How the Bengals can make their trip abroad a complete success
· Yahoo Sports
MADRID, Spain − Even when the games are played on U.S. soil, the NFL is always a world stage, but the Cincinnati Bengals are on a bigger stage with brighter lights than usual.
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The Bengals are in Madrid, Spain's capital city, preparing for a Nov. 8 game with the Atlanta Falcons at the famed Santiago Bernebeu Stadium. Athlete-celebrities and other luminaries are expected to attend the contest, which the league billed as a "mini Super Bowl" during a Nov. 5 news conference.
There's a lot that goes into playing in Spain but what's most important for the Bengals (5-2) is that their record keeps moving in the preferred direction against a 3-5 Falcons opponent.
Pomp and circumstance aside, this is a game the Bengals should win
It would be a great disappointment for the team and its fans if the Bengals left Spain with a 5-3 record. Stated simply, this Atlanta Falcons team is one Cincinnati should beat.
The foreign, exotic locale for the game doesn't change the fact that the Falcons are a middle-of-the-road team both offensively and defensively. They score a little more than 21 points per game on average, making them the No. 23 scoring offense in the NFL.
Atlanta is the No. 18 total defense, too, and are allowing more than 341 yards per game. That should suit Bengals' quarterback Joe Burrow just fine on the heels of his six-touchdown, 460-plus yard game through the air Nov. 1 against the Tennessee Titans.
The Bengals have typically handled their business against this caliber of team in 2026. Cincinnati's two losses are to division leaders in the Pittsburgh Steelers and Jacksonville Jaguars, and there will be a time when the Bengals needs to be able to answer the call against those and other elites. For now, they're winning the games they absolutely have to win. There's a big, primetime-TV test against the Steelers coming up on Nov. 16, but we aren't there yet.
The Falcons are ripe for the beating, and a win by any means will suit the Bengals just fine. Plus, playing abroad is inherently memorable and special, and you don't want to be on the wrong end of one of these rare opportunities, which was the case both times the Bengals previously played overseas (London in 2016 and 2019).
This time, the Bengals finally win one in Europe.
Can the Bengals win in a stylish, encouraging manner?
Like we previously mentioned, a win by any means should suffice for the Bengals. In fact, that's the case every week in the NFL, but it's even more true for these taxing international games where the players are thrown out of their normal routines.
NFL organizations go to incredible lengths to make their players comfortable when playing abroad. Some teams begin studying best practices years in advance. But ultimately, it's impossible to exactly replicate the comforts of a game played on domestic soil.
On top of the long-haul flight to get to Spain, Bengals players aren't in their normal beds, nor are they in their normal routine for a road game. There sleep schedules might be off. No matter what anyone says and how much prep work the Bengals put into playing in Madrid, the list of complications and irregularities is long. So, there again, a win by any means works just fine.
But what if the Bengals could play a stylish, easy-on-the-eyes game and handle Atlanta? What would that look like? It would certainly be an accomplishment given the complications of playing overseas.
For starters, Cincinnati coming out of this game with high marks in win would have to include slowing down Atlanta running back Bijan Robinson, who Bengals players and coaches have this week said is one of the best in the NFL. The numbers support that as Robinson is averaging 97.5 yards per game, and the Cincinnati defense could use a nice rebound effort relative to run-stopping (the Titans on Nov. 1 rushed for 158 yards with Tony Pollard accounting for 117 of those).
An impressive win could also entail turnovers, of which Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. committed four in Atlanta's rain-marred Nov. 1 loss to Miami. Penix is dealing with a rib injury but reportedly practiced Nov. 5 in Madrid.
Winning the turnover battle would also likely mean better ball protection from Burrow, who threw three interceptions last time out. Burrow at times is still fighting the turnover issue. What better place to play a clean game that Madrid?
The Bengals lost the turnover battle to the Titans, 4-2, on Nov. 1. That was part of the reason the game was so uncomfortable and close.
Sell Cincinnati and the Bengals to the world
Like it or not, this week is about more than beating the Falcons. It's about both teams selling Spain, Europe and beyond on the NFL, on the franchises themselves, and even the game of football itself. Since they're obligated to be ambassadors, do that well, and the Bengals have so far.
Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins can sometimes be reluctant to do interviews back in Cincinnati, which is a shame because he has great insights (and stars in most games he plays in). On Nov. 5, Higgins spoke confidently alongside defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence II, whose trademark wit and occassional comedic relief made for a charming post-practice news conference at the Spanish soccer federation's national training facility. Both players, and especially Higgins, were great representatives of the organization.
Whether he realized it or not, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor faced one of the toughest, most polarizing press-conference questions of his career when a local reporter asked Taylor if had a preference in Madrid's crosstown soccer rivalry between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. Cincinnatians could liken this to any famous athlete or personality discussing Skyline Chili in public, and that's hot-button, must-read stuff, right?
While noticeably lacking in specifics, Taylor managed to avoid committing to one side or the other of the Madrid rivalry. He stayed neutral, humorously conveyed a lack of knowledge about the rivalry, and still charmed the locals.
The Bengals will remain in their role as ambassadors until the boarding door closes for the flight home. They gave a great account of themselves earlier in the week. Now, do it on the field and this trip abroad will have been a complete success.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: How the Bengals can make their trip abroad a complete success