The Cincinnati Bengals took to the field in Madrid, Spain, on Sunday morning (for those of us who watched them on TV) against the Atlanta Falcons with an opportunity to tie the Steelers’ 6-2 record as we head into the second half of the season. The Bengals were coming off two consecutive wins, but both of them saw Cincinnati fall into a 13-0 deficit before they started to play well.

That wasn’t the case in Week 9. The Falcons scored on their opening possession, but the Bengals had firm control of the game by the end of the first quarter. In the end, the Bengals won by a score of 34-17 and moved to 6-2 on the season to keep pace with the Steelers.

Here are Sunday’s winners and losers from the Bengals’ first international win:

Ja’Marr Chase: Chase has played second fiddle to Tee Higgins so far this season, but that’s mostly because teams go above and beyond to stop him, leaving Higgins singled up. Chase was dominant on Sunday in Spain from the first snap to the last. He finished the first half with eight receptions for 142 yards and a touchdown. He continues to show he’s among the top wide receivers in the league. He finished the game with 10 receptions for 155 yards and a touchdown, and became the only wide receiver other than Randy Moss to have seven or more touchdowns in each of his first six seasons in the league.

Dexter Lawrence: The Falcons did what they could to keep up with Burrow and the Bengals’ offense on Sunday, but Lawrence wasn’t having it. The Falcons’ offense scored a touchdown on their opening drive and added three more points on their second drive, but Lawrence decided enough was enough after that. He burst into the backfield on several occasions, forcing Michael Penix to get rid of the ball early. There was even an intentional-grounding discussion among the refs in the first half. Lawrence may not show up on the stat sheet much, but he’s absolutely dominant in key moments.

Tee Higgins: He didn’t put up the yards Chase did in Madrid, but Higgins was incredible in traffic against the Falcons. Many of his catches were in key moments and in traffic, and Higgins was able to maintain control of the ball in traffic in multiple scenarios, helping the offense move the ball down the field. He finished the game with five catches for 32 yards and two touchdowns.

Joe Burrow: Welcome to Joevember, where the temperatures are never as hot as Burrow’s play. The MVP hopeful was nothing short of incredible in Spain. They didn’t need to wait for the Falcons to jump out to a 13-point lead, as they scored on every single first-half possession, and he finished the game completing 24 of 29 passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns.

Zac Taylor: Taylor called a great offensive game on Sunday in Spain. The Falcons were completely outmatched on the field, and Taylor absolutely took advantage of it, putting his playmakers in position to do great things. The defense isn’t quite where the Bengals need them to be and could use some help before the trade deadline. The offense, however, is a finely tuned machine.

Evan McPherson: McPherson wasn’t needed to beat the Falcons the way the Buccaneers needed their kicker, but he was called upon to nail a 57-yard field goal at the end of the first half. He not only remained perfect on the year, but that kick probably would have been good from 70 yards. He finished with two made field goals and was perfect on four PATs.

Offensive Line: In a game where the Bengals threw the ball twice for every time they ran it, Burrow was only sacked one time. That sack came on third down with less than a yard to gain in the fourth quarter, and he wasn’t in the pocket when it happened. For the most part, the offensive line gave Burrow a clean pocket from which to operate.

Barrett Carter: Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter struggled in 2025, and “struggled” may be an understatement. Now, with a vastly improved defensive line in front of them, the second-year linebackers are coming into their own. Late in the fourth quarter, Carter picked off Michael Penix, giving the ball back to Burrow and the offense and officially ending any slim hopes the Falcons had at a comeback.

Running Offense: The Bengals need to be able to run the ball to win in December and January, but they came into Week 9 averaging around 80 yards a game. While the offense still flowed through Burrow to his elite receivers, the running game was able to get going (at least a little) in Spain. Chase Brown averaged 6.3 yards per carry, and the Bengals’ offense went over 100 yards on the ground for the third time this season. They even had a run over 15 yards on Sunday!

Run Defense: The Falcons weren’t able to lean on the run game because they were playing from behind for much of the game, but when they did run, they didn’t meet a lot of resistance. Bijan Robinson led the rushing attack, often finding extra yards on the outside. He averaged over five yards per carry, and the Falcons as a team averaged 6.5 yards per carry.

Tackling: Tackling continues to be an issue for the Bengals’ defense. It didn’t sink them against the Falcons, but they can’t miss this many tackles throughout the second half of the season and expect to win every time. Al Golden needs to get a handle on this before it does cost them a game.

Who was your biggest winner today? Let us know!