The Falcons are back on foreign soil Sunday, and this trip to Madrid comes with a chance to clean up an international record that has been uneven at best.
Atlanta enters its game against the Cincinnati Bengals with a 2-3 mark in regular-season contests played outside the United States. This will be the Falcons’ sixth such game overall and their fifth in Europe, with previous stops in Toronto, London and Berlin.
That history started with a win. In 2013, Atlanta went to Toronto and beat the Buffalo Bills 34-31 in overtime.
The next two overseas trips, though, turned sour. The Falcons built a 21-0 halftime lead against the Detroit Lions in London in 2014, only to give up 22 unanswered points and fall 22-21.
They returned to London in 2021 and got back in the win column, taking down the New York Jets 27-20 behind Matt Ryan’s 342 passing yards and two touchdowns.
Since then, the results have gone the other way. Atlanta lost 23-7 to the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in 2023, then dropped a 31-25 decision to the Indianapolis Colts in Berlin in 2025. That Berlin loss pushed the Falcons to 2-3 in international games and was part of a four-game skid that dropped the team to 3-6 and helped seal the fate of former head coach Raheem Morris.
Now Atlanta arrives in Spain at 3-5, with a chance to leave Madrid either with a much-needed win or with a second straight 3-6 finish. The setting is new, but the pressure is familiar.
The Falcons are also trying to bounce back from a rough one at home. They were shut out 16-0 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week, and Michael Penix Jr. threw four interceptions in a game where the offense never found any rhythm.
The challenge gets a lot bigger against Cincinnati. Joe Burrow is coming off a huge day in a 43-36 overtime win over the Tennessee Titans, throwing for 462 yards and five touchdowns while also scoring on the ground.
Atlanta will also have to deal with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, a receiver pairing Kevin Stefanski described this way: “Outstanding players,” Stefanski said. “Having two wide receiver playmakers like they have, I don’t know if anybody in the league has guys like that.”
Stefanski said the week’s preparation has to stay focused on the opponent in front of them, not the frustration from last Sunday.
“This league is so unique in that week-to-week the challenges are different,” Stefanski said. “So obviously the challenges of last week were last week and I don’t expect those same challenges.”
He added, “But, listen, it’s just a different deal when you go up against Joe Burrow and this offense and what they’re capable of doing and how they play. It’s definitely one that you have to be prepared for, and it’s why we’re working so hard.”
For Atlanta, keeping Cincinnati from hitting big plays will be a major key. The Falcons also have a chance to give their international supporters something to cheer about, with Stefanski encouraging Spanish fans to get behind Atlanta and hoping to see Madrid in red and black.
Sunday’s game at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium gives the Falcons another shot to grow their footprint abroad while trying to fix their road record overseas. A win would give them their third international victory in six tries.
In Other News...
Bengals Could Face A Tough Trade Deadline Decision On Their Own Roster
The Bengals are expected to be active around the NFL trade deadline, and the reason is pretty straightforward: injuries have left them looking for help at linebacker and in the secondary. That usually puts a team in buyer mode, but it also changes the conversation inside the building, where depth pieces and young talent suddenly become part of the calculus as Cincinnati weighs both its needs and its long-term roster picture.
Several names on the Bengals' roster are already being floated as possible trade candidates, even if the team may not be eager to part with them. Other clubs are always looking for value when the deadline nears, and Cincinnati's current injury situation only adds to the scrutiny, but the front office also has to decide how much it is willing to sacrifice from a roster it still believes in. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Still Have One Problem Keeping Doubters Loud
The Bengals walked out of Week 8 with an overtime win over Tennessee, but the messiness around it did little to quiet the outside noise. Cincinnati survived multiple turnovers and another uneven day on defense, the kind of performance that has kept the conversation around this team focused less on the standings and more on whether it can ever put together a clean 60 minutes.
Joe Burrow and the offense still give Cincinnati a ceiling that keeps it in the national conversation, and the defense has enough talent to suggest better days are possible. Still, the perception problem lingers because the slow starts and first-half struggles keep showing up in the same places, leaving the Bengals with a win that mattered and a reputation issue they have not solved yet. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals May Have A Dalton Risner Problem They Didnt Expect
Dalton Risner has given the Bengals exactly what they hoped for when they brought him in as an interior offensive line answer. He has settled in well, drawn praise for his professionalism, and helped stabilize a unit that has needed dependable play inside, with his work showing up in both pass protection and the run game.
The tricky part for Cincinnati is that Risners value may be rising at the same time the team has more decisions looming on the offensive line. A player who arrived as a short-term fix can quickly turn into someone the Bengals need to keep, and his situation is now part of a broader offseason puzzle that could force the front office to choose which linemen it can afford to retain. [Read more 🡒]