The ninth Sunday of the NFL regular season started with a trip to Spain for a showdown between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Atlanta Falcons. The Bengals took a 24-10 lead at intermission on their way to a 34-17 win.
Atlanta made it a one-possession game in the third quarter on a short touchdown run by Bijan Robinson. But that was as close as the Falcons got to a comeback. The Bengals immediately responded with a scoring drive of their own that was capped off by Joe Burrow's third touchdown pass of the game.
Burrow, who entered the game with a league-best 20 touchdown passes, strengthened his early league MVP case on Sunday. He scored four total touchdowns, including three through the air and a short touchdown run that gave the Bengals their first lead early in the second quarter. Burrow finished the game with 271 yards on 24-of-29 passing.
Cincinnati received a stellar first half from Ja'Marr Chase, who shredded Atlanta's defense to the tune of 142 yards on eight catches in the game's first 30 minutes. He capped off Cincinnati's opening drive with a 47-yard touchdown catch.
Atlanta's offense opened the game with consecutive scoring drives that included a touchdown pass from Michael Penix Jr. to Charlie Woerner on the game's opening drive. Penalties forced the Falcons to punt on two of their last three drives of the first half, and mistakes continued to plague Atlanta for the remainder of the matchup.
The Bengals now improve to 6-2 and sit tied atop the AFC North with the Pittsburgh Steelers, whom they will face in Week 10. The Falcons fall to 3-6.
Here's a closer look at how the Bengals got it done.
Burrow was sensational in the first half. During the game's first 30 minutes, he went 18-of-22 for 239 yards with three total touchdowns. Burrow now has 23 touchdowns to just six interceptions this season.
Burrow wasn't asked to do as much in the second half, but he still had his moments, including his third touchdown pass of the game and a key third-down completion to Higgins that made it a three-possession game.
As noted above, Chase had a monstrous first half as well. His 142 receiving yards is the most he's ever had in the first half since entering the NFL back in 2021.
Cincinnati's passing attack was complemented by a running game that churned out 123 yards on 24 carries. Chase Brown and Samaje Perine combined to run for 106 yards on 20 carries.
Consecutive runs of 11 and 19 yards by Brown set up Burrow's second touchdown pass to Higgins that gave Cincinnati a 31-17 lead late in the third quarter.
After allowing scores on Atlanta's first two drives, Cincinnati's defense allowed just one score on its final seven series.
The only score the Bengals allowed during that span took place on the Falcons' first possession of the second half. Cincinnati shut out Atlanta from that point on and sealed the win when linebacker Barrett Carter picked off Penix in Falcons territory with four minutes to play.
Atlanta finished the game with 319 yards, but just 133 of that was gained in the final two quarters. The Bengals also forced two key red zone stops.
It's hard to beat a team that is playing as well as the Bengals. It's even harder to do that when you're beating yourself with costly penalties and other uncharacteristic mistakes.
Atlanta committed a whopping 12 penalties for 88 yards, with a good number of those flags being thrown on Atlanta's offense. A delay of game penalty led to a punt on the Falcons' third possession, and a holding call on their next drive led to another punt.
The Falcons' struggles came to a head early in the fourth quarter when a holding call turned a third-and-2 from the Bengals' 10-yard-line into a third-and-12 from Cincinnati's 20. After Penix threw an incomplete pass on third down, Falcons kicker Nick Folk missed a 38-yard field goal, his first miss inside 40 yards in 109 attempts (since 2017).
In defeat, the Falcons received another productive game from Robinson, who had 147 all-purpose yards on 25 carries that included 100 yards on 19 carries. The Falcons' offense didn't get enough production from Penix, who threw for just 162 yards on 20-of-31 passing.
Cincinnati will leave Spain with a 34-17 win. Joe Burrow was the star of the game. He threw three touchdowns, ran for another and went 24 of 29 for 271 yards through the air.
The Bengals are now 6-2, while the Falcons fell to 3-6.
McPherson's second field goal of the day gives the Bengals an insurmountable 34-17 lead with 4:30 left. The score was set up by Burrow's third-down completion to Higgins that got the Bengals into FG range.
Barrett Carter just picked off Penix, so this one is effectively over with 3:59 left.
Nick Folk had made 109 straight field goals from inside 40 yards, but that streak came to an end in Spain with a miss on the 38-yarder that you can see below. Folk had not missed a kick from that range since October 2017.
Atlanta forces a punt after sacking Burrow on third-and-1, but the Falcons are still down by 14 points with less than 10 minutes left after Nick Folk missed a 38-yard attempt on Atlanta's previous drive.
Falcons will start this drive at their own 20-yard-line. They can't afford a time-consuming drive here, which means that Robinson will need to be used more in the passing game if they want to keep him involved here.
Atlanta has the ball in Bengals territory as we enter the fourth quarter. The Falcons' offense obviously needs two turnovers, but they also can't afford to give up any more points. That appears to be a tall task though as the Bengals have scored on all but one of their five possessions.
Bengals respond with yet another scoring drive that extends their lead to 31-17 with 2:05 left in the third quarter. Higgins caps off the drive with his second TD catch of the day. Burrow up to three TD passes and four total touchdowns. That's four straight games with at least three TD passes, a franchise record.
Cincinnati's passing attack has been complemented by Chase Brown, who is up to 55 yards on seven carries. Brown had consecutive carries of 11 and 19 yards that helped set up that TD.
Atlanta makes it a 24-17 game on a short TD run by Bijan Robinson on its first drive of the second half. Kudos to the Falcons' offense for capitalizing on the defense's first forced punt.
Atlanta got Robinson involved on that drive. He had four catches for 28 yards and six carries for 21 yards on the 11-play, 76-yard drive. It's a 24-17 game with just over six minutes left in the third quarter.
Cincinnati's offense is forced to punt on its first drive of the second half. The Falcons' offense needs to capitalize on their first drive of the half. They have to find a way to get the ball to Robinson, who wasn't much of a factor in the first half after Atlanta's opening drive.
Score: Bengals 24, Falcons 10
First downs: Bengals, 15-12
Third down: Bengals 4-5, Falcons 3-6
Total yards: Bengals 278-186
Red zone: Bengals 2-2, Falcons 1-2
TOP: Falcons 15:21
Burrow: 18-22, 239 yards, 2 TDs, 0 sacks
Penix: 11-18, 77 yards, 0 sacks
Bengals: 39 yards on 8 carries
Falcons: 109 yards on 11 carries (Robinson: 59 yards on eight carries)
Chase: 142 yards and a TD on 8 catches (9 targets)
Burrow scores this third TD of the half after throwing his second TD pass to Tee Higgins that extends the Bengals' lead to 21-10 with 4:03 left until halftime. Burrow is 16 of 18 for 194 yards.
Burrow is putting on a clinic, but Chase has been the most impressive player on the field today. He already has 142 yards and a TD on eight catches.
Ja'Marr Chase brought his "A" game to Spain. He's already up to 115 yards and a TD on five catches. He just made a diving catch that's under review.
Chase made this catch and run moments earlier. Bengals ahead 14-10 with a chance to add to their lead with 8:45 to play until halftime.
Burrow caps off Cincinnati's second drive with a TD on a QB sneak. Both teams have now scored on each of their first two drives. Bengals lead 14-10 with 12:56 left until halftime.
Burrow is 8 of 10 for 108 yards and two total touchdowns. Chase is already up to 73 yards and a TD on three catches. Bengals are also getting it done on the ground with 37 yards on six carries.
The Bengals will start the second quarter in field goal range after Burrow hits Chase Brown for a first down. The two teams combined for 245 yards in the first quarter (130 for Atlanta). Burrow is 7 of 8 for 95 yards and a TD that includes Ja'Marr Chase's nifty, one-handed grab on the Bengals' current drive.
Atlanta scores on its second drive and re-takes the lead on a 31-yard field goal by Nick Folk. The 11-play, 47-yard drive stalled in the red zone on holding and false start penalties.
The drive's big play was a run by Penix that got the Falcons into scoring range.
Robinson is off to a fast start. He's already up to 52 yards on six carries.
The first quarter isn't even over in Madrid and Michael Penix has already hit his career-high for rushing yards in game. Heading into Week 9, his career-high was 21, which came in Week 1 of the 2025 season. After two offensive possessions for the Falcons, Penix is already up to 34 yards against the Bengals.
The 23-yard run below is more than he's ever had in an ENTIRE game before this week.
Burrow throws a 47-yard bomb to Ja'Marr Chase that ties the score midway through the first quarter. Both teams get touchdowns on their opening drives.
Burrow was 3 of 4 for 59 yards on the five-play, 75-yard drive.
Atlanta takes a 7-0 lead on Michael Penix's 1-yard TD pass to Charlie Woerner. The score caps off a seven-play, 80-yard drive that saw Penix complete each of his three passes for 42 yards. Bijan Robinson had early success with three carries for 42 yards (he also had a seven-yard catch on the drive) that included a 21-yard run.
Bengals kick off, Falcons start the game with the ball, and we have a flag on the opening kickoff. Holding call on the Falcons.
The NFL Pro Shop might be the most popular place at Bernabeu stadium right now. There were literally thousands of people in line about 90 minutes before the game. It was a popular spots, because everyone was looking to buy the NFL's special Madrid merchandise.
Although you can feel the outdoor temperature inside the stadium, there's not really wind, so this could be a big day for kickers. During warmups, Evan McPherson went back to 61 yards and he had some room to spare, so he could probably go back to 65 today if the Bengals need him to.
Two weeks ago, the NFL held a game in Paris despite civil unrest taking place throughout the city. In Madrid, there has been some protesting, but it's been almost all peaceful based on what I've seen and heard. With that in mind though, there's some serious security at this game.
Evan McPherson was one of the first Bengals players out on the field and after he was done checking out the turf at Bernabeu, he decided to sign some autographs for several excited Bengals fans.
There's a path at the stadium for players to get on and off the field. The Bengals' path is at the 20-yard line. Joe Burrow was near the 50-yard line and he didn't feel like making the trek down, so he took a detour through the Falcons' bench area, under a barrier and to the Bengals' locker room. Foreign stadiums can be confusing.
The fans here don't tailgate like we don in America. So what does that mean for all the American fans? Most of them went to nearby bars and some of them even went to the Taco Bell across from Bernabeu to eat some food and drink a few beers before the game.
One interesting thing about Bernabeu Stadium that I didn't know about: The outer shell of the stadium is built like a vent. This means that although the roof will be closed, you still get the outdoor weather blowing through. It's 59 degrees in Madrid right now and it feels that way inside the stadium.
Joe Burrow is having an MVP caliber season, and Tee Higgins is a big reason why.
Via CBS Sports Research Team:
Among all QB-receiver duos with at least 40 targets this season, Burrow's 0.82 EPA/Throw is the highest in the NFL when targeting Higgins.
Highest EPA/Throw by QB-Receiver Duo
This Season (Min. 40 Targets)
Joe Burrow > Tee Higgins 0.82
Jared Goff > Sam LaPorta 0.69
Jared Goff > Jameson Williams 0.59
Higgins' 726 receiving yards are the 2nd-most in the NFL and the 4th-most by a Bengal in the 1st 7 games of a season in franchise history.
The 27-year-old has 22 explosive receptions, tied for the 2nd-most by any player in their 1st 7 games of a season since 2000.
Most Explosive Receptions in 1st 7 Games of Season - Since 2000
2011 Steve Smith 23
2026 Tee Higgins 22
2023 Tyreek Hill 22
2016 Julio Jones 22
2012 Calvin Johnson 22
>> Explosive reception = 16+ yd rec
Higgins has an explosive target rate of 36.1% this season, 9.0 percentage points higher than any other receiver in the NFL (min. 40 targets)
Highest Explosive/TGT Pct by QB-Receiver Duo
This Season (Min. 40 Targets)
Joe Burrow > Tee Higgins 36.1%
Trevor Lawrence > Parker Washington 27.1%
Kirk Cousins > Brock Bowers 25.8%
In the past 25 years, no QB-receiver duo has had as high an explosive target pct as Burrow-Higgins through 7 games (min. 50 targets).
Think of all the dynamic pairings we've seen!
Highest Explosive/TGT Pct by QB-Receiver Duo
1st 7 Games of Season - Past 25 Years
2026 Joe Burrow > Tee Higgins 36.1%
2011 Cam Newton > Steve Smith Sr. 35.9%
2023 Dak Prescott > CeeDee Lamb 33.9%
2016 Matt Ryan > Julio Jones 33.8%
2001 Kurt Warner > Isaac Bruce 32.8%
> Min. 50 Targets (Among 635 instances)
You're probably wondering: Why is Tee Higgins all of a sudden having a breakout year?
Well, the Bengals are utilizing him more on intermediate throws over the middle.
Joe Burrow: 18/19, 316 yds targeting Tee Higgins on 10-20 air yd throws inside numbers this season (most comp & yds of any duo in NFL)
It appears that Falcons pass rusher James Pearce Jr. will make his season debut today. He started the year with an eight-game suspension for violations of the NFL's personal conduct policy. Pearce was listed as questionable heading into the game with a back issue.
Pearce can help a Falcons defense that is averaging just 2.25 sacks a game this season.
Welcome today's live coverage of today's international game in Spain between the Falcons and Bengals. It's a big game for both teams for different reasons.
The Bengals are riding a three-game winning streak and with a win can keep pace with the Steelers for first place in the AFC North. The Falcons are 3-5 and need a win if they want to make sure that they don't lose ground if in the NFC South standings this week.
One thing to keep an eye on is the field condition. It appears that Burrow was pointing out an issue in the end zone to Ja'Marr Chase during pregame.
