Madrid Bound: The Bengals and Falcons Head to Spain in 2026, and Boy, Does This NFL Expansion Dream Keep Getting Real

You know what? I have got to tell you something. When I first heard that the NFL was taking regular season games overseas, I thought somebody was pulling my leg. I really did. Here we are in 2026 and the Cincinnati Bengals are heading all the way to Madrid, Spain, to play the Atlanta Falcons in Week 9, and I am sitting here trying to figure out when exactly the world changed so much that this became normal. But it is normal now. It is happening. And you know what else? I think it is absolutely wonderful.

Let me tell you why this matters, and let me do it the way I always do things, which is to tell you a story from way back when because football, real football, has always been about expansion and growth and taking chances on places that people said would never work. Back in the old days, people thought the NFL would never work west of the Mississippi River. They thought the NFL would never work in places like Kansas City or Oakland. They thought the NFL would never work in places like Tampa Bay or New Orleans. But you know what happened? All those teams became part of the fabric of American sports, and now they are institutions. Now they have history. Now they have fans who bleed their colors and know every player on their roster like they are family members. That is what happens when you take the best sport in the world and you plant it in new soil. It grows. It flourishes. And now we are doing that on a global scale, and I could not be more excited about it.

The Bengals and the Falcons going to Madrid is not just about playing a football game in Spain. This is about the world finally getting to see what we have known all along in this country. This is about showing people who have never experienced the power and the beauty and the raw intensity of an NFL game what it is all about. I have been watching football my whole life, and I can tell you that there is nothing like it. There is nothing like the collision of two professional football teams that have prepared all week to execute their game plan and beat the other guy. There is nothing like the roar of a crowd when their team makes a big play. There is nothing like the tension and the drama and the unpredictability of it all.

Now, the Bengals and the Falcons. Let me talk about what is actually on the field here because that matters too. The Bengals have Joe Burrow under center, and if you have been paying attention, Joe Burrow is one of the best quarterbacks in football. He is smart. He is tough. He has got that swagger that you need to win in this league. He is the kind of guy who can go into somebody else's house, somebody else's stadium, somebody else's country for crying out loud, and still find a way to execute and win the game because he knows football and he knows how to lead. That is what the Bengals are bringing to Madrid.

The Falcons, they have got their own story going on. Atlanta has always been a city that wanted to be part of the NFL conversation, wanted to be a big boy, and Kirk Cousins coming in there was supposed to change everything. Whether that works out or not, it is still a team that plays hard and plays with passion. The Falcons have been through a lot as a franchise. They have had some incredible highs and some really tough lows, but that is what football does. It tests you. It breaks you down and builds you back up, and if you are tough enough and smart enough, you figure out how to win.

But here is what really gets me excited about this whole thing. This is about taking the game I love and showing it to people who have never had the chance to experience it the way we have here in the United States. I have talked to people from all over the world, and a lot of them do not understand football. They think it is too slow or too complicated or too violent. But when they actually sit down and watch a game, when they actually see what it is all about, something clicks. They get it. They understand the strategy and the athleticism and the sheer will that goes into winning in this sport. Madrid is full of passionate sports fans. They know soccer. They know basketball. They know rugby. They understand intensity and competition and the kind of loyalty that comes with being a true fan. Those people are going to take one look at an NFL game and they are going to be hooked.

And let me tell you something else. This is not some gimmick where the NFL is just trying to make a quick buck, although of course they want to make money because that is how business works. But this is a long term vision. This is about building a foundation for the sport globally. This is about creating new fans in new markets. This is about saying that American football is not just something for people who grew up watching it on Sunday afternoon. This is something that people all over the world can enjoy and love and be part of. That is powerful. That is important.

Week 9 in Madrid means these teams are going to be right in the middle of their seasons. This is not some early season game where teams are still figuring things out. This is not some late season game where everything is already decided. Week 9 is when football starts to get serious. Teams have had time to gel. They know who they are and what they are trying to do. The Bengals will know whether Joe Burrow is healthy and ready to carry them. The Falcons will know whether their offseason moves are paying off. This is real football being played in a real part of the season where every game matters.

I also think about the logistics of it and the way that this challenges the NFL and challenges the players. Travel is hard. Playing in a different country is hard. You have got jet lag and you have got different food and you have got different weather and different everything. This is not the same as playing in your home stadium or even playing in another NFL stadium in another city in America. This is a test of how tough you are and how mentally strong you are as a team. The team that handles it better is the team that is going to win. That is football at its highest level. That is what makes this sport great.

What this means for fans is that we are living in a time when the NFL is not standing still. It is growing. It is expanding. It is taking chances on new places and new people. If you care about football, if you really love this sport the way I do, then you have got to be excited about what is happening. The game is getting bigger. The game is getting better. And there are going to be more opportunities for more people in more places to fall in love with football the way we have fallen in love with it. That is something to celebrate.