MADRID — Joe Burrow turned one of soccer's most famous stages into his own showcase on Sunday, 8 November 2026, throwing three touchdown passes and running for another as the Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Atlanta Falcons 34-17 at Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in the NFL's second-ever regular-season game in Spain. The win, Cincinnati's fourth in a row, lifted the Bengals to 6-2 and into a tie with the Pittsburgh Steelers at the top of the AFC North — and it delivered the clearest evidence yet that the NFL's Madrid experiment is working.
An announced crowd of 78,660 packed the Bernabéu for a game that kicked off at 3:30 p.m. local time, and much of it, according to reports from the stadium, was wearing orange. The Falcons were the designated home team, but the atmosphere belonged to the visitors.
Illustration: An American football game under the floodlights of Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, with a packed crowd watching the Cincinnati Bengals take on the Atlanta Falcons.
What Happened
The Falcons struck first. On the opening drive, Atlanta quarterback Michael Penix Jr. found tight end Charlie Woerner for a touchdown, and the designated home team briefly quieted a stadium that had spent the week buzzing about its second NFL visit. The lead lasted only as long as it took Burrow to answer.
On Cincinnati's first possession, Burrow hit wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase deep down the right side on third down for a 47-yard touchdown. It was the first of three consecutive touchdown drives to open the game for the Bengals. On the second drive, Burrow capped an 11-play march with a quarterback sneak for his third rushing touchdown of the season. On the third, under pressure, he found Tee Higgins for a touchdown. By half-time, Cincinnati led 24-10.
Chase was the story of the first half. He caught eight passes for 142 yards before the break — the best first half by a Bengals receiver since 1988, according to the team — and finished with 10 catches for 155 yards and a touchdown. Higgins caught two touchdown passes, the second of which was the 50th touchdown of his career. Burrow's three touchdown passes took his season total to 23, the most in the NFL, and he has now accounted for 18 touchdowns in his last four games.
Atlanta, which fell to 3-6 with its second consecutive defeat, never found a way back into the game after the opening quarter. A Falcons field goal made it 10-7 at the end of the first period, but Cincinnati's offence kept rolling. The Bengals arrived in Madrid only three days before kick-off, fitting in two practices on Spanish soil, and still produced their best start of the season.
The victory was the first in franchise history for the Bengals outside the United States, and it sets up the biggest game of their season so far: a Sunday Night Football meeting with the Steelers at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on 15 November, with first place in the AFC North on the line.
Around the League: Week 9's Other Big Results
While Madrid held the spotlight, Week 9 delivered drama across the United States as well. The Green Bay Packers produced the weekend's most emphatic road performance, routing the New England Patriots 45-27 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough. Quarterback Jordan Love threw for 372 yards and three touchdowns and added a rushing score, completing 23 of 29 passes as Green Bay scored on seven different drives and forced four turnovers. Love's first touchdown pass of the day — a five-yard strike to Matthew Golden — was the 100th of his career, reached in his 57th start. Christian Watson caught seven passes for a career-high 171 yards as the Packers improved to 6-3, while the Patriots fell to 5-4 after Drake Maye was intercepted on the second play from scrimmage.
In Philadelphia, the New York Giants tightened their grip on the NFC East with a 19-11 win over the Eagles — their first victory in Philadelphia since 2013, ending a 13-year losing streak at Lincoln Financial Field. Dominic Zvada kicked four field goals, and backup quarterback Jameis Winston threw the game's only touchdown after starter J.J. McCarthy was forced out by injury, as the Giants improved to 5-2-1. The Eagles, who turned to Joe Milton III at quarterback after starter Tanner McKee struggled, fell to 2-7 with their seventh consecutive defeat.
Elsewhere, the Kansas City Chiefs got back on track with a 35-12 rout of the New York Jets, as Patrick Mahomes threw for 242 yards and two touchdowns and running back Kenneth Walker III scored three times while totalling 143 yards. The Denver Broncos won their fifth straight game, 26-21 over the Carolina Panthers, with Bo Nix throwing for 237 yards and two touchdowns. The Dallas Cowboys rallied past the Indianapolis Colts 27-23, the Los Angeles Rams beat the Washington Commanders 20-13 behind a dominant performance from wide receiver Puka Nacua, and the Detroit Lions ground out a 19-9 win over the Miami Dolphins.
The day's most dramatic finish came in New Orleans, where the Saints edged the Cleveland Browns 23-22 in overtime. Tyler Shough's 15-yard touchdown pass to tight end Juwan Johnson gave New Orleans the lead in the extra period, and the Browns' gamble for a two-point conversion to win it failed. The San Francisco 49ers beat the Las Vegas Raiders 38-17, the Seattle Seahawks shut down the Arizona Cardinals 17-3, and the Houston Texans routed the Los Angeles Chargers 44-22.
Illustration: A packed stadium crowd waving flags and jerseys during an NFL international game in Madrid, with the city's skyline beyond the stands.
Background
Sunday's game was only the second NFL regular-season contest ever played in Spain, but the league's return to Madrid was anything but a gamble. The Bernabéu hosted its first NFL game in November 2025, when the Miami Dolphins defeated the Washington Commanders 16-13 in overtime before 78,610 fans. That debut was part of a seven-game international series that year, with further games in London, Berlin, Dublin and São Paulo. The success of the Madrid debut prompted swift renewal talks, and in February 2026 the NFL confirmed a multi-year agreement to bring regular-season games back to the Bernabéu, in partnership with Real Madrid, the City of Madrid and the regional government.
The 2026 season features a record nine international regular-season games across seven countries and four continents, up from seven a year earlier. The schedule opened in Melbourne, Australia — the league's first regular-season game on that continent — and has included games in London, Paris and Rio de Janeiro. The Madrid fixture was the seventh of the nine, with the remaining two to be played in Munich, Germany, and Mexico City.
The NFL's international push is not new — the league has played regular-season games in London since 2007 — but its scale has changed. What began as a single annual game at Wembley has grown into a travelling showcase reaching Australia, South America and continental Europe. The Bengals embraced the trip, spending five days in Spain and treating the week, according to the team's own account, as a bonding experience as much as a business trip.
Why It Matters
For the Bengals, the Madrid win matters first and foremost because of what it says about where they stand. At 6-2, tied with Pittsburgh at the top of the AFC North and winners of four straight, Cincinnati has moved from a team with a talented quarterback to a team that looks like a genuine contender. The offence has scored at least 31 points in each of its last four games, and Burrow, who leads the NFL with 23 touchdown passes, is now being discussed openly as a Most Valuable Player candidate.
The manner of the win matters too. The Bengals did not merely survive a disruptive overseas trip; they dominated it. Three straight touchdown drives to open the game, a 24-10 half-time lead, and a performance from Chase that recalled the franchise's great receiving days — all of it three days after landing in a foreign country, in a stadium built for a different sport. That is the kind of performance that travels well in a locker room, and it sets up next Sunday's meeting with the Steelers as a genuine statement game.
For the Falcons, the defeat deepens a difficult season. At 3-6, with a second straight loss and the division slipping away, Atlanta now faces the kind of mid-season reckoning that the NFL's trade deadline — which falls on Tuesday, 10 November — tends to sharpen.
For the NFL, the game matters because it proved that Madrid is not a one-off. A second sell-out, a second compelling contest, and a second week of wall-to-wall coverage in the Spanish capital all point the same way: the Bernabéu is becoming a reliable home for American football in Europe. With a multi-year deal already in place, and with reports that a game in 2027 is also under discussion, the league's Spanish outpost looks increasingly permanent.
Week 9 also reshaped the playoff race: the Giants tightened their grip on the NFC East, the Packers announced themselves as an NFC force, and with the trade deadline arriving on Tuesday, several of Sunday's results — Philadelphia's seventh straight loss above all — are likely to shape the deals that follow.
Illustration: A quarterback in an orange and black striped uniform throwing a long touchdown pass inside a packed stadium at night, with a receiver running to catch the ball.
What Happens Next
The Bengals fly home to the biggest game of their season. On Sunday, 15 November, they host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night Football at Paycor Stadium, with first place in the AFC North at stake. Both teams sit at 6-2, and the winner will take control of the division with the stretch run approaching.
The Falcons, meanwhile, return to Atlanta at 3-6 and facing hard questions. With the trade deadline on 10 November, the coming days will reveal whether the franchise sees itself as a buyer, a seller, or a team standing pat and hoping the second half of the season brings better luck.
Around the league, the Giants host the Washington Commanders on Thursday night, 12 November, while the Eagles, now 2-7 and heading into their bye week, face a long fortnight of questions about their direction and their plans at the trade deadline.
And the NFL's international caravan moves on. With Munich and Mexico City still to come, the record nine-game overseas schedule has two stops left. The Bernabéu, a stadium built for Real Madrid's galácticos, has now hosted two NFL games and two sell-outs. The league, and the city, will both be back.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What was the score of the NFL game in Madrid on 8 November 2026?
The Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Atlanta Falcons 34-17 at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid on Sunday, 8 November 2026. It was the NFL's second regular-season game in Spain, and the Bengals led 24-10 at half-time before closing out the win.
How did Joe Burrow play in the Madrid game?
Joe Burrow completed 24 of 29 passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, for a passer rating of 140.1, and he also ran for a one-yard touchdown. His three touchdown passes took his season total to 23, the most in the NFL.
Was this the first NFL game played in Madrid?
No. The first NFL regular-season game in Madrid was played on 16 November 2025, when the Miami Dolphins beat the Washington Commanders 16-13 in overtime at the Bernabéu before 78,610 fans. The Bengals-Falcons game on 8 November 2026 was the second, and it drew an announced crowd of 78,660.
What does the win mean for the Bengals' season?
The win improved Cincinnati to 6-2 and into a tie with the Pittsburgh Steelers at the top of the AFC North. It was the Bengals' fourth straight victory, and the team has scored 30 or more points in four consecutive games for the first time since 1997. The Bengals next host the Steelers on Sunday Night Football on 15 November.
How many international games is the NFL playing in 2026?
The NFL scheduled a record nine international regular-season games in 2026, across seven countries and four continents, including first-ever games in Australia and France. The Madrid fixture was the seventh of the nine, with the remaining games to be played in Munich, Germany, and Mexico City.
Sources
- Associated Press, "Burrow powers Bengals past the Falcons in Madrid," published 8 November 2026 — https://nowgeorgia.com/burrow-powers-bengals-past-the-falcons-in-madrid/
- Cincinnati Bengals, "Bengals-Falcons Final Score and Game Recap," 8 November 2026 — https://www.bengals.com/news/bengals-falcons-recap-postgame-notes-quotes-stats-week-9-2026
- Reuters, "NFL to return to Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadium in 2026," 2 February 2026 — https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/nfl-return-real-madrids-santiago-bernabeu-stadium-2026-2026-02-02/
- Providence Journal, "Packers 45, Patriots 27: Green Bay routs New England at Gillette," 8 November 2026 — https://www.providencejournal.com/story/sports/nfl/patriots/2026/11/08/patriots-vs-packers-live-updates-scores-highlights-and-key-plays--live/92672699007/
- Reuters, "Giants capture first road win over Eagles since 2013," 8 November 2026 — https://www.reuters.com/sports/nfl/giants-capture-first-road-win-over-eagles-since-2013--flm-2026-11-08/
- Sportsnet, "NFL Week 9 roundup: Saints, Cowboys score dramatic wins," 8 November 2026 — https://www.sportsnet.ca/nfl/article/nfl-week-9-roundup-saints-down-browns-in-ot/
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