ATLANTA — With their playoff hopes and season on the line, the Falcons are benching veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins and handing the football to rookie Michael Penix Jr., the Falcons announced in a statement Tuesday night.

The move came just a few hours after coach Raheem Morris was non-commital to several questions about the team’s ...Read more

ATLANTA — Falcons coach Raheem Morris has fielded questions about benching Kirk Cousins for weeks. Each time, Morris confirmed that Cousins was the starter. Morris declined to do that soon after the Falcons got back from Las Vegas on Tuesday.

Two hours later, Morris announced that rookie Michael Penix Jr. would replace Cousins as the starter ...Read more

ATLANTA — Falcons coach Raheem Morris has fielded questions about benching Kirk Cousins for weeks. Each time, Morris confirmed that Cousins was the starter before acknowledging that he must play better. This time, Morris didn’t say Cousins will start ahead of Michael Penix Jr. on Sunday against the New York Giants.

“I think we’ve got to...Read more

Each week I’ll list the best widely available free agents for fantasy football — I define “widely available” as being owned in around half of all ESPN or Yahoo leagues — and some guys who are probably better off in the free agent pool than collecting dust on your roster.

Follow me on X (formerly known as Twitter) @UTEddieBrown if you ...Read more

Each week of the NFL season, The Baltimore Sun will recap the best and worst from around the league. Here are our winners and losers from Week 15:

Winner: Lamar Jackson

Here’s your annual reminder: The NFL Most Valuable Player Award race isn’t over until the final votes are cast.

The NFL is a week-to-week league, so it’s tempting to ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — If Patrick Mahomes’ injured ankle has recovered enough for him to play in Saturday’s game against the Houston Texans, he’ll play, Andy Reid said on Tuesday.

Mahomes suffered a high ankle sprain in the fourth quarter of the Chiefs’ 21-7 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. On a fourth-and-3 from the Browns 39...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The trouble for Chicago Bears rookie left tackle Kiran Amegadjie started early Monday night at U.S. Bank Stadium, and it came in the form of Minnesota Vikings outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard.

On third-and-9 midway through the first quarter, Greenard flew by the left side of Amegadjie, who barely got a finger on the fifth-...Read more

LAS VEGAS — The Atlanta Falcons went old-school to pull out a 15-9 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night at Allegiant Stadium.

In the pass-happy NFL, the Falcons went smashmouth 1970s era on the Raiders. They ran the ball on 23 of 24 first downs.

The Falcons kept the clock running. More important, they found a way to limit ...Read more

MIAMI — “[Expletive] man,” Tyreek Hill yelled in the locker room minutes after Sunday’s 20-12 loss to the Houston Texans, which virtually eliminated the Miami Dolphins from the postseason equation.

“This was supposed to be our year,” the five-time first-team All-Pro receiver said in a moment of transparency before taking his ...Read more

With Bill Belichick off to college, Mike McCarthy’s chances to remain as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys improved but there is zero chance he will stay as the play caller next season.

The lame duck head coach is still in play to sign an extension, but it will come with conditions, and promises of major changes. There is no way Cowboys ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — In his opening comments of training camp, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell set forth a vision for a team that would build its foundation differently than in the coach’s first two seasons. O’Connell frequently invoked the phrase “play style” as shorthand for a physical approach that would incorporate heavier personnel,...Read more

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — De’Vondre Campbell’s expulsion from the San Francisco 49ers has come via an unpaid suspension for their final three games.

That discipline was announced in a two-line statement from general manager John Lynch just before noon as the 49ers (6-8) reconvene after Thursday’s dramatic 12-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams ...Read more

DETROIT — After significant injuries to defensive tackle Alim McNeill and cornerback Carlton Davis, it was hard to imagine the Detroit Lions' injury outlook could get much worse.

But it has.

According to a league source, Lions running back David Montgomery suffered an MCL injury in Sunday's 48-42 loss to the Buffalo Bills and will be out ...Read more

DETROIT — The Detroit Lions' worst fears about injuries to defensive tackle Alim McNeill and cornerback Carlton Davis III have come true.

McNeill suffered a torn ACL and is out for the season, while Davis suffered a broken jaw that'll keep him out at least six weeks, a league source confirmed to The Detroit News on Monday.

After Sunday's 48-...Read more

The injury that forced Patrick Mahomes out of Sunday’s fourth quarter is feared to be a high-ankle sprain, according to a report.

Mahomes was scheduled to undergo further testing on his right ankle Monday, according to NFL Media, but the situation reportedly does not seem dire for the Chiefs’ superstar quarterback.

Still, high-ankle ...Read more

CLEVELAND — It’s 11 minutes after a Chiefs victory here in Cleveland, the team’s first double-digit win in eight weeks, and the most relevant story is the cart barreling toward the visitors’ locker room.

Within a few seconds, Patrick Mahomes — a back-seat passenger on that cart — emerges from the set of double doors, still in ...Read more

MIAMI — Yet another clutch game choke job!

That’s the only accurate way to summarize what the Miami Dolphins did in Sunday’s critical must-win game against the Houston Texans, which turned into a 20-12 loss when the offense kept spitting up on itself in scoring territory.

That’s the best way to describe three interceptions and one ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Once the singing of "Fly Eagles, Fly" had concluded, as his players sat silently thumbing through their phones in an adjacent locker room, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin tried his best to caution against overreaction following a 27-13 loss in Philadelphia on Sunday.

"It's a loss," Tomlin said. "I mean, let's not get dramatic."

A ...Read more

SEATTLE — The thought had crossed my mind, as it may have yours at some point this season. Maybe it was after his second interception vs. the Niners in Week 6, or his third pick vs. the Rams in Week 9, when the Seahawks dropped their fifth game in six tries.

Seattle quarterback Geno Smith has struggled at times this season, particularly ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs waived former first-round running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, according to the NFL’s transactions page.

That move potentially ends Edwards-Helaire’s five-year tenure with Kansas City.

The 25-year-old wrote about the transaction Monday afternoon, sending a message to Chiefs fans on X (formerly ...Read more