Monday 9 November 2026 06:17, UK Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player There was confusion during a Bengals play as the lights went out at the Bernabeu Thousands of Spanish fans will have left the Bernabeu on Sunday with either a strengthened or a new-found connection to the Bengals, who delivered about as good a product as you are likely to see in an international game as they beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-17 on the league’s return to Madrid. A winning product. A Super Bowl-contending product. The product of a three-headed monster capable of taking a sledgehammer to any defense in football, and one built to thrive amid the fiercest of slugfests.
Find yourself in a shoot-out with these Bengals and you are likely to come out second best. Particularly against this version of Burrow.Rodgers backs 16-game ‘NFL International Week’ after ParisLatest NFL fixtures, results and UK kick-off timesGet latest Sky Sports deals or stream with no contract Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Highlights from the Week 9 match-up between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Atlanta Falcons There is a growing argument this version is flirting with the best version of Burrow in his NFL career as he seeks to fulfil his own rallying cry for Championship urgency this past offseason. He was insistent “this is it” as far as Cincinnati’s Super Bowl quest was concerned, long-tired of slow starts and injury setbacks that have hindered their mission to get back to the ‘Big Dance’, where they fell short against the Los Angeles Rams four years ago. Burrow was near-flawless on European soil as he threw for 271 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for another himself, which he capped by imitating a Neymar celebration.
Whether the Brazilian icon played for Real or not, the locals enjoyed it, so too his admiration for the city’s museum scene this week.”I always whisper in his ear to be legendary. That’s who he is and that’s what he does,” Bengals defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence told Sky Sports NFL.”He’s the greatest. We keep calling him a killer – he goes out there with that look in his eye and does what he’s supposed to do and puts point on the board.” Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Ja’marr Chase does it again with a spectacular toe-tapping catch for the Cincinnati Bengals Head coach Zac Taylor admitted after the game the difficulty in resisting temptation to make every play a passing play such has been Burrow’s dominance this season. As much was evident in his reply to Atlanta’s opening touchdown when he launched deep to Chase for the 47-yard touchdown that would open the floodgates for Cincinnati’s command.”When I saw that first touchdown I was like ‘uh oh’, it was a snowball effect,” said Higgins after the game.It represented their 19th touchdown connection of at least 40 yards to tie Joe Montana and Jerry Rice for the third-most by a quarterback-receiver duo since 1980, behind only Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison (21) and Steve Young and Rice (20).It is unfair.
It is rude. It should be illegal to have a Chase-Higgins pairing at the disposal of a full-flow Burrow; together they are borderline unstoppable. There was a moment during Higgins’ second touchdown of the game when both myself and a colleague pointed towards Chase, who had also wriggled free in the end zone to give Burrow a dream pick-your-poison scenario. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Joe Burrow’s launch finds Ja’Marr Chase to level it for the Cincinnati Bengals There are defensive coordinators across the NFL that might relate to Higgins’ ‘uh oh’ sentiment upon a Burrow-Chase union.
It tends to spell trouble, and there tends to be zero remedies.The celebration of choice on Chase’s touchdown was a matador display as Higgins played the role of charging bull, much to the delight of the Bernabeu crowd. The game’s chief protagonists were winning both on the football field but also in the realm of international fandom.”The fans liked it, ‘we did it and I heard them say ‘Oleeee’,” Higgins said.There are plenty more ‘Oles’ to follow this season for an offensive trio playing at a different level to most in the league right now. Discussion surrounding the Bengals’ Super Bowl aspirations has usually come back to question marks over their defense, which is why their offseason trade for Dexter Lawrence felt like a potential needle-moving moment.The reality, though, is that defensive improvement never really needed to be needle-moving or transformative, but instead a meaningful step forward. That is courtesy of a luxury to which few can attest in a trio of Burrow, Chase and Higgins.Higgins is automatic with one of the safest pairs of suction hands in football and the catch radius to defy any angle or the tightest of man coverage.
Chase is a demon with the ball in his hands and a single high safeties worst nightmare come true. So long as that three-headed monster remains intact, the Bengals can challenge for the Super Bowl. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Sydney Brown tackles twin brother Chase during the Cincinnati Bengals clash with the Atlanta Falcons in Madrid What we learnedPatrick Mahomes is seemingly indestructible. Robert Saleh – the now Tennessee Titans head coach – once said of the Kansas City Chiefs QB: “Don’t be fooled by his little old man jog”.The three-time Super Bowl winner played through a high ankle sprain in leading KC back from a double-digit deficit to beat the Philadelphia Eagles to one of those titles, while he also overcame turf toe to reach another Super Bowl (which they would lose to Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers).When it looks like this man might be done, he is not.
And that was very much the case again on Sunday when Mahomes’ throwing arm appeared to be badly injured on a strip-sack by the New York Jets’ David Bailey just before half-time – the Chiefs only leading 14-12 at the time.There were some hugely concerned faces on the sideline, none more so than the man himself, as well as tight end buddy Travis Kelce. But, incredibly, after a bit of treatment, No 15 was ready to go again, leading his team on a second-half tear to secure a comfortable 23-point victory in the end. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player There were concerns on the Kansas City Chiefs’ bench as Patrick Mahomes picked up an apparent arm injury The New York Giants are seemingly eyeing a trade for Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor, with Big Blue head coach John Harbaugh saying “those conversations are taking place”.Fox Sports reported on Sunday morning that the Giants had already offered the Colts second and fifth-round draft picks for Taylor, which has not yet got the deal done.But the Giants, currently in the driver’s seat in the NFC East, are keen to get a deal done with Cam Skattebo (hamstring) missing Sunday’s win over the Philadelphia Eagles, Tyrone Tracy Jr (hamstring) on injured reserve and Devin Singletary returning only 31 yards on 21 carries in Philly.Taylor, meanwhile, acknowledged he might have played his last game in Indy. “This place helped shape me into the man I am today, so I’m very grateful,” Taylor said after their home loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
“If it is [my last game], I’m very grateful for the city of Indianapolis.”The trade deadline is on Tuesday November 10. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Highlights of the Week 9 match-up between the Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots Overreaction or reality?The Bengals do not need to trade for Jonathan Taylor. ‘Need’ is a strong word, and there are two sides to the equation when it comes to a potential move for a star running back. Cincinnati want the ball in the hands of their quarterback as much as humanly possible – would it be right and would it be wise to add a centre-piece running back to a scheme that is not only built but functions on shot-gun aerial bombardment
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