Joe Burrow threw three touchdown passes and ran for another, Ja’Marr Chase caught 10 passes for 155 yards and the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-17 on Sunday, November 8, at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid.
Cincinnati improves to 6-2 and has won four straight, scoring at least 30 points in each of those games, something the franchise had not done since 1997. Atlanta drops to 3-6 with its second loss in a row. A crowd of 78,660 watched the second regular-season game ever played in Spain; for the build-up, see the game-day scene at the Bernabeu and our walk through the league’s international games.
Cincinnati scores on every first-half drive
Atlanta struck first. Bijan Robinson carried the load on a seven-play, 80-yard opening march, and Michael Penix Jr. finished it with a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Charlie Woerner. The Bengals needed only five plays to answer: on third-and-2 from the Atlanta 47, Burrow went deep down the right side to Chase, who ran under it for a 47-yard score and a 7-7 tie.
Nick Folk put the Falcons back in front 10-7 with a 31-yard field goal after a drive stalled at the Cincinnati 13. From there the half belonged to Cincinnati. Burrow capped an 11-play, 70-yard drive by pushing in from the 1, then led a 10-play, 88-yard series that ended with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Tee Higgins with 4:03 left in the second quarter. After an Atlanta punt, Evan McPherson drilled a 57-yard field goal with 24 seconds remaining, and the Bengals took a 24-10 lead into the break having scored on all four of their first-half possessions. Chase already had eight catches for 142 yards at halftime.
Falcons get close, then stall
Cincinnati went three-and-out to open the third quarter, and Atlanta made it a one-score game with an 11-play, 76-yard drive that Robinson finished with a 1-yard run, cutting the deficit to 24-17 with 6:18 left in the period. The Bengals responded right away. Burrow moved them 73 yards in seven plays and found Higgins again from 8 yards out, restoring a two-touchdown cushion at 31-17.
The Falcons had a chance to cut into it early in the fourth quarter, but their 11-play drive bogged down at the Cincinnati 20, and Folk pushed a 38-yard field-goal try wide left. McPherson added a 43-yarder with 4:36 to play for the final margin. Two plays into Atlanta’s next drive, linebacker Barrett Carter stepped in front of a Penix throw intended for Robinson and returned it 6 yards, and Cincinnati ran out the final 3:59. A brief stadium power outage inside the final two minutes forced one snap to be replayed.
The numbers
- Joe Burrow: 24 of 29 for 271 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions for a 140.1 rating, plus a 1-yard rushing touchdown. He was sacked twice for 6 yards.
- Ja’Marr Chase: 10 catches on 12 targets for 155 yards and the 47-yard touchdown.
- Tee Higgins: five catches for 32 yards and two red-zone touchdowns. Dohnte Meyers added two grabs for 47 yards, including a 42-yarder.
- Bengals run game: 123 yards on 24 carries. Chase Brown had 57 yards on nine attempts and Samaje Perine added 43 on 11.
- Bijan Robinson: 19 carries for 100 yards and a touchdown, plus six catches for 47 yards.
- Michael Penix Jr.: 20 of 31 for 162 yards, one touchdown and one interception, with 50 rushing yards on three scrambles. Drake London led Atlanta with five catches for 68 yards.
- Defense and discipline: Carter had 10 tackles, the interception and a forced fumble that bounced out of bounds. Jessie Bates III led Atlanta with 14 tackles. The Falcons were flagged 12 times for 88 yards; Cincinnati did not turn the ball over and went 6 of 10 on third down.
What it means
Bengals coach Zac Taylor said after the game that Burrow is “playing at an unbelievably high level right now.” Over two weeks he has seven touchdown passes and two rushing scores, following last week’s 43-36 overtime win over Tennessee. Cincinnati outgained Atlanta 388-319 and averaged 7.1 yards per play.
For Atlanta, the offense was more productive than it was in a 16-0 loss at Tampa Bay a week earlier, but the Falcons managed only seven points after the first quarter. Coach Kevin Stefanski said his team was “not at our best” against a good opponent. Edge rusher James Pearce Jr. made his return from an eight-game suspension but saw limited snaps after dealing with a back issue late in the week.
What comes next
Cincinnati hosts the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night, November 15. Atlanta hosts the Kansas City Chiefs on November 15.
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