The Cincinnati Bengals will face the Atlanta Falcons in Madrid in Week 9 this season, the NFL announced Tuesday. The game will be played on Sunday, Nov. 8 at Bernabéu Stadium and televised by NFL Network, the report says.
The Falcons had previously been announced as the home team for the matchup, but their opponent was not known until Tuesday, the report says. The Bengals have not played overseas since 2019, which was coach Zac Taylor’s first season; that contest in London was a loss to the Los Angeles Rams, and the team’s other overseas game occurred in 2016, per the report.
Taylor also expressed interest in swapping a road game for an overseas trip. “I’m all for giving up a hostile atmosphere here in the states and going abroad,” Taylor said, the report says.
The Madrid contest is one of nine international games on the 2026 schedule, the report says. Two other matchups already announced are the San Francisco 49ers vs. Rams in Melbourne, Australia in Week 1 and the Baltimore Ravens against the Dallas Cowboys in Rio de Janeiro in Week 3. Additional international games will be played in Paris (New Orleans Saints), Munich (Detroit Lions), Mexico City (San Francisco 49ers) and three games in London (Jacksonville Jaguars twice and Washington Commanders), per the report.
The complete 2026 regular-season schedule will be announced Thursday at 8 p.m. ET, and a two-hour prime-time special will air on ESPN and NFL Network, the report says. ESPN’s Ben Baby contributed to this report.
