Two weeks after the Stade de France staged its first regular-season NFL game, the league’s European autumn heads south. The NFL Madrid game kicks off this Sunday at the Santiago Bernabéu, where the Cincinnati Bengals take on the Atlanta Falcons at 3:30pm — the same hour in Paris as in Madrid. For the French fans who caught the bug in Saint-Denis, it is the closest thing to a sequel.
Atlanta is the designated home team, according to DAZN and American Football International. The Falcons spent the week at Real Madrid’s Valdebebas training complex, while the Bengals settled into the Spanish national team’s base in Las Rozas, AFI reports. It is Madrid’s second regular-season game in two years: last November, the Miami Dolphins beat the Washington Commanders 16-13 in overtime in front of 78,610 spectators.
NFL Madrid game vs NFL Paris game: neck and neck
That attendance figure invites a comparison. On 25 October, 78,488 fans filled the Stade de France to watch the Pittsburgh Steelers edge the New Orleans Saints 16-10, according to the Associated Press and the Saints’ official recap. Two capitals, two crowds separated by barely more than a hundred seats. Paris has nothing to envy — and the league has noticed, as we explained in NFL Paris: What Comes Next After the Historic Stade de France Debut.
Madrid, though, plays its own card. Spain has its own sponsor club: the Chicago Bears hold the NFL’s marketing rights in the Spanish market, AFI notes — much as the Saints do in France. Interest in the Spanish media is strong, the game is shown on free-to-air channel Cuatro, and Barcelona defensive back Tom Gabarró, a product of the NFL Academy, gives local fans a homegrown name to follow, according to the same outlet.
Bengals vs Falcons: what to watch
On paper, Cincinnati arrives in form. The Bengals are 5-2 and on a three-game winning streak after a 43-36 overtime win over Tennessee, while Atlanta is 3-5 after a 16-0 defeat in Tampa Bay, report NFL.com, WKRC Local 12 and AFI. A win in Madrid would draw the Bengals level with Pittsburgh — the Paris winners — at the top of the AFC North, NFL.com notes.
- Joe Burrow’s precision. The quarterback leads the league with 20 touchdown passes, according to NFL.com and AFI, with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins as his favourite targets.
- Bijan Robinson’s legs. Atlanta’s running back is the NFL’s leading rusher, both outlets confirm. He faces a Bengals defence that had conceded the third-most rushing yards in the league entering the weekend, per AFI.
- A family affair. NFL.com points out that Bengals running back Chase Brown and Falcons defensive back Sydney Brown are twin brothers, born in London, Ontario.
Falcons receiver Drake London captured the novelty of the occasion for Spanish fans, as quoted by WKRC Local 12:
“There’s a lot of people who haven’t seen an NFL game out here.” — Drake London, Atlanta Falcons
How to follow the NFL Madrid game from Paris
Kick-off is at 3:30pm Paris time, 9:30am in New York. In France, DAZN’s NFL Game Pass carries every game of the season, according to Sportbuzzbusiness — the simplest way to watch from a Paris sofa.
The day does not end there. The Saints, Paris’s adopted team, return from their bye week to host the Cleveland Browns at the Caesars Superdome at 7pm Paris time, according to the Saints’ official site and the league schedule. Then the European tour closes next Sunday in Munich, where the New England Patriots meet the Detroit Lions, per the NFL’s official international slate.
Paris set the bar in October. This afternoon, Madrid gets its chance to answer.
Sources
- American Football International — 8 November 2026
- WKRC Local 12 — 7 November 2026
- DAZN — 4 November 2026
- NFL.com — November 2026 (Week 9 preview)
- NFL Schedules — 8 November 2026 slate
- Associated Press (via ABC News) — 25 October 2026
- New Orleans Saints (official site) — 25 October 2026
- NFL Football Operations — 2026 International Games slate
- Pro Football Hall of Fame — 15 May 2026
- Sportbuzzbusiness — 26 August 2026 (updated 20 September 2026)
Cover photo: Photo: Badefa — CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
