MADRID, Spain — The Cincinnati Bengals offense is formidable at this point in the season. Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are as explosive as ever. Mike Gesicki has been a nice changeup in the red zone. And protection has held up even when some would argue it should falter based on the attack.

Since Week 5, the Bengals have scored at least 30 points in each of their three games.

And then there's Joe Burrow, the centerpiece of the operation. He is playing the best football of his career right now. And that's not this author's opinion. It's the opinion of Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.

"When you look from a coverage perspective, how he gets attacked and how people really design game plans versus the Cincinnati Bengals, where he should go with the ball, that's typically where it goes," Ulbrich said in Spain this Thursday. "And not just that, it goes with great accuracy, touch, timing."

This is yet another top offense the Falcons will face in the span of a month — having already faced Chicago and with the Chiefs on tap next week.

Ulbrich said the Falcons defense has not yet played "up to (their) potential." Per the defensive coordinator, "not even close."

They're going to need to play as close to their potential as possible to keep the Bengals' high-powered offense on the back foot. That said, the Falcons could see reinforcements on the way, but there's quite a lot still in the air.

Billy Bowman Jr. returns to full strength after missing time with a hamstring injury. He will return Sunday as a key part of the Falcons' nickel packages.

The unit has been without Divine Deablo at the heart of its defense these last two weeks, too, as he recovers from a forearm injury.

When Deablo suffered a similar injury last season and missed significant time, the Falcons greatly missed his presence. This season, however, they've seen the ascension of rookie Kendal Daniels, who has had the green dot since Deablo has been sidelined.

Deablo received a questionable game designation ahead of the Falcons' Sunday morning game against the Bengals. So, he's trending in the right direction to potentially return. Still, Daniels said they both have been running with the green dot throughout practice this week in the event Deablo can't go Sunday.

That said, the Falcons did lose a key contributor in Samson Ebukam earlier this week with a hamstring injury. Ebukam has been fighting this hamstring injury since Week 2. And after aggravating it against Tampa Bay last weekend, the Falcons placed him on injured reserve.

Despite losing an edge rusher this week, the Falcons could actually gain back another.

James Pearce Jr. has been serving an eight-game suspension to start the 2026 season. Week 9 marks the first game Pearce could see action since last season, when he led the team in sacks with 10.5.

Asked about Pearce's inclusion to the broader Falcons pass rush, Ulbrich said this week that he's been pleased with where Pearce is in his return to the game, both from a mental and physical standpoint.

Per the rules of Pearce's suspension, he was allowed to return to the facility to participate in individual work with the strength and conditioning staff as well as attend meetings with Ulbrich and position coaches.

Ulbrich met with Pearce once a week for the last month. He called these meetings "eye-opening."

"I have gained an appreciation for him as a man," Ulbrich said. "I see a guy who is really working his butt off to really right some wrong, and he's working his butt off to become a better version of himself. And I have a deep appreciation for that because that's not easy. Not everybody has the humility or the wisdom to be able to do that. I feel like he's made a real concerted effort to become the best version of James. I am super hopeful that that translates to success because that would (support) the idea that I am on the right track and that I gotta keep going on the right track."

Head coach Kevin Stefanski said earlier this week that the Falcons feel Pearce is in good football shape as he returned to the organization and team. However, Pearce suffered a setback in practice Friday. Stefanski announced that Pearce had a back issue "flare up." He was limited in practice and Stefanski said the Falcons will monitor him over the weekend. Their hope being that they'll know more in 24-48 hours.

Because of this, the expectation has shifted for Pearce's return.

How much will he play if we're working under the assumption he works through the back issue that has popped up? That, Ulbrich said, could be up to Pearce himself. Or rather, how Pearce is affecting the game.

Initially, Pearce will be asked to play a pure pass rush role. Think second-and-long packages, third downs, etc. He'll be on a pitch count, but Ulbrich said that is subject to change.

"A lot of his conditioning and ability to play more will be dependent on what he shows as the game goes along," Ulbrich explained. "We're thinking that we'll go in with a pitch count, but we could obviously change that thinking pretty quickly based upon how he plays."

The Falcons defense has a tall task ahead of it as it runs up against Burrow and the Bengals. If Bowman can make an impact in rotation... If they get Deablo back... If a healthy Pearce assimilates well into the Falcons pass rush... how much does that ultimately keep the Bengals at bay? Well, kickoff is set for 9:30 a.m. ET.