The Atlanta Falcons are reeling after last week's loss, and are looking to face the potential for an offensive dominated game Sunday morning in Madrid facing off against the hot Cincinnati Bengals, where they will have no shortage of talent to worry about including Tee Higgins, Ja'Marr Chase, and others. But they match up with this team pretty well.
With Joe Burrow at the helm for Cincinnati, Atlanta's defense faces one of its biggest challenges yet, as they're facing the NFL's best passing offense and second-highest scoring offense. Meanwhile, on offense, Falcons Michael Penix Jr. searches for his comeback game after the flop last Sunday.
Who will survive? Let's find out by taking a look at these 5 key matchups which could determine the victor in what could shape up to be an offensive showdown.
The matchups that will determine the Atlanta Falcons' chances of victory in Week 9
1. Falcons struggling tackles vs. Bengals EDGE Boye Mafe
Bengals star edge rusher Boye Mafe faces more pressure to perform with an injury to second-round rookie Cashius Howell, who showed flashes before going down. Now the light sits with Mafe as he has a favorable matchup. Jake Matthews is a former Pro Bowler who's struggled this season, he's allowed three sacks and 12 pressures on the season ranking 39th out of 69th in pass blocking.
While former Super Bowl champion Jawaan Taylor ranks 40th in pass blocking grade per PFF, he's given up two sacks and 13 pressures on the season. Boye Mafe is smiling ear-to-ear looking at these metrics.
The former high school tri-athlete ranks 5th overall at his position according to PFF. Mafe's contributed 35 pressures (sixth in the NFL) that include, two QB hits, 27 hurries (1st), and 6 sacks. With an average pressure rate around 16.51%, Boye Mafe looks to shred Michael Penix Jr.'s big comeback.
2. Falcons CB C.J. Henderson vs. Bengals WR Tee Higgins
While Ja'Marr Chase is considered the bigger threat, it's Tee Higgins who's been the receiving star of the Bengals the year. With 726 receiving yards, four touchdowns, and a fifth-ranked 16.9 yards a catch per PFF, Tee Higgins aims to continue his success against the Dirty Birds' corners.
C.J Henderson, who stepped in for A.J Terrell and took over for Mike Hughes on the boundary now looks to stop one of the best receivers in the league. Henderson ranks 14th overall out of 103 corners at a 75.2 PFF grade in 2026. He's allowed 21 receptions this season knocking out 5 balls and only allowing an 82.8 quarterback rating.
This will be his biggest chance to prove his worth as a star in the Falcons secondary and lock down one of the league's best while Terrell locks Chase down.
3. Jahan Dotson vs. Bengals mediocre secondary
Jahan Dotson has been a crucial deep threat for Atlanta this season. He leads the NFL in yards per reception at 24.1, 4th in average depth of target at 16.7, and fifth in YAC yardage at 7.1 per PFF statistics. Against the 25th ranked pass defense, he has a shot to continue showing his ability to win. Bengals defense has allowed the 2nd highest explosive play rate per Sharp Analytics at 7.5%.
They ironically average allowing 7.5 yards per play as well, ranking 24th in the league in that category. Jahan may be covered by corners Tacario Davis, and Dax Hill, as D.J. Turner gives his full attention to Drake London. Tacario's young and inexperienced, but Dax Hill doesn't allowed much breathing room either ranking 57th in yards per reception allowed at 11.7. This will be Jahan's first ever game against the Bengals, and with these stats in mind it could be a good one
4 Bijan Robinson vs. his own offensive line?
The Falcons' offensive line has continued to struggle of late, especially on the interior, which has held Bijan Robinson back and halted progression on offense. This must take a turn but it won't be easy.
The Falcons line will face Dexter Lawrence II and Jonathan Allen on the inside Sunday--two disruptive interior defenders that will make it hell for what's been a non-physical Falcons interior this season. So Chris Lindstrom and Matthew Bergeron have no choice but to play up to the level of their contracts.
Bijan Robinson needs to get the ball moving on the ground to open up the pass and let the offense click--especially without his RB2 in Brian Robinson Jr., who was just placed on IR. But like I said before, it will all start up front.
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