Bengals try to make Madrid feel ordinary before the Falcons game

MADRID — The Bengals have spent their week in Spain trying to make everything feel as unremarkable as possible.

That is the practical answer to an unusual setup: a team crossing the Atlantic for an NFL game against the Falcons, then trying to keep its football week intact in a city built for sightseeing, not snap counts. Zac Taylor has leaned into the details that usually disappear at home — when to eat, when to practice, when to recover — because those are the parts he can actually control.

“One above all is keeping the schedule as close to our routine as possible,” Taylor said. “We’ve got a team of people that logistically have handled this for us that are top-notch.”

That has been the Bengals’ approach since they practiced Tuesday in Cincinnati, flew to Madrid and took Wednesday off to acclimate. Taylor said the off day was the best compromise to get the group ready by Friday, when the team planned another practice at RFEF, the Spanish national soccer team’s training base. By Thursday, he said, “We are back on schedule right now.”

The work was not only about the field. Taylor said he adjusted practice timing, body-maintenance time and even lunch, shifting the meal so players could eat before boarding the bus for a 12:40 p.m. CET practice departure. He described the schedule and the food as his two priorities, then drew a line where his control ended.

“I can’t control the sleep,” Taylor said. “We give them all the information on how to sleep on a plane, but that’s something they have to handle the best they can.”

That is where the trip became a personal adjustment for players as well as a logistical one. Some slept on the flight to Spain, some did not. Tee Higgins said he had to catch up on sleep and did not rest much on the plane because he does not like flying. It was also his first international game and his first time crossing the Atlantic.

The Bengals have tried to build the week around the basics that usually disappear in travel chaos. Taylor urged players to get out and see Madrid on Wednesday, and many did. Higgins walked around Plaza Mayor. The offensive line went out together and even posed for a photo with a fan. Center Ted Karras said the city was beautiful and called the experience unbelievable.

For Taylor, the goal was not to turn the trip into a sightseeing tour or a survival exercise. It was to keep the players moving, hydrated and on a workable rhythm. Dexter Lawrence said the time between the flight and Thursday practice was partly about enjoying the country and partly about taking care of his body. “If that’s walking, there’s great things to see here, so I don’t mind doing the walk and hydrating,” he said.

The Bengals also kept one eye on the calendar. They planned their normal Saturday walkthrough at Bernabéu Stadium, where they will return Sunday for the game against Atlanta. The NFL Madrid Game is set for Bernabéu with a 3:30 p.m. CET kickoff, and the surroundings will be different enough on game day without the Bengals making the week any stranger than it already is.

Taylor said he made the schedule change for this trip immediately and would do it the same way again if the league returns to an overseas setup next year. That is less a declaration than a sign of how seriously Cincinnati is treating the logistics. The Bengals know the game will count the same as any other; their task is to make the week feel close enough to normal that the football part does too.