Joe Burrow and the Bengals will play in their first international game since 2019. Justin Casterline / Getty Images
The Cincinnati Bengals will take on the Atlanta Falcons at Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid on Sunday, Nov. 8, the NFL announced Tuesday. The Falcons had previously been announced as the home team for the game.
The Bengals will be playing internationally for the first time in seven years. They last went overseas in 2019 for a game against the Los Angeles Rams at London’s Wembley Stadium. They previously played at Wembley in 2016, a 27-27 tie against Washington. The franchise has never played internationally outside of England or won a game outside of the United States.
This will mark the start of back-to-back seasons playing internationally for Cincinnati. The Bengals confirmed last year that they are locked into giving up a home game to play internationally in 2027. This game will not impact that status.
You won’t hear any complaints from head coach Zac Taylor, who fully understands the advantage of moving from Mercedes-Benz Stadium to the home of Real Madrid.
“I’m all for giving up a hostile atmosphere here in the States and going abroad,” Taylor said. “We have a tremendous team with a lot of high-end talent. To take center stage in the world would be exciting for everybody. To promote the Bengals’ brand internationally, I think, is awesome.”
The Falcons are hoping that playing the Bengals on a different continent works out better for them than the games have on American soil. Atlanta’s last win over Cincinnati came in 2010. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was in middle school at the time, and Matt Ryan was in his third year as the Falcons’ quarterback rather than his first as their president of football.
Atlanta has dropped three straight against Cincy since then, losing in 2022, 2018 and 2014. The Falcons get a chance to snap that streak. It will be Atlanta’s fifth regular-season game overseas and second in as many years after a 2025 trip to Berlin.
The Falcons’ only international victory came in 2021 when they beat the New York Jets 27-20 in then head coach Arthur Smith’s first season. Atlanta will make this trip with another first-year head coach in Kevin Stefanski, who is 0-1 all-time in international games.
It will be the second straight year that Madrid’s Bernabeu Stadium hosts an NFL game, after the Miami Dolphins and Washington Commanders played the NFL’s first game in Spain last season.
May 12, 2026
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