Bengals Announce Travel Plans Ahead of Overseas Trip to Madrid

The Cincinnati Bengals are preparing for a trip to Madrid, where they will face the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. ET in one of the NFL's international games this season.

Cincinnati enters the matchup at 5-2 following a 43-36 overtime win over the Tennessee Titans, and the team now has to turn its attention from a hard-fought victory to a week unlike any other on the schedule.

Playing a game overseas comes with several complications. The most notable is the six-hour time change between Cincinnati and Madrid, which means the Bengals' bodies will need to adjust to a new sleep schedule and a different rhythm for meals, meetings and practices.

Kickoff will also arrive at 3:30 p.m. local time, which is far different from what players are used to during a normal Sunday. In addition, a long flight leaves room for potential travel delays, and any setback could cut into valuable preparation time.

However, the Bengals are attempting to get ahead of those issues. According to head coach Zac Taylor, the team will leave after practice on Tuesday, which gives the players extra time to adjust once they arrive in Spain. That decision should help the team settle in before the work week picks up, and it reflects how much importance the organization is placing on the trip.

Once the Bengals land, the schedule is set up to ease the transition. Taylor said the team will have Wednesday off, which allows players to recover from the travel and begin adjusting to the local time. Cincinnati will then return to the practice field on Thursday and Friday at the Spanish National Team Training Facility, where it will finalize its game plan for Atlanta.

Moving practices to a new facility is another adjustment, and it is one of several that the team will have to manage in a short period of time. However, the timing makes preparation even more important, as the Bengals enter the week riding a three-game winning streak, and will want to carry that momentum across the Atlantic. Any lingering fatigue or disruption could make it harder to keep that momentum going against Atlanta, especially with the injuries stacking up on defense.

Ultimately, weeks like this one can bring some discomfort and unfamiliarity to the sport. The routines players follow are disrupted, the surroundings are different and the margin for error is smaller. However, the Bengals are doing everything they can to get acclimated as soon as possible before Sunday's contest.