Joe Burrow leads surging Bengals against Falcons in Madrid

Cincinnati's Joe Burrow and Atlanta's Michael Penix Jr. experienced dramatically different lead-in games to Sunday's matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and Atlanta Falcons in Madrid, Spain.

While Penix was throwing a career-high four interceptions while playing through heavy rain in a 16-0 loss at Tampa Bay, Burrow threw five touchdown passes and then had the game-winning touchdown run in overtime in a 43-36 win over Tennessee.

Burrow has thrown 13 touchdown passes in a three-game winning streak for the Bengals (5-2) and will try to continue that momentum against the Falcons (3-5) at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

Bengals coach Zac Taylor said good protection has enabled Burrow to thrive.

“I think we have the most accurate and process-driven quarterback that exists and we have the best receiving corps - and that’s receivers, tight ends and running backs - that there is in the league,” Taylor said Thursday in Madrid. “All that stuff, we feel like we can really distribute the field and Joe’s going to do a good job of being the bus driver in that situation and putting us in really good spots. It allows us to attack teams in the pass game that way.”

Penix will be looking for a bounce-back closer to the efficient form he showed when passing for three touchdowns with no interceptions in a 29-20 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Oct. 25.

Penix said reviewing last week's game was difficult.

“It was hard. It was hard to watch it,” Penix said. “But at the same time, you know, that’s what comes with it. You've got to own up to it. You've got to be accountable for the things that you did and the part that you played in it.”

Coach Kevin Stefanski likes giving his teams ample time to adjust when playing an international game. The Falcons made their flight from Atlanta on Tuesday night and then immediately held a light practice Wednesday at the Real Madrid practice facility.

Stefanski said he knows his schedule means an earlier arrival in Europe than some teams prefer.

“This seems like the right amount of time,” Stefanski said. "We’ve done this a few times. ... I’ve always left a little bit earlier than most. ... But I do see the benefits of coming out early to a city where you can acclimate to the time zone, you can again be together as a football team for a few days, and it doesn’t hurt to be in a beautiful city like this.”

The Tuesday departure meant a quick turnaround for the Falcons following their ugly loss at Tampa Bay.

“I feel like we have a cool opportunity here to kind of flip the script, traveling two days after our game on Sunday,” Falcons wide receiver Jahan Dotson said. “It kind of gets your mind off of it a little bit. ... We have a chance to redeem ourselves as a football team.”

Falcons safety Jessie Bates III was a second-round draft pick by Cincinnati in 2018 and played his first five seasons with the Bengals.

“I think we all love Jessie,” Taylor said. “Everybody feels the same way about Jessie here. Always been pulling for him and really happy to see him be successful, Pro Bowler. He’s earned all that. Really easy guy to root for."

Cincinnati (5-2) vs. Atlanta (3-5) in Madrid, Spain.

When/where to watch: Sunday, 9:30 a.m. EST, NFL Network.

Latest odds: Bengals by 3 1/2.

Against the spread: Bengals 3-4; Falcons 3-5.

Last week: Bengals beat Tennessee 43-36 in overtime; Falcons lost at Tampa Bay 16-0.

Last meeting: Bengals beat Falcons 35-17 on Oct. 23, 2022, in Cincinnati.

Series record: Bengals lead 10-5.

Falcons defensive backs vs. Bengals wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Higgins had 10 receptions for 155 yards and two TDs in last week's win against Tennessee and was selected as the AFC offensive player of the week on Wednesday. Chase added 11 catches for 141 yards and a score.

“Usually a team kind of has one number one guy and they have two of them,” said Falcons safety Xavier Watts. “It is an unique opportunity and challenge and we'll have to prepare adjustments and game plans to try to take away both of them, but it's a great opportunity.”

- Burrow leads the NFL with 20 TD passes entering Week 9.

- Entering Week 9, Higgins ranks second in the NFL with 726 receiving yards and Burrow is fourth with 2,115 passing yards.

- The Bengals have scored more than 30 points in three consecutive games.

- Cincinnati leads the NFL with 288.4 passing yards per game and ranks second with 29.4 points per game.

- The Bengals beat the Titans last week despite allowing a season-high 36 points and committing four turnovers, including three interceptions by Burrow.

- Despite the interceptions, Burrow set season highs by completing 79.2% of his passes and by passing for 462 yards and five touchdowns.

- This will be Cincinnati's third international game in the regular season following games in London in 2016 and 2019.

- This is Atlanta's second consecutive season playing an NFL International Series game. The Falcons lost to the Indianapolis Colts 31-25 in overtime in Berlin on Nov. 9, 2025. They lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars 23-7 in London in 2023.

- Bates has forced a fumble in three consecutive games. The previous Atlanta player to force fumbles in three straight games was linebacker Jessie Tuggle in 1990.

- Bates has 14 forced fumbles, the most among active safeties in the league.

- Atlanta's Bijan Robinson leads the NFL with 780 rushing yards, but has been held under 100 yards and without a rushing touchdown in four consecutive games.

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AP Sports Writers Tales Azzoni in Madrid and Joe Reedy in Cincinnati contributed to this report.

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