Bengals dominate in Madrid to beat Falcons 34-17

Quarterback Joe Burrow scored a touchdown to help the Cincinnati Bengals to a 34-17 victory against the Atlanta Falcons in Madrid on Sunday and claim their first-ever NFL regular season win on international soil.

“I feel great, I loved playing in this stadium. It is a great atmosphere, I loved putting on a show to the people of Spain, was happy to be here,” Burrow said after his international debut at the Bernabeu.

He said that Sunday was “close” to the best version of the Bengals, but still sees room for improvement: “We didn’t score in every possession. We have a chance to set out to do everything we want.”

Bengals coach Zac Taylor, however, had nothing but praise for his quarterback.

“Joe is playing at an unbelievably high level right now. It’s hard not to put the ball in his hands every play. We just have to keep this momentum going. I’d say pay attention to the Bengals,” he told reporters of his 6-2 team.

The Falcons took the lead in their first drive with Charlie Woerner’s touchdown, but the Bengals found an immediate response once their offence got on the field, with Ja’Marr Chase collecting a sensational 47-yard deep pass from Burrow.

From then on, the Bengals dominated to take a 24-10 lead into half-time as Burrow ran in to score and Chase was extra inspired in Madrid. The wide receiver finished the first half with eight catches for 142 yards.

Third attempt for Bengals

After a scoreless second quarter for the Falcons, Bijan Robinson ran for one yard to finally add some points in their first offensive action of the third quarter.

But Burrow followed that up with a second touchdown pass for Tee Higgins and Evan McPherson scored a field goal with 4:41 minutes left on the clock as the Bengals went up 34-17.

Any slim hopes the Falcons might have of a comeback went up in the air when Michael Penix was intercepted by Barrett Carter.

The Bengals’ victory overseas came in their third attempt. In 2016, they played out a rare NFL tie, 27-27, against the Washington Commanders (back then Washington Redskins) in London.

In their second trip to London in 2019, they were beaten 24-10 by the Los Angeles Rams.

The game in Madrid was a home game for the Falcons, but Bengals fans were the clear majority in the stadium.

“Felt good. Unbelievable turnout by our fans. Nice to reward our fans. Proud of the organization the way we handled the trip,” Taylor said.

Burrow was very vocal about his wish to play on international soil and already sent a message to the league that he wants to do it again.

“I think it was a huge bonding experience for us and to see the excitement of the city with us being here I think it was a little surprising for me, a pleasant surprise, and hopefully, we can come back next year and do some more exciting things for everybody,” he said.

Asked where he would like to go next, he added: “I don’t know, I don’t know. We’ll have to see where all the new places are next year. They’re talking Mexico City, people are talking Tokyo. We’ll see.”

This year, the NFL is hosting a record of nine international games. Three in London and one each in Rio de Janeiro and Melbourne already took place before Madrid. Munich and Mexico City are hosting one game each later in November.