The reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers are adding a two-time Cy Young Award winner in the biggest move so far this offseason.

Left-hander Blake Snell has reached an agreement with the Dodgers on a five-year, $182 million free agent contract, according to a person with direct knowledge of the agreement. The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because the deal has not yet been announced.

After not finding a long-term deal last winter, the free-agent left-hander went 5-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 20 starts last season on a one-year, $32 million contract with the San Francisco Giants. After one of the greatest second halves in recent history — a 1.31 ERA over 13 starts, with 111 strikeouts in 75⅓ innings, including a no-hitter at Cincinnati — he opted out of the final year of that deal.

Meanwhile, even as the Dodgers won the World Series, they needed rotation stability. Right-handers Walker Buehler and Jack Flaherty are free agents, while several pitchers have health questions to answer in 2025, including lefty Clayton Kershaw.

Even still, the Dodgers have more than $1 billion tied up in pitchers they hope will be in their rotation next year. Right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto agreed to a $325 million deal before the 2023 season, and Tyler Glasnow signed a $136.5 million extension after a trade from the Rays.

Including his deal, that’s $643.5 million committed before factoring whatever portion of Shohei Ohtani’s heavily-deferred 10-year, $700 million deal one might consider devoted to pitching, and not hitting.

Snell has a history of slow starts (and strong finishes), but last season’s was perhaps his most extreme. After missing all of spring training, he jumped right into the Giants’ rotation and only made three starts before spending a month on the injured list with a thigh injury.

But after he returned from a second stint on the injured list on July 9, he allowed just 11 earned runs in his final 14 starts — going 5-0 with a 1.23 ERA in 80⅓ innings as the Giants went 12-2 in those games. Included in that amazing run was his first career nohitte (and first career complete game) against the Cincinnati Reds on Aug. 2.

That was more than enough for the Dodgers to pounce and snag arguably the top option off the market in a winter where Snell, lefty Max Fried and right-hander Corbin Burnes are far and away the best options available.

Snell, who turns 32 on Dec. 4, was a first-round pick out of high school by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2011. He pitched for the Rays for five seasons, winning a career-high 21 games and the AL Cy Young award in 2018, before being traded to the San Diego Padres after the 2020 season.

He spent three years in San Diego, winning the 2023 NL Cy Young award, before becoming a free agent and signing with the Giants last offseason.

Over nine MLB seasons, Snell has an overall record of 76-58 with a 3.19 ERA in 211 games.

His career mark of 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings ranks him No. 1 in baseball history for players with at least 1,000 innings pitched.

The NBA fined the Atlanta Hawks $100,000 for “violating the league’s Player Participation Policy in connection with Trae Young missing the team’s Emirates NBA Cup game on Nov. 12 against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden,” the league announced Tuesday.

Young was listed out for that Celtics game with right Achilles tendinitis. However, the league said, “following an investigation, including review by an independent physician, the NBA determined that the Hawks held Young out of a game that he could have played in under the medical standard in the Policy. The organization’s conduct violated the Policy, which is intended to promote participation in the NBA’s regular season.”

Part of the NBA’s participation policy states that “Teams must ensure that star players are available for national TV and In-Season Tournament games.”

It’s the only game Young has missed this season for the 7-11 Hawks, who defeated the Celtics 117-116 in that contest.

President Biden participated in the annual Christmas tree lighting on the Ellipse on Thursday evening, his last time taking part in the annual tradition before he departs the White House next year.

Mr. Biden returned to the White House early Thursday after spending the beginning of the week in Angola. Before he left, he ignited a firestorm when he issued a sweeping pardon for his son, Hunter, who had been convicted on federal drug and gun charges, and pleaded guilty to tax charges. When asked about the pardon earlier this week, the first lady, who attended every day of Hunter Biden’s Delaware trial, said “of course I support the pardon of my son.”

This year’s Christmas tree is a 35-foot Red Spruce from the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests in Virginia. A collection of 58 smaller trees are adorned with student-designed ornaments from every state and territory.

The 102nd Tree Lighting Ceremony will be hosted by Mickey Guyton featuring performances by Adam Blackstone, Stephen Sanchez, James Taylor and Trisha Yearwood. Viewers can watch the full ceremony on CBS on Dec. 20.

2024 White House holiday decorations

The tree lighting is the last part of the White House holiday transformation, with this year’s theme being “A Season of Peace and Light.”

First lady Jill Biden unveiled the holiday decor in the East Room on Monday, speaking to volunteers who made the winter wonderland come to life.

“As we celebrate our final holiday season here in the White House, we are guided by the values that we hold sacred: faith, family, and service to our country, kindness toward all of our neighbors, and the power of community,” she said.

It takes over 300 volunteers from across the country along with about 9,810 feet of ribbon, 28,125 ornaments and 2,200 paper doves to deck the halls of the White House.

The White House expects to welcome over 100,000 visitors during the holiday season. The first lady on Tuesday welcomed families of National Guard members to be the first to view the decorations. Upon arrival, visitors will see a Christmas tree dedicated to Gold Star families with six stacked stars representing all six branches of the military. Down the East Colonnade guests will be surrounded by bells “symbolizing the peaceful sounds of the holiday season.” In the East Room, a reflective canopy twinkles next to the chandeliers like snowfall as two large Christmas trees guard the main door.

The first known Christmas tree inside the White House was in 1889 during the Benjamin Harrison administration, according to the White House. It was a much smaller affair with only a Christmas tree in the Second Floor Oval Room decorated with candles by President Harrison’s grandchildren.

The annual gingerbread White House manages to combine 25 sheets of gingerbread dough, 10 sheets of sugar cookie dough, 65 pounds of pastillage, 45 pounds of chocolate, 50 pounds of royal icing, and 10 pounds of gum paste into the form of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Volunteers who bring the decorations to life

Alisa Cooper de Uribe, a first-grade bilingual teacher at the New Mexico International School in Albuquerque and the 2021 New Mexico Teacher of the Year, was one of the volunteers who assembled the thousands of doves. She traveled to Washington, D.C., with her family to be part of the White House decorations team.

“It’s a sisterhood, a brotherhood. It was a very collegial atmosphere,” Cooper de Uribe told CBS News. “And that was one of the things that I was really impressed by was how so many people who were gathered together without any knowledge of each other before, how well these people work together.”

The holiday volunteers are teachers, military families, nurses, and small business owners from across the country who all apply before being selected for decor duty. Bright and early the day after Thanksgiving, the volunteers arrived at the White House to begin full days of glitter and garland before the first lady unveiled all their work. The Office of the First Lady sent out special invitations to State Teachers of the Year winners like de Uribe to join the holiday volunteer tradition. Some volunteers formed text chains and Facebook groups, intending to keep in touch long after the ornaments are taken down.

Centerpiece of the holiday decor

The centerpiece of the holiday decor inside the Blue Room is a 18 ½ foot Fraser Fir that traveled from the Cartner Family of Cartner’s Christmas Tree Farm in North Carolina. The tree was one of the survivors as thousands of others were devastated when Hurricane Helene hit the Blue Ridge Mountains. The owners named it “Tremendous” as a tribute to the resilience of North Carolina communities affected by Hurricane Helene.

In the state dining room, there are ornaments on the Christmas tree that feature self-portraits of students, including four of de Uribe’s first graders.

“It was an opportunity for the students to see themselves reflected in the White House and in this season, and that it’s their place, and it’s their opportunity to have their individual and unique selves and their culture shine out through their portraits,” de Uribe said.

The best way to understand the kicking woes of Baltimore’s Justin Tucker is to ask another kicker what the hell is going on. So I did. In fact, I asked one of the best to ever do it.

Lawrence Tynes kicked game-winning field goals in two NFC title games to send the Giants to the Super Bowl. Tynes, who played for three NFL teams between 2001 and 2013, was one of the most clutch kickers of his generation. He won two Super Bowls.

What Tynes says matters and what he thinks has happened to Tucker is extremely interesting.

“From the couch, looking on,” Tynes told USA TODAY Sports, “he has a mechanical flaw that was causing him to pull all his kicks. Does not look like he was able to fix what was causing that and continues to miss left in-game.

“I say in-game because I am sure he was able to fix it in practice. Games are different.

Bill Belichick said something similar on the “Let’s Go!” podcast.

“Obviously there’s something that’s a little bit off from a technique standpoint,” Belichick explained, “but I don’t see that there’s like a lack of talent. I think there’s something mechanically that he’s not doing consistently. If you have the key to unlock that problem, then probably everything could be great.

“But clearly this extends back even to last year a little bit, too, because there was some accuracy issues last year in the ‘23 season as well as the current season. So I think Coach (John) Harbaugh is doing the right thing. I would stick with Justin Tucker. This guy was the most accurate kicker in the history of football. He gets great height on the ball. He’s been super consistent. He’s obviously having a little bit of a rough patch right here, but it doesn’t look to me like his talent level has declined. There’s something mechanically that just isn’t quite right all the time. I think they just gotta work hard and try to find that.”

Tucker has missed five kicks in the last three games. For Tucker, this is like an ordinary kicker missing 50. Tucker is The Avengers of kickers. (Not sure if he’s Thor or Iron Man or Captain Marvel or the guy with the arrows, but you get it.)

Overall, what’s happening to him now is one of the wildest stories not just in the NFL, but in all of sports.

But enough of Belichick. Back to Tynes. And for the record, as a kicking nerd, I could listen to Tynes for days. He’s utterly fascinating.

“Inevitably, you can overcompensate for a left miss, and miss right, which he did Sunday,” Tynes continued.

Tucker missed an extra point and two field goals during Baltimore’s 24-19 loss to Philadelphia.

“To summarize,” he said, “he is struggling mentally, that’s the bottom line.”

How does Tucker fix this? No one knows. If they did, it would have already been fixed.

What’s clear is that the Ravens have a difficult choice. Harbaugh can stick with Tucker and hope he works out his issues. If he does, the team would continue on, and make a deep playoff run.

Or, Harbaugh can stick with Tucker, and if the kicker doesn’t work out his issues, he could miss a kick that costs the team a playoff game.

These are not easy choices.

As he often does, Tynes perfectly summarized everything.

“He is the best kicker of all time who has never even had a mini-slump in his career,” Tynes said. “This is his first one and if we’re being honest, he is not handling it well. Would hate to be the Ravens right now because yes, you believe he can fix it, but what if he doesn’t and you lose a playoff game because of him?”

Yeah, this is not easy for the Ravens.

Mike Tyson is being sued in a London court for nearly 1.5 million euros ($1.59 million) for allegedly breaking a deal to promote a gambling company in order to fight social media influencer-turned-prizefighter Jake Paul.

Medier, a Cyprus-registered company that promotes online casino and betting company Rabona, is suing the former heavyweight champion and his company Tyrannic for allegedly reneging on the deal, which was agreed in January.

The lawsuit, filed at London’s High Court in October, says Tyson terminated the deal in March – the same day his fight with Paul was announced – because Medier breached their agreement.

Medier’s lawyers, however, argue its actions did not constitute a breach of the deal and that Tyson’s breach of contract has caused Medier losses of around 1.46 million euros.

“The true reason for Mr Tyson and Tyrannic’s hasty and unlawful termination was because Mr Tyson had agreed a deal, sponsored by Netflix, to fight the influencer Jake Paul,” the company’s lawyer said in documents made public on Friday.

Tyson and Tyrannic have yet to file a defence to the lawsuit and Tyson was not immediately available to comment.

Paul, 27, beat the 58-year-old Tyson by unanimous decision in Texas last month, in a fight streamed live on Netflix that failed to live up to its enormous hype.

Before Victor Wembanyama played a minute in the NBA last season, he was the preordained Rookie of the Year. Then, he proved it on the court. There wasn’t much debate last season about whom would win the award.

That’s not the case in 2024-25. The Rookie of the Year race is wide open, and that was predictable in June at the draft when the No. 1 pick wasn’t obvious. This season’s Rookie of the Year might not be a lottery pick and that would mark just the third time since 1985 that the Rookie of the Year was not a top-10 pick – Mark Jackson won the award in 1988 as the No. 18 pick and Malcolm Brogdon won it in 2017 as the 36th pick.

Early contenders this season, such as Philadelphia 76ers guard Jared McCain (16th pick), Los Angeles Lakers forward Dalton Knecht (17th pick) and Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaylen Wells (39th pick), were not lottery picks.

USA TODAY’s NBA rookie power rankings:

NBA rookie rankings

(stats through Thursday, Dec. 5 games):

1. Philadelphia 76ers guard Jared McCain

McCain leads all rookies at 16.5 points per game and is doing so with decent efficiency at 46.8% from the field and 38.3% on 3-pointers. The Sixers have needed his production, too, with various injuries to Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey. The No. 16 overall pick in the first round of the June draft, McCain also averages 2.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists and has two 30-point games, including 34 against Cleveland.

2. Los Angeles Lakers forward Dalton Knecht

There is value in taking a 23-year-old in the first round of the draft, and Knecht and the Lakers have found a mutually beneficial relationship. Knecht gets quality playing time, including nine starts, with a legitimate playoff contender. He averages 11.1 points and is proving himself a strong 3-point shooter, making 40.3% of his attempts from that distance (and 47.1% from the field). He scored a game-high 37 points (also the highest for a rookie this season) against Utah, making 9-of-12 3s.

3. Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaylen Wells

Wells played two years of Division II basketball at Sonoma State and one season at Washington State, and the Grizzlies selected him in the second round with the 39th overall pick. He has worked his way into the rotation at 24.9 minutes per game and is averaging 12.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists and shooting 45.7% from the field and 38.8% on 3s. He’s a necessary part of a 15-8 start for the Grizzlies, who are tied for second place in the West.

4. San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle

Though he has played mostly at the two-guard spot, Castle has also provided essential ball handling and play making ability to the roster. Castle has not been shy about slashing to the hoop and finishing. Yet, when defenses collapse, he has found Wembanyama and others. Castle trails only Bub Carrington (4.1) of the Wizards in assists per game (3.8) among rookies. He has started his last 15 games and is averaging 11.5 points over that span.

5. Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher

Risacher, 19, has become a far more consistent scorer over the last two weeks, thanks to a steadier 3-point shot. Through his first 14 games, Risacher hit just 22.4% of his 3s. Over his past nine games, he has made them at a 40% clip. Risacher is getting more comfortable on the defensive end, too. He ranks third, second and sixth among rookies in points (11.7), steals (0.9) and blocks (0.7) per game. He scored a season-best 33 points against New York on Nov. 6.

6. Memphis Grizzlies center Zach Edey

Edey is another valuable rookie contributor to the Grizzlies, and like Knecht, a player who spent at least four years playing college basketball. Per 36 minutes, Edey, who is sidelined with a sprained left ankle, averages 20.0 points, 12.4 rebounds, 1.8 blocks, 1.5 steals and 1.4 assists and shoots 60% from the field, and though it’s limited attempts, he has made 60% on 3-pointers. With Edey on the court, the Grizzlies outscore opponents by 3.4 points.

President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday named venture capitalist and former PayPal Chief Operating Officer David Sacks as a top White House advisor on artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency issues.

In a Truth Social post, Trump said that Sacks will guide policy and “focus on making America the clear global leader” on two topics that have rocketed to the forefront of policy discussions around technology and the global economy. Sacks will also lead the Presidential Council of Advisors for Science and Technology, a group that makes science, technology, and other innovation policy recommendations to the White House.

“He will safeguard Free Speech online, and steer us away from Big Tech bias and censorship. He will work on a legal framework so the Crypto industry has the clarity it has been asking for, and can thrive in the U.S.,” Trump added in the social media post announcing the appointment of his so-called “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar.”

Sacks was once a vocal Trump critic, saying on an episode of his “All-In” podcast that the former and future president was “clearly” responsible for the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. “I think he’s disqualified himself from being a candidate at a national level again,” he said at the time.

However, Sacks’ views have since changed, hosting a fundraiser for Trump at his San Francisco home in June with tickets being sold for $50,000 per person, according to NBC News.

He wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, at the time that President Joe Biden had “veered badly of course” on the economy, foreign policy, the border, and lawfare, and that Trump would lead Americans back.

Sacks is a member of an exclusive group of former PayPal founders and employees that includes Elon Musk. The 52-year-old entrepreneur who was born in South Africa also founded and worked as CEO of Yammer, an enterprise social networking service, which Microsoft acquired for $1.2 billion in 2012. He also founded Craft Ventures, a venture capitalist firm, in 2017.

“David has the knowledge, business experience, intelligence, and pragmatism to MAKE AMERICA GREAT in these two critical technologies,” Trump said.

Sacks’ hiring came a day after Trump nominated Paul Atkins, a former federal regulator and cryptocurrency industry ally, to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Soon-to-be first lady Melania Trump said Friday that preparing to enter the White House for the second time looks a lot different from the first go-around. Now, she and her husband know what to expect.

“You know what you need to establish, you know what kind of people you need to hire for your office,” she said on “Fox & Friends” in a rare television appearance, where she showed off holiday ornaments she’s selling and her memoir as Christmas approaches.

She said the pace has been fast, as Donald Trump works to build his administration: “It’s incredible and we are very, very busy.” She’s packing up so “we can start on Day 1.”

She said her husband’s attitude after his 2024 win was not the same as when he won in 2016. “The country and the people really supported him,” she said. I think the energy is different. People around him are different.”

The incoming first lady also praised her 18-year-old son Barron, crediting him with helping his father find new ways to reach the audience that elected him president. Trump has four other children.

“He is a grown young man, I’m very proud of him about his knowledge, even about politics and giving advice to his father,” she said. “He brought in so many young people. He knows his generation.”

She described working on her memoirs as a process that was “very personal and could be sometimes very joyful, but also traumatic and hard.”

Kirk Cousins has a pretty good idea about what to expect when he returns to his old home venue.

Cousins played for six seasons with the Minnesota Vikings before he departed as a free agent in March to sign with the Atlanta Falcons. Now, the former Minnesota fan favorite will wear the opposing colors when the Falcons (6-6) kick off against the Vikings (10-2) on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.

Does he think the crowd will be hostile or supportive toward him?

“They’re great football fans,” Cousins said with a smile. “I would think, as a result, they’ll make it as hostile as they can for us. It’s a great fanbase.”

Cousins and the Falcons could use a great performance.

Atlanta is mired in a three-game skid after road losses against the New Orleans Saints and the Denver Broncos and a home defeat against the Los Angeles Chargers. The Falcons have fallen into a tie with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the top spot in the underwhelming NFC South.

Cousins also is looking to bounce back individually after one of the worst performances of his career. Against the Chargers last week, he had no touchdown tosses and four interceptions while posting a paltry 40.0 passer rating.

Now comes a test against the Vikings, who have won five games in a row and sit one game behind the Detroit Lions for first place in the NFC North. Minnesota has not missed a beat since Cousins’ exit, with journeyman quarterback Sam Darnold finding success under coach Kevin O’Connell and the defense thriving under coordinator Brian Flores’ aggressive style.

Four of the Vikings’ past five wins came by single digits. Minnesota beat the Chicago Bears in overtime two weeks ago, and the Vikings rallied for a 23-22 win over the Arizona Cardinals last week.

Darnold has thrown for 2,952 yards, 23 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, and he has posted a 102.5 passer rating on the season. His top target, Justin Jefferson, exceeded the 1,000-yard mark for the fifth consecutive season last week and has hauled in five touchdown passes this year.

By comparison, Cousins has thrown for 3,052 yards, 17 touchdowns and a league-high 13 interceptions. He has a 90.8 passer rating on the season.

Bijan Robinson is a playmaking threat out of the Atlanta backfield with 1,277 yards from scrimmage (885 rushing, 392 receiving) to go along with eight touchdowns (seven rushing, one receiving). Drake London leads the Falcons with 796 receiving yards and six touchdowns on 70 catches.

On defense, the Falcons have struggled to rush the passer. Arnold Ebiketie leads the team with three sacks, and Atlanta has 15 sacks through 12 games.

By comparison, the Vikings have 39 sacks — including a team-high 10 from Jonathan Greenard, nine from Andrew Van Ginkel and seven from Patrick Jones II.

The Vikings’ secondary also has enjoyed a strong campaign, led by five interceptions from cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. Last week, fellow cornerback Shaquill Griffin sealed the win for Minnesota when he picked off Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray late in the fourth quarter.

A host on the Vikings’ flagship radio station asked Griffin how he will feel seeing Cousins playing for the Falcons.

“How will I feel?” Griffin said. “If he throws me the ball, I’ll feel great.

“I think that’s what I’ll be looking for in this game. If it’s not me, throw it to somebody. It can be me or maybe Byron Murphy again or maybe Harrison Smith, that would be really nice. Maybe Cam Bynum or maybe (Josh) Metellus. Just throw it to somebody on defense and I’ll be fairly, fairly happy.”

Cousins said he always has found a way through adversity and he would do so again.

“It’s just kind of been a deal where, this league and football and my journey, it always kicks you down and you’ve got to find a way to get back up,” he said. “I find myself there again. I wish I could say I wasn’t in that spot, but I find myself there again.

“I have to believe that tough times don’t last, tough people do, and just keep going and pushing.”

This would be quite the time for Kirk Cousins to have, well, another breakout game.

After all, Cousins is headed back to Minnesota, where he spent six seasons with the Vikings before signing that massive free agent contract last spring with the Falcons. Maybe the familiarity of playing at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday can trigger some special rhythm.

Then again, after last weekend’s dreadful outing at Mercedes-Benz Stadium – Cousins matched his career high with four interceptions against the Los Angeles Chargers – any venue could work. At any time.

Cousins, 36, hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass in three consecutive games – the longest streak in his career, since becoming a starter in 2014 – and the Falcons (6-6) have tumbled right along with the quarterback in dropping three straight games.

This looks a whole lot like a crisis for a team that at one point looked to be a lock to win the NFC South crown.

“We’ve got to get back on the right track,” Cousins said after Wednesday’s practice. “The best thing we can do is get another game here. So, I’d love to play today, really. That’s how you want to get out there and play and get this taste out of your mouth. That’s what we’re chasing for on Sunday: a much better outing. They’re not going to give it to us, I know that.”

It’s some kind of fate that Cousins, with six interceptions during the losing streak and just one pick away from matching his career high (14), must now contend with a Vikings defense that leads the NFL with 18 interceptions and is tied for second in the league with 24 takeaways. To get out of his slump, he’ll have to decipher the deceptive schemes cooked up by defensive coordinator Brian Flores that have given so many quarterbacks fits this season.

Of course, in his 13th NFL season, Cousins would not have lasted this long if he didn’t have the ability to bounce back. He wouldn’t dismiss the suggestion from a reporter that his recent struggles could fuel the plot for a sports comeback movie, then in his typically gracious style, reflected on some of the challenges faced during his journey.

There was a broken ankle in high school that he thought ruined his chance for a college scholarship. A fourth-round draft selection by Washington that he thought was a dead-end, given that Robert Griffin III was also chosen by the team, second overall. A benching. A slump. And so on.

“It’s just kind of been a deal where this league, football, my journey, it always kicks you down and you’ve got to find a way to get back up,” he said. “I find myself there again. I just have to believe that tough times don’t last, tough people do.

“At some point they’ll tell you you’re not going to get another chance. Your time’s up in this league. Until then, I’m going to get trying to pick myself up off the mat and get back to work.”

Listen to Falcons coach Raheem Morris and Zac Robinson, calling plays for the first time in his career as offensive coordinator, and they’ll contend that the issues confronting their quarterback can hardly be placed in a neat box as one defining problem. As Robinson put it, there are 22 moving parts on any given play.

“Each play is its own entity,” Robinson said.

Maybe so. But the questions are mounting.

Are Cousins’ passes losing zip?  Have the Falcons’ schemes become predictable? Will the $180 million investment in Cousins pay off?

Cousins himself bemoans pressing – adding a layer of pressure on top of the already immense scrutiny – on some of the decisions that backfired.

“I just think trying to make things happen can sometimes get you in trouble,” he said. “That happened, certainly, on Sunday. You’ve got to let the plays happen as they present themselves. So, that’s important. I learned that again, as I have many times. I was reminded of that on Sunday. That’s just part of playing, to be able to discern when to make that tight window throw, when not to. When to throw an opportunity ball, when not to.”

Teammates, mindful of the 500-yard game he put up in early October, are apparently giving Cousins the benefit of the doubt. They talk about his process and even-keeled disposition as leadership-by-example benefits.

“I’m always watching Kirk throughout the week to see what his preparation is like,” Pro Bowl safety Jessie Bates III said. “To be honest, it’s the same Kirk. Whether we’re having a great game, whether he’s coming off one of his worst games, it’s still the same Kirk.”

Consistency. That’s the ticket. It’s just a bit baffling that the consistency that Cousins models behind the scenes with his preparation hasn’t always translated to the field. In the Falcons’ six wins, Cousins has a 14-to-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio. In the losses, the ratio flips to 3-to-11.

Remember, the Falcons lured Cousins in free agency with the notion that, surrounded by a bevy of offensive playmakers, the quarterback could be the difference that pushes the franchise over the hump to secure a playoff berth for the first time since 2018.

No, it’s never just on the quarterback. By nature, as Robinson reminded, quarterbacks get too much credit and too much blame. But this team has not shown that it is strong enough to thrive without a A-game from the quarterback.

Said Morris: “Right now, we’re all here to support Kirk Cousins and to rally around him, so he can finish the job that he started.”

And there would be no better time for Cousins to demonstrate that he’s up to the task.

“He’s carried us through this season, when we were figuring things out on defense,” said Grady Jarrett, the two-time Bowl defensive tackle. “He’s had some really good games where he willed us to the end. He’s just having a hard time now. But…we still have five games left to go. Nothing saying that we can’t catch fire and he can’t catch fire and light it up.”

If not, there will certainly be some fire for the Falcons. As in crash and burn.