Thanks To Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals Will Play Atlanta Falcons In Spain

After missing out on an international game last season, the Cincinnati Bengals were granted one. They will face the Atlanta Falcons at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, Spain, in a Week 9 matchup.

It has been rumored that quarterback Joe Burrow was the main factor in the NFL’s decision to give them a game overseas. The NFL announced that the Miami Dolphins would be playing the NFL’s first game in Madrid in February 2025, and by March, speculation arose that the Bengals would be their opponent.

“Please be true,” Burrow wrote on his Instagram story in March 2025. Instead, the Washington Commanders got the opportunity to play the Spain game over the Bengals.

After the 2025-2026 season’s schedule was released, Burrow remarked during an interview that he would like to see the Bengals play an international game next season. Burrow then revealed that his main motive for volunteering to be on Netflix’s Quarterback show was to spread the game to more international fans.

“Part of the reason I wanted to do the Quarterback show was to help grow the game internationally, and so to not have a stage like that is a little disappointing,” Burrow said. “Because I feel like I’ve consciously worked hard to try to grow the game internationally over the last 18 months or so. So hopefully at some point in my career, we can go over there.”

The Bengals will be playing their first international game of the decade and their first since 2019, when they lost 24-10 to the Los Angeles Rams at Wembley Stadium in London, England. They also tied the then-Washington Redskins 27-27 in 2016, making the Spain game Cincinnati’s third appearance abroad.

The team celebrated the announcement by photoshopping Burrow’s Instagram story from last year. Burrow also believes that the Bengals are a good team to spread the game abroad.

“The game has a lot of room to grow,” Burrow said Tuesday on the team’s website. “Just like basketball did in the ’80s and ’90s. The Bulls kind of spearheaded that. Made it global, and hopefully the Bengals can do the same thing over the next couple of years for the NFL.”

After losing their first two international contests at Wembley Stadium, the Bengals are one of seven teams to have never won an international contest.