The Cincinnati Bengals have not played overseas since 2019, when the AFC North side fell to the Los Angeles Rams inside Wembley Stadium in a 24-10 loss.
Since then, the Bengals have been planted inside the United States, but a change could be on the horizon. When the NFL announces the full schedule in mid-May, Cincinnati could be on its way overseas, across what will be an NFL-record nine international games.
So far, the matchups confirmed have the Rams taking on the San Francisco 49ers in Australia, with other teams confirmed to play being the Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons, Washington Commanders, and the Jacksonville Jaguars
Which Matchup Could Be The Most Likely?
On Dan Hoard’s “Bengals Booth Podcast,” Bengals senior writer Geoff Hobson discussed whether the NFL would be likely to set Cincinnati against the Washington Commanders inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium or the Atlanta Falcons at the historic Santiago Bernabéu.
“Yeah, I kind of lean to Washington. They're into matchups, and that's gonna be Burrow versus Jadyen Daniels. They had a primetime shootout at PayCor, a couple years ago,” Hobson said on the show.
When the two sides last met, the Commanders scraped by the Bengals thanks to an astounding 21/23 passing mark from Daniels to go with two touchdowns and a 38-33 Bengals loss that sent Zac Taylor’s side to an 0-3 start.
“Both really are exciting players…That's what I would lean to, just because of the matchup,” Hobson said.
Both Daniels and Burrow have run the NFL roughshod in their own respective ways, creating what could be an overseas classic.
“When they rebuilt the Tottenham Stadium. It was specifically, or at least part of it, for future NFL games in mind. So for Bengals fans who have been to London and are thinking, ‘Well, do I really want to go again?’ It would be at least a different stadium experience to see one at Tottenham. And that's something that might, I think, work to their advantage,” quoted Hoard.
When Tottenham’s home was constructed, the club added dedicated locker rooms for NFL teams, a retractable pitch that opens up a synthetic field designed for NFL games.
A matchup against the Falcons looks to be the other likely matchup. The two sides have met 15 times, with Atlanta not making the playoffs since 2017.
While Cincinnati should not turn its nose up at any international matchup, the Falcons are in the midst of a rebuild that loses the appeal of seeing the two face off overseas.
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