The NFL will return to Madrid for its second regular-season game in Spain, with the Atlanta Falcons taking on the Cincinnati Bengals on November 8, 2026, at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, the league confirmed Tuesday.
The matchup is part of the NFL International Games slate and will kick off at 9:30 a.m. ET, airing on NFL Network. The announcement came two days before the full 2026 schedule release on Thursday.
This marks the second NFL game at the iconic home of Real Madrid, following last November’s contest where the Washington Commanders fell 16-13 in overtime to the Miami Dolphins, then led by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa—now with the Falcons.
Bengals star quarterback Joe Burrow, whose team finished 6-11 last season, will play his first overseas game. “The game has a lot of room to grow—just like basketball did in the ’80s and ’90s,” Burrow said Tuesday. “The Bulls kind of spearheaded that, made it global, and hopefully the Bengals can do the same thing over the next couple of years for the NFL.”
Cincinnati has previously played two international games, both in London, with the most recent being a 24-10 loss to the Los Angeles Rams at Wembley Stadium in 2019—head coach Zac Taylor’s first season.
Kevin Stefanski enters his first season as Falcons head coach after spending six years leading the AFC North-rival Cleveland Browns, making him very familiar with the Bengals.
Atlanta has played five previous regular-season games outside the U.S., including four in Europe. The Falcons have appeared in Toronto (2013), London (2014, 2021, 2023), and Berlin last season, where they lost 31-25 to the Indianapolis Colts and finished 8-9.
“We are truly honored and deeply grateful for the opportunity to host the Cincinnati Bengals at the Bernabeu, one of the world’s most iconic venues,” Falcons president and CEO Greg Beadles said in a statement Tuesday. “This matchup represents a unique opportunity to connect with fans in Spain, and we sincerely appreciate the NFL’s continued commitment to growing the game on a global stage. With the 2026 FIFA World Cup on the horizon, we are thankful for the opportunity to begin building meaningful connections with Spanish supporters who will also experience our great city of Atlanta on the world stage.”
