Jake Bates was standing on the turf in his hometown of Houston when asked to reflect on an unlikely journey from learning how to sell bricks to making game-winning kicks for the Detroit Lions.

Michael Penix Jr. won his debut as Atlanta’s starting quarterback, thanks largely to a defense that returned a pair of interceptions for touchdowns to hand the hapless New York Giants their franchise-record 10th straight loss, 34-7.

The setup for two Christmas Day games means two games on Saturday in Week 16.

After losing his job as the Atlanta Falcons' starting quarterback, Kirk Cousins is promising to support rookie Michael Penix Jr. Cousins threw nine interceptions with one touchdown in the past five games.

The Atlanta Falcons are turning to rookie Michael Penix Jr. as their starting quarterback and benching veteran Kirk Cousins as they fight for their first playoff berth since 2017.

If the Atlanta Falcons are going to make a playoff push, coach Raheem Morris and quarterback Kirk Cousins both know the 13-year veteran needs to improve his play over the last three games of the season.

Kirk Cousins threw his first touchdown pass in five weeks and the Atlanta Falcons did just enough to beat the struggling Las Vegas Raiders 15-9 and keep pace in the NFC South race.

The NFL will consider expanding replay assist to include facemask penalties and other plays.

A thunderous doink helped the Kansas City Chiefs gain some breathing room in the race for the No. 1 seed in the AFC after the Buffalo Bills fell short despite Josh Allen’s spectacular performance.

Sam Darnold threw for 347 yards and five touchdowns, both career highs, and the Minnesota Vikings pulled away from Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons 42-21 for their sixth straight victory.

Kirk Cousins is set for his return on Sunday to Minnesota, his NFL home from 2018 through 2023.

Six division matchups and Kirk Cousins' return to Minnesota highlight a lighter Week 14 schedule.

Kirk Cousins threw three touchdown passes and the Atlanta Falcons maintained their hold on first place in the NFC South with a 27-21 victory over the struggling Cowboys.

The NFL has been on a race to the bottom this season.

Kirk Cousins threw for 276 yards and four touchdowns to help the Atlanta Falcons take sole possession of first place of the NFC South with a 31-26 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Kirk Cousins delivered a signature moment to his career with a 509-yard performance capped by a game-ending TD pass in overtime.

Kirk Cousins threw for a career-high 509 yards and four touchdowns, the last of them a 45-yard scoring pass to KhaDarel Hodge in overtime that gave the Atlanta Falcons an improbable 36-30 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Atlanta Falcons had plenty of opportunities to beat Kansas City but miscues and trouble converting on third down helped the Chiefs hold on for a narrow 22-17 victory.

Patrick Mahomes threw a pair of touchdown passes and Kansas City's defense made a couple of late stands to keep the Chiefs unbeaten with a 22-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

Falcons wide receiver Drake London was penalized after catching a touchdown pass in the final minute of Atlanta’s 22-21 victory in Philadelphia on Monday night for pretending to shoot in the air, a violation of a longstanding NFL rule that prohibits such gestures.

Saquon Barkley had at least a first down, maybe even a touchdown, in his grasp that would have sealed the Eagles’ win in their home open.

Kirk Cousins led a flawless last-minute drive for Atlanta and connected with Drake London for a 7-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left to give the Falcons a 22-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Atlanta Falcons hosted the football team from Apalachee High School a week after a shooting left two students and two teachers dead.

From rookies struggling in their first career starts to high-paid quarterbacks not living up to their contracts to rusty veterans coming off injuries, the passing in Week 1 of the NFL season looked to be from a different era.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins and head coach Raheen Morris wore Apalachee High School T-shirts during warmups before the NFL team's season opener, honoring the victims of a fatal shooting.

Justin Fields stepped in to lead the Steelers to a 18-10 victory over the Atlanta Falcons with Russell Wilson’s Pittsburgh debut put on hold by a calf injury.

Some of the 18 NFL teams that missed the playoffs last year have reason to hope for much greater success this season.

Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones will square off in the season opener when the Vikings visit the Giants.

Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs will raise their championship banner and begin their quest to become the first team to three-peat in the Super Bowl era.

Losing Tom Brady didn’t loosen the Buccaneers’ hold on the NFC South.

Trevor Lawrence tuned up for the regular season by guiding two long touchdown drives against a bunch of Atlanta players fighting for jobs, and the Jacksonville Jaguars blew away the Falcons 31-0 in the preseason finale.

Josh Johnson completed all 11 of his pass attempts and Emory Jones added a long touchdown throw in the second half to lift the Baltimore Ravens to a 13-12 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

The short summer vacation is over for NFL players.

The Atlanta Falcons were stripped of a fifth-round pick in next year’s draft on Thursday for violating the NFL’s anti-tampering rules prior to signing quarterback Kirk Cousins.

Justin Jefferson earned the richest non-quarterback contract in NFL history for all his accomplishments on the field over four seasons with Minnesota.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins’ recovery from a torn right Achilles tendon remains on track as the team approaches next week’s mandatory minicamp.

Kirk Cousins has shrugged off any hard feelings over the Atlanta Falcons drafting Michael Penix Jr., insisting he’s ready to compete and doesn’t think there will be any issues in the quarterback room.

Some teams see an immediate impact from a draft class.

The top 100 prospects have been scooped up by NFL teams through the first three rounds of the draft.

Michael Penix Jr., the biggest surprise of the NFL draft’s first round, received a congratulatory call from Kirk Cousins even as Cousins’ agent was second-guessing the Atlanta Falcons adding depth to their quarterback spot.

Quarterbacks went off the draft board at a record-setting pace.

The Atlanta Falcons provided the first major surprise of the NFL draft by selecting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. of Washington with the No. 8 pick.

The NFL is reviewing whether the Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles violated tampering policies during the legal tampering window, a league spokesman said Thursday.

The Tennessee Titans landed wide receiver Calvin Ridley when free agency opened Wednesday.

The Minnesota Vikings stayed aggressive in free agency by adding former Green Bay running back Aaron Jones and 2018 third overall draft pick Sam Darnold as a temporary replacement at quarterback.

There’s still plenty of star-quality players available after a wild opening to the NFL’s free agency period.

Kirk Cousins is heading to the Falcons.

Kirk Cousins is leaving Minnesota for Atlanta.

The NFL’s free agency frenzy kicks off Monday with a 52-hour legal tampering period ahead of the official start of the league year on Wednesday.

Kirk Cousins will be a free agent for the first time since the Vikings gave him the first fully-guaranteed quarterback deal in the NFL.

Another NFL free agency period is about to begin but buyers should beware that signing other teams' veterans comes with plenty of risk.

NFL teams could find a Pro Bowl quarterback, an All-Pro defensive lineman or a future Hall of Fame wide receiver and plenty more star-quality players when the free agency period begins on March 13.

Kirk Cousins plans to be ready to return for practice in the spring wherever he ends up playing next season.

The Minnesota Vikings have switched starting quarterbacks for the fourth time in nine weeks.

Nick Mullens is next up at quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings.

Joshua Dobbs still has the starting quarterback job for the Minnesota Vikings.

Kirk Cousins is in recovery mode from a torn right Achilles tendon.

The generational shift at quarterback in the NFL reached a new milestone last week.

The Minnesota Vikings and Las Vegas Raiders didn't waste any time getting their first wins after a tumultuous midseason misadventure.

Derrick Henry, Davante Adams and everyone on the Denver Broncos stayed put.

Kirk Cousins is out for the rest of the season with a torn right Achilles tendon.

Patrick Mahomes stands alone at the top.

Kirk Cousins, Matthew Stafford, Kenny Pickett and Tyrod Taylor were the latest quarterbacks to go down with injuries.

The San Francisco 49ers are built to win with intelligence and toughness.

Kirk Cousins connected with rookie Jordan Addison for two first-half touchdowns, Camryn Bynum intercepted San Francisco’s Brock Purdy twice in the fourth quarter, and the Minnesota Vikings beat the 49ers 22-17.

Patrick Mahomes threw two touchdown passes in the third quarter, one to Travis Kelce after the All-Pro tight end briefly left the game with an ankle injury, and the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Minnesota Vikings 27-20.

Minnesota Vikings star wide receiver Justin Jefferson was forced out of the game in the fourth quarter due to a right hamstring injury.

Jalen Hurts ran for a pair of 1-yard touchdowns and threw a 63-yard TD pass to DeVonta Smith, D’Andre Swift ran for 175 yards and a score, and the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles held off the turnover-prone Minnesota Vikings 34-28.

Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles host Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings in their home opener in prime time for the second straight season.

Baker Mayfield recovered from a rough start to throw two touchdown passes without a turnover in his Tampa Bay debut, and the Buccaneers beat Minnesota 20-17 after three first-half turnovers by the Vikings.

This week’s new entertainment releases include albums from Lukas Nelson and Kool & The Gang, the return of the silly, witty, Emmy-nominated comedy “What We Do in the Shadows” and Wes Anderson’s stylish and star-studded “Asteroid City” comes to premium video on demand.

The absence of a contract extension for Kirk Cousins could well spell the end of his time as quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings.

Daniel Jones passed for 301 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 78 yards in his first career playoff game for the New York Giants in a 31-24 victory over Minnesota in the wild-card round.

Aaron Rodgers threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score, and the Green Bay Packers continued their improbable playoff push by shutting down Justin Jefferson and the Minnesota Vikings in a 41-17 blowout.

Greg Joseph kicked a career-long 61-yard field goal as time expired to give the Minnesota Vikings a 27-24 victory that prevented the New York Giants from clinching a playoff spot.

For the second time ever Sunday, three NFL games ended with a winning touchdown on the final play on the same day.

The Minnesota Vikings completed the biggest comeback in NFL history by erasing a 33-point deficit to beat the Indianapolis Colts 39-36 in overtime.

Jared Goff threw for 330 yards and three touchdowns, leading the surging Detroit Lions to a 34-23 win over the NFC North-leading Minnesota Vikings.

Kirk Cousins threw for 299 yards and three touchdowns, the last a go-ahead score to Adam Thielen in the fourth quarter to push the Minnesota Vikings past the New England Patriots 33-26.

Thanksgiving will be filled with food and winning football teams.

The Dallas Cowboys sacked Kirk Cousins a career-most seven times in a 40-3 victory over Minnesota.

The Vikings beat the Bills in overtime.

Patrick Peterson intercepted Josh Allen with 1:12 left in overtime to finally end a sloppy, yet thrilling back-and-forth game between two of the NFL’s best teams, and the Minnesota Vikings completed their rally from a 17-point second-half deficit to beat the Buffalo Bills 33-30.

Kirk Cousins threw two touchdown passes to help the Minnesota Vikings come back and beat the Washington Commanders 20-17 for their sixth consecutive victory.

Jalen Hurts and the undefeated Eagles are looking for the first 8-0 start in franchise history while the rest of Philadelphia is focused on beating another team from Houston.

The fullback position in the NFL has been fading for years, but only in the last decade has it neared the brink of total extinction.

Can we finally start Tony Pollard.

Greg Joseph kicked a 47-yard field goal with 24 seconds left and the Minnesota Vikings hung on for a 28-25 win over New Orleans at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium when the Saints’ Wil Lutz’s 61-yard tying attempt hit the left upright and then the crossbar as time expired.

Nine home teams are underdogs in Week 3.

Jalen Hurts threw for 333 yards and a touchdown and he ran for 57 yards and two more scores to lead the Philadelphia Eagles to a 24-7 win over the Minnesota Vikings.

Preseason rest appeared to lead to a little bit of rust in Week 1 for several of the NFL’s top quarterbacks.

The Minnesota Vikings have acquired backup quarterback Nick Mullens from the Las Vegas Raiders for a conditional 2024 seventh-round draft pick.

Nick Mullens completed 7 of 9 passes for 94 yards and one touchdown, and the Las Vegas Raiders beat the Minnesota Vikings 26-20 in a preseason game.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins has tested positive for COVID-19 and won't play in the team’s first preseason game.

The NFL salary cap is going back up this year with a projection of $208.2 million per team.

The Minnesota Vikings have finalized their hiring of head coach Kevin O’Connell.

Shaquille O’Neal will return to the city where he helped the Los Angeles Lakers win three straight championships.

The Minnesota Vikings have entered a fast-paced final stretch of their head coach search.

From the NFC North to the AFC East, the firings began almost immediately after the NFL’s first 17-game season concluded.

The Minnesota Vikings have fired general manager Rick Spielman and coach Mike Zimmer.