Burrow Leads Bengals Past Falcons in Madrid

Joe Burrow did not wait long to answer. After Atlanta scored on its opening drive at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, he hit Ja’Marr Chase for 47 yards and a touchdown on third down, and the Cincinnati Bengals rolled from there to a 34-17 win over the Falcons, the Bengals’ recap showed. Burrow finished 24 of 29 for 271 yards and three touchdown passes, added a 1-yard sneak, and did not turn the ball over, good for a 140.1 rating.

Cincinnati improved to 6-2 and picked up the first win in franchise history in a game played outside the United States. The offense scored more than 30 points for the fourth straight game, tying a mark last set from Nov. 2 to Dec. 14, 1997, and it is averaging 29.6 points a game, second in the NFL behind Buffalo’s 33.3. Atlanta fell to 3-6. Next up, the Bengals host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night Football at Paycor Stadium in Week 10.

Chase Took Over the First Half

That 47-yard strike was Chase’s longest catch of the season and his seventh touchdown of the year, which leads the AFC and ranks second in the NFL. It was also Burrow’s 21st touchdown pass, which leads the league, and his longest completion of the season.

Chase finished with 10 catches for 155 yards and that one score. Eight of the catches and 142 of the yards came before halftime, the most receiving yards he has ever piled up in a first half. His previous first-half high was 112 yards, also against Atlanta, in Week 7 of 2022.

Four Scores Before the Break

Burrow gave Cincinnati its first lead with a 1-yard sneak early in the second quarter, finishing off an 11-play, 70-yard drive. Tee Higgins then hauled in a 4-yard touchdown, the 50th scoring catch of his career, and Evan McPherson pushed the lead to 24-10 just before half with a 57-yard field goal. That kick was McPherson’s 23rd straight make, the longest streak in Bengals history and the longest active streak in the NFL.

The Bengals scored on all four of their first-half possessions. After Atlanta opened with 10 points on its first two drives, Cincinnati’s defense held the Falcons to seven the rest of the way.

Higgins Found the End Zone Again

Higgins finished with five catches for 32 yards and two touchdowns. His second score, an 8-yarder in the third quarter, put Cincinnati up by two scores and gave him 51 career receiving touchdowns. Coming off a two-touchdown game at Tennessee, it is the first time he has had multiple scoring catches in consecutive games. He now has six receiving touchdowns this season.

Linebacker Barrett Carter iced it in the fourth quarter, intercepting Michael Penix at the Atlanta 43 for his first pick of 2026 and the second of his career.

Smacktok pick lean: Lean higher on Joe Burrow passing touchdowns when Cincinnati hosts Pittsburgh in Week 10. He threw three scores and ran for another in Madrid, and he kept feeding Chase (10 catches, 155 yards) and Higgins (two touchdowns) all afternoon. If the Steelers take away the deep shot Chase turned into a 47-yard score, keep the lean on Higgins finding the end zone, since he now has multiple scoring catches in back-to-back games.