of command against a Steelers team that is always eager to turn these matchups into a grind. For Cincinnati, the question is no longer whether Burrow is playing at a high level. It is how far he can carry them when the stakes rise again. [Read more 🡒]