The Cincinnati Bengals won their fourth game in a row on Sunday morning in front of a national audience from Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, Spain, by a score of 34-17.
Now, at 6-2 along with Pittsburgh, the Bengals are set to host the Steelers for what kind of feels like the AFC North title game even though we’re only in Week 10.
The Bengals were almost perfect on offense. They scored on six of their eight drives (I’m not counting the last drive in which they could have scored but were able to
kill the clock), and four of those scores were touchdowns. Joe Burrow completed 24/29 passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns — two to Tee Higgins and one deep bomb to Ja’Marr Chase to cap off their first drive of the game.
The defense had its moments, but the familiar struggles were there too. In the end, the Falcons’ offense just couldn’t hope to keep up, even though they seemed to hang around a little, especially early in the second half. Still, it never felt like the Bengals were potentially going to lose control of the game.
Here are some random thoughts on their three-score win before we get into the Steelers game:
- Tee Higgins is a monster. He didn’t have a ton of yards (32), but he caught two touchdown passes, and multiple passes—including one of those touchdowns—with guys draped all over him. Higgins looks like a man among boys when he catches the ball in traffic.
- Ja’Marr Chase is a generational talent. His ability to turn into a running back as soon as his hands touch the ball is remarkable. He breaks tackles like a running back and has 220 yards after the catch so far in 2026. What I’d really like to see, though, is a yards-after-contact stat for him.
- The offensive line held up beautifully against the Falcons, who came into Sunday morning’s game with 18 sacks and weren’t too far behind the Bengals. Burrow was sacked twice, but one of those sacks was much more of a coverage sack than anything to do with the line. If they can continue to protect Burrow like they did Sunday, the offense can break records.
- The run game finally made an appearance on Sunday. To be clear, I think Burrow can beat about any defense with Chase, Higgins, and the other weapons he has, but it’s hard to win in the playoffs if you can’t run the ball. The Bengals were able to kill the clock with a solid running game in the fourth quarter. Chase Brown had multiple explosive runs, including one for 19 yards—a season-long for the Bengals’ offense.
- Dexter Lawrence. That’s it. That’s all I have to say.
- Okay, a bit more: Lawrence didn’t show up on the stat sheet much, but he lived in the backfield and forced Michael Penix into throwing early or on the run. He almost caused an intentional grounding penalty at one point. It’s amazing how much one man can change the face of a defense.
- The Bengals were unable to sack the quarterback on Sunday. This was their first game without a sack, and hopefully it’s their last game. Cashius Howell is on IR, and the Bengals pretty much relied on Boye Mafe and Myles Murphy. Cedric Johnson only played 13 snaps, and Shemar Stewart played just 10. It would be nice to see a little more rotation to help keep the starters fresh.
- Regardless of DJ Turner’s PFF score, remember the receiver he’s covering doesn’t get targeted very often.
- Money Mac strikes again—good from 57 and 43 yards, and that 43-yard kick in the fourth quarter put any hope of a comeback out of reach for the Falcons.
- Speaking of the Falcons, we can credit the Bengals for breaking Atlanta—The Falcons traded Jessie Bates Monday morning.
STEELERS WEEK
I honestly don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that Sunday night’s game against the Steelers at Paycor Stadium is one of the biggest games to be played there in the last several seasons. The Steelers are also 6-2, and with the injuries in Baltimore and the Browns doing Browns things, it’s not crazy to think the winner of this game likely wins the division.
The Bengals are not the same team they were that lost to the Steelers in Week 3. The offense is awake and clicking. The defense has its moments, but could use some help. Tuesday (today) is the last day they can make an addition via trade, as the deadline is at 4 PM Eastern. I highly doubt the Bengals make a move, but I also highly doubt they’d trade a first-round pick for Lawrence. Can they pull off another trade just five months after the Lawrence trade?
If there was a time to do it, it’s now. The Bengals are in prime position to make a run, and they obviously need a little help, especially on defense, to get things right. They could use depth at cornerback as well as linebacker. They could probably get by without any additions on offense, but adding Jonathan Taylor sure would be cool.
The Bengals are favored by 3.5 points, which is a half point over home-field advantage, and a win would put them at 7-2 with a firm grasp on the division, and a handful of winnable games before they host the Chiefs in a little over a month.
This is where we hoped the Bengals would be at this point in the season.
Relative Song Lyrics:
Well, I never been to Spain
But I kinda like the music
Say the ladies are insane there
And they sure know how to use it
They don’t abuse it
Never gonna lose it
I can’t refuse it
