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.

Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, and Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe angrily screamed and pointed at each other at a hearing Thursday on the assassination attempts against President-elect Donald Trump, a shocking moment as the agency faces intense scrutiny over its alleged failures ahead of the attempted killings.

KEY FACTS

Billionaire Elon Musk gave $193 million to his pro-Trump super PAC through Election Day, federal filings released Thursday show—and pumped an additional $20 million into a separate Trump-aligned PAC—solidifying his place as one of President-elect Donald Trump’s biggest billionaire supporters.

KEY FACTS

America PAC’s activities are expected to continue even now that the election is over, with Musk saying on Nov. 12 the PAC will “keep grinding” to register voters in “key districts” ahead of the midterm elections, promising it will also “play a significant role in primaries.” Musk’s vocal support for Trump in the leadup to the election also led the president-elect to give the CEO reins over the “Department of Government Efficiency,” a new group that will operate outside of the government with hopes of reducing government spending. Musk will be spearheading the effort with fellow billionaire and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

FORBES VALUATION

Forbes estimates Musk’s net worth at $343.8 billion as of Thursday evening, making him the richest person in the world.

WHO ELSE HAS MUSK DONATED TO?

While America PAC was the main focus of Musk’s political giving this election cycle, FEC filings show he also made a number of other major donations, including to the National Republican Congressional Committee and state Republican parties in Utah, Alabama and California. He also gave money to GOP Rep. Ken Calvert’s reelection campaign and Colby Jenkins’ unsuccessful House race in Utah, and gave $1 million in August to Early Vote Action PAC, which is dedicated to boosting GOP voter registrations. While Musk’s reported political giving only began in July, the Wall Street Journal reported Musk previously gave money in a more roundabout way, giving more than $50 million before the 2022 midterms to a group called “Citizens for Sanity” that ran attack ads against Democrats and spending $10 million helping Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign in the GOP primaries. The former donation was reportedly funneled through a group called Building America’s Future, according to the Journal, which funded a pro-Trump PAC this election cycle that was criticized for its ads targeting Muslim voters.

TANGENT

America PAC ultimately completed its string of $1 million giveaways despite concerns that the program ran afoul of federal and state law. The Justice Department reportedly warned Musk the program could violate a federal law that prohibits paying people to vote or register to vote, given that people could only win the $1 million if they were registered voters. The DOJ ultimately never brought any actual legal complaint or charges against Musk and the PAC, however, and Trump’s impending inauguration means the agency is now unlikely to impose any consequences. Musk was also sued in Philadelphia as the city’s district attorney alleged the giveaways violated state consumer protection laws and lottery guidance, but the case was ultimately dismissed. Musk’s lawyers told the judge in the case the giveaway was not a random lottery and winners were chosen based on their suitability to be spokespeople for America PAC, and thus didn’t go against the state’s lottery rules. That sparked separate litigation, however, as signatories of the PAC’s petition sued Musk and America PAC for alleged fraud because they signed the petition believing winners were randomly selected. Those lawsuits remain pending.

KEY BACKGROUND

America PAC was formed over the summer, with early reports suggesting Musk planned to give as much as $45 million per month to the committee, which he later denied. The PAC’s creation came as Musk became a vocal Trump supporter following the assassination attempt on the ex-president, endorsing Trump in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. The move marked somewhat of an about-face for Musk, who previously was more aligned with Democrats and had publicly criticized Trump in the past. Musk became one of Trump’s loudest cheerleaders in the run up to the election, however, joining Trump on the campaign trail and singing Trump’s praises on Musk-owned social media network X in addition to his donations. The Tesla CEO—whose businesses stand to heavily benefit from Trump’s presidency—has remained by the president-elect’s side since the election as well, becoming a mainstay at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate and reportedly sitting in on Trump’s meetings with lawmakers and world leaders.

Playing in front of their home fans, the Detroit Lions clinched a playoff spot after defeating the Green Bay Packers 34-31 in a back-and-forth Thursday night affair.

Detroit has swept the season series versus Green Bay and has a game-and-a-half lead over the Minnesota Vikings in the division.

The Packers, Lions and Vikings all entered Week 14 with at least nine wins. The 2024 NFC North is the first division in 39 years to have three teams with nine or more wins coming into Week 14.

Here are the winners and losers from Thursday night’s Packers vs. Lions battle:

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

Winners

Lions earn playoff berth

Thursday’s victory earned the Lions a playoff spot for the second straight season. The last time Detroit earned a playoff berth in back-to-back years was when they went three straight seasons from 1993-1995.

Lions continue win streak

The Lions have now won 11 straight games, the longest active win streak in the NFL. It’s also the longest win streak in franchise history.

Jared Goff

Goff threw a bad interception in the third quarter, but overall he was efficient.

The Lions QB completed 32-of-41 passes for 283 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He finished with a 109.7 passer rating.

Goff completed 13 straight passes to finish the contest.

Tim Patrick

Patrick had two touchdown catches in the win. It was the first time the wideout entered the end zone since 2021.

Patrick missed the 2022 and 2023 seasons due to injuries. Thursday night was a good bounce-back story for the wide receiver.

Patrick’s six catches were tied for the game-high.

Losers

Defense

The Packers and Lions combined for 38 points in Week 9.

There was 41 points scored in the second half alone Thursday.

Both defenses provided little resistance, especially in the second half.

The Lions had a better excuse for their defensive shortcomings because they have 13 defensive players on injured reserve.

Yellow laundry

Thursday games are often sloppy with both teams playing on a short week. This game only had one turnover, but there were 14 total penalties.

Dan Campbell’s fourth down decisions

The Lions’ head coach is known for being aggressive, but sometimes he’s too belligerent on fourth down. With under two minutes to go in the third quarter, Campbell’s Lions got burned on a fourth-and-1 on their own 31-yard line. Running back Jahmyr Gibbs got stuffed for a negative 1-yard run.

The Packers scored a go-ahead touchdown four plays later.

Campbell’s most controversial fourth-down call came with under a minute left in the fourth quarter with the team already in field goal range. The Lions successfully converted the fourth down to win the game, but it was a reckless decision that could’ve backfired.

Campbell deserves credit, however, for staying true to his aggressive identity. The Lions converted four of five fourth-down attempts overall.

The NBA handed down several fines to the Houston Rockets after head coach Ime Udoka went on an expletive rant toward officials and one player attempted to confront a fan in the crowd.

All of the monetary penalties were in relation to Houston’s game against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday, which the Rockets lost 120-111. Udoka and two of his players were fined for their actions.

Late in the fourth quarter of the game with the Rockets down by 12-points, Udoka was ejected after he confronted an official following a play that involved center Alperen Sengun. Udoka then followed the referee to continue arguing but was held back by other members of the coaching staff. Sengun was also tossed from the game.

When speaking to reporters after the game, Udoka said he was upset with “blatant missed calls” during the game while “ticky tack, moving screens and (expletive) like that” were called. He also criticized one of the officials of the game.

(Sengun) got fouled a few times on that drive, and on the layup, and they don’t want to call it. I told him ‘Get some (expletive) glasses. Open your eyes,'” Udoka said. “Take your sensitivity and emotions out of it and call the game the right way. It’s obvious right in front of you, and John Goble − or whoever it was − sees it, doesn’t call it, and I let him know about it.”

In addition to Udoka’s actions, after the game, forward Tari Eason had a near altercation with a fan. According to The Athletic, Eason heard a heckler as he made his way back to the locker room. He reportedly threw a towel and yelled obscenities at the heckler, and then attempted to enter the stand to confront the person before security was able to hold him back. No altercation took place.

Fines given to Rockets by NBA

For their actions on the night, the following fines were handed out to members of the Houston Rockets by the NBA:

• Ime Udoka: $50,000
• Alperen Sengun: $15,000
• Tari Eason: $35,000

Udoka was fined for “confronting and directing profane language toward a game official, failing to leave the court in a timely manner after being ejected” as well as his criticism of the officiating in the press conference.

The league said Eason’s fine was for “throwing a towel and directing inappropriate language in the direction of a fans in the spectator stands.” Sengun was fined for directing inappropriate language toward an official.

The Kansas City Chiefs are set to be without kicker Harrison Butker for their Week 14 game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

That said, it seems like the eight-year veteran will soon be back in action as the Chiefs chase an unprecedented Super Bowl three-peat.

Butker was placed on IR ahead of the Chiefs’ Week 11 matchup with the Buffalo Bills because of a calf injury. He is eligible to return from the injury list after four games, but will he play in Week 15 against the Cleveland Browns?

Here’s the latest on Butker’s injury and what to know about his status moving forward.

Harrison Butker injury update

Andy Reid provided an update about Butker during a news conference on Wednesday. He said that Butker is “potentially” on target to return in Week 15, but wouldn’t commit to the veteran kicker doing so just yet.

“We’ll see how he does in the next week or two,” Reid said, per A to Z Sports’ Charles Goldman.

When will Harrison Butker return?

The Chiefs haven’t yet provided a clear timetable on Butker’s potential return to action. Reid said Butker could “potentially” return in Week 15, but the Chiefs want to see how healthy he is before making a decision.

Kansas City may also be happy to wait and see where it is in the AFC standings before choosing to activate Butker. The Chiefs enter Week 14 with an 11-1 record and are playing the Chargers, their main competition in the AFC West.

If the Chiefs beat the Chargers, they will have a stranglehold on the division. That will give them the leeway needed to ease Butker back into action and prepare him for another postseason run.

Kansas City will have 21 days to return Butker to the 53-man roster once it does designate him to return from IR. So, while he could kick as early as Week 15, the Chiefs may be willing to let him sit until he is as close to 100% as possible.

Who is the Chiefs kicker after Harrison Butker’s injury?

The Chiefs are relying on journeyman Matthew Wright as their kicker at present. The 28-year-old has made 47-of-55 career field goals and has gone 4-of-5 for the Chiefs this season.

Kansas City initially signed Spencer Shrader to replace Butker, but Shrader suffered a right hamstring injury that landed him on IR ahead of Week 12.

The Chiefs will likely entrust Wright, who also served as an injury fill-in for Butker last season, as their kicker while both Butker and Shrader are unavailable.

Rob Gronkowski has four Super Bowl rings to his name, but one of his biggest wins came off the field.

In an interview with Fortune this week, Gronkowski revealed that he benefitted from a piece of investing advice that helped him make hundreds of thousands of dollars.

As a 25-year-old in 2014, the Patriots tight end had very little experience investing. But when the contractor who was building his house in Foxborough, Mass. urged him to invest in Apple, Gronkowski decided to give it a shot.

“I’d never been involved in stocks. I really didn’t know how stocks worked,” he said. “So I was like, ‘Alright, let me do this. I’m going to go big.’”

Gronkowski, who through the 2014 season had earned a little over $16 million from the NFL, called up his financial adviser and directed them to purchase $69,000 worth of shares of the iPhone maker.

The five-time Pro Bowler said that he promptly forgot about his purchase until two and a half years later, when he realized that his investment had grown to be worth around $250,000. At that point, Gronkowski cashed out his initial $69,000 investment and left the rest to grow.

“To this date, I have over $600,000 of Apple stock, all because of the investment I made in 2014, having no idea what I was doing but just listening to the man who built my house here in New England,” he said.

While his Apple investment paid off handsomely — the company’s stock is up more than 1,000% since 2014 — Gronkowski didn’t need the financial assist. The Super Bowl champion famously refused to spend his NFL paychecks, choosing instead to live off of his endorsement money.

In a 2020 interview with CNBC Make It, he said he always wanted to be prepared financially for the day the football paychecks stopped coming in.

“The whole point of saving throughout my NFL career was to be set for after football because you don’t know how long football will last,” he said at the time.

The financial discipline has allowed him to enjoy his sporting retirement without having to worry about continuing to make money.

“It feels good to be in [this] position,” he said. “It feels good just to go out there and try to find things that I would just love to do.“

Great Britain equestrian athlete Charlotte Dujardin has been handed a one-year ban following an International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) investigation into a video of the three-time Olympic gold medalist in dressage that led to her suspension the week before the 2024 Paris Olympics started in July.

The video showed Dujardin whipping a horse excessively during a training session at a private stable. At the time, Dujardin said the actions were “completely out of character.”

British Equestrian also supports the suspension, which prevents Dujardin from competing in national events.

In a statement posted on Instagram, Dujardin said “this has undoubtedly been one of the darkest and most difficult periods of my life, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported me during this time.” She said she accepted the FEI’s decision, and the FEI said the suspension includes the time she’s served since the body’s initial July 23 ruling.

“As the federation has recognised, my actions in the video do not reflect who I am and I can only apologise again. I understand the responsibility that comes with my position in the sport, and I will forever aim to do better,” Dujardin wrote.

In addition to her three golds, Dujardin has won an Olympic silver and two bronze medals. Her six total are tied for the most of any British female Olympian, alongside former track cyclist Dame Laura Kenny’s five golds and a silver.

Dujardin, 39, also announced Thursday that she is pregnant and that her child is due in February.