Sunday’s 43-36 thrilling OT win over Tennessee, running the Bengals’ record to 5-2, was Exhibit A for why it’s so much better to watch the game only after knowing the result. I spent the hours between 1:00 and 4:00 p.m. visiting my daughter at the University of Georgia and thus was spared the insane blood pressure spikes and expletive-laden rants that normally would have accompanied a game like this one.
As I wrote last week, the Titans were not tanking (despite their Jeffery Simmons trade) and are feistier than their poor record would suggest (Sunday was their fifth one-score loss of the season). On the other hand, it was disturbing to see the mainly punchless Titans move the ball so easily. Their 36 points in defeat was the most they’ve scored in five years. It was the first 300-yard passing game of Titans QB Cam Ward’s career and perhaps the first time he’s looked like a top overall draft choice (which is why another former No. 1 pick made sure he congratulated Ward after the game).
Tennessee wisely played fast, operating from a hyper pace they hadn’t put on tape before, and snapped 70 plays. (They’d averaged 41 per game before Sunday, dead last in the league.) In a sense, the Bengals’ opponents require volume, as Defensive Coordinator Al Golden is dedicated to taking away big plays and getting to the quarterback. Playing fast against the Bengals gives enemy offenses more opportunities to get the matchups they like and find chunk plays without throwing deep.
Alas, it keeps working—until it doesn’t, like when Dexter Lawrence gets a game-saving sack or he and Demetrious Knight combine for a safety on a run play. We tend to think of offenses as “boom or bust,” but in Cincinnati’s case it’s the defense playing that style (opposed to previous seasons when it was “bust or bust”). Things were exacerbated when corner D.J. Turner went out with an ankle/heel injury; he is indispensable in a unit lost without him. Fortunately he appears to have avoided serious injury.
But just as I cautioned everyone to “R-E-L-A-X” after the 2-2 start—Cincinnati is unbeaten since, I might add—I would encourage y’all not to wallow in the imperfections but enjoy that the Bengals actually won the game, something they generally refuse to do in those sorts of “playing down to the opponent” contests. Stacking wins is the key to NFL success, however they come. So long as the Bengals actually come out on top, the schedule ahead remains highly favorable.
Also worthy of your enjoyment was the amazing Joe Burrow performance. He shrugged off three interceptions (one of which was a miscommunication/arm punt, another a rare flutter ball) to throw for five TDs and run in the game-winner. He’s currently playing the position about as well as he ever has—which is saying plenty—surgically reading the field and consistently throwing receivers open, especially in the red zone. His “homeostasis” keeps the team on an even keel and secure that even slow starts are not worth getting alarmed over.
Now comes the oddity of a game in Madrid, Spain, at Estadio Bernebeu, which is like playing a game in the Hermitage. The field is home of all-time world football greats like Ronaldo, Zidane, Di Stefano, Ramos, Puskas, and Modric, not to mention current superstars Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham, among others. Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins may be household names in these parts, but trust me when I tell you they pale in comparison to the recognition those others have worldwide. Which perhaps can change with another bravura performance like Joe Brrr had against Tennessee.
Your favorite Georgia-based Bengals fan is irritated that this Falcons matchup should have been a rare Bengals visit to Atlanta. Alas, los Madrilenos get to enjoy the game instead. As for the Falcons, trust me when I tell you that if you think Cincinnati has some frustrating periods of slack and poor play, they have nothing on the schizophrenia evinced by the Dirty Birds. Their annual roller-coaster is like the Beast at Kings Island in comparison to Cincinnati’s gentle wooden coaster at the local park. Atlanta sports radio yo-yos between “This team can make a deep playoff run!” and “Blow it all up” almost hourly.
For proof, just examine quarterback Michael Penix’s last two games: from NFC Player of the Week for his performance in besting previously unbeaten San Francisco to a four-interception nightmare in a 16-0 shutout at the hands of Tampa. Nothing was more important to the 2026 Falcons then determining whether Penix was a franchise quarterback or not; midway through the season, they still have no idea.
But this is the exact sort of game Atlanta tends to win, going back several seasons. The Falcons are Pacino in Godfather III in football form, following up laughably bad outings like Sunday’s with excellent ones and then, inevitably, vice-versa. They also play their best when everyone is yelling at the NFL for putting them on national TV. They’re 9-4 in prime time games since 2024, far outpacing their overall winning percentage in that time. Yes, I know Sunday isn’t technically “prime time” but it is a standalone game, which amounts to the same thing. Stars like Bijan Robinson and Drake London save their best performances for games like the 35-14 hammering of Green Bay, when they each put up 194 scrimmage yards and Penix looked like Steve Young.
Robinson, perhaps the NFL’s most electrifying back, hasn’t topped 100 yards on the ground or scored in the last four games. But Cincinnati’s run defense, while improved, is exactly the type of unit that gets savaged by speedy, ankle-breaking backs like Robinson. He undoubtedly spent the long flight across the Atlantic drooling over tape from the way Tony Pollard ran wild Sunday, including a TD jaunt down the sideline that brought back uncomfortable memories of 2025.
Bryan Cook was signed to help erase those kinds of plays but hasn’t so far, in stark contrast to the other big offseason imports on defense. Nor have the Bengals stopped leaving tight ends, even unheralded ones like Tennessee’s Gunnar Helm, uncovered. Kyle Pitts, who thus far has done little to earn his rich contract extension, will undoubtedly put up a stat-stuffing game against Cincinnati.
Before Sunday’s slop-fest, when the Bucs ran all over them, Atlanta’s defense had been steady, including a top-five pass defense by DVOA. That’s been mainly about the pass rush and not the secondary, though our old friend Jessie Bates continues to play well for the Birds. They’re decent (14th) at stopping No. 1 wideouts but poor against No. 2s (24th)—and of course Higgins is far more than your average No. 2 wide receiver. He’s playing like an All-Pro, especially dominating at the intermediate level.
Toss in new head coach Kevin Stefanski’s deep familiarity with the Bengals—he was 7-5 against Cincy in his six seasons with Cleveland, including a win in his final game as Browns coach last season—the return of pass rusher James Pearce Jr. from suspension (clearly, this guy should not be in the NFL), and the general unlikeliness of a four-game win streak, and things are stacked up against Cincinnati.
Saying all that, the Bengals certainly have the firepower to win the game in Madrid. The one positive thing about the last couple of slow starts is that Cincinnati rebounded to score 71 points in five quarters, plus another 7 in the OT period against Tennessee. That’s some insane stuff, and surely has the team confident there is no deficit that can’t be wiped out.
Yes, a full four-quarter display of winning football would be nice, but as those Spanish artisans Picasso and Dali proved, a masterpiece can be surreal and off-kilter as well. Hopefully Burrow and Co. can give us a artistic display worthy of the Prado come Sunday morning.
Robert Weintraub heads up Bengals coverage for Cincinnati Magazine and has written for The New York Times, Grantland, Slate, and Deadspin. Follow him on X at @robwein.
