This affiliate content is not influenced by our advertising relationships, but AP and Data Skrive might earn commissions from our partners’ links in this content.

After completely bombing five starts in a row, Cousins was benched by the Falcons last week in favor of rookie Michael Penix Jr. out of Washington. Even though his numbers were no

The Michael Penix Jr. whom fans saw last Sunday in his first NFL regular-season start was not the one who arrived here last April as the No. 8 pick in the draft. What Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney saw from Penix after the draft was a quarterback too eager to let go of the ball,

The Atlanta Falcons caught a major break in the form of a Tampa Bay Buccaneers loss on Sunday night football. That loss propelled the Falcons to first place in the NFC South due to holding the tiebreaker over the Bucs.

Five spots are all set in the AFC, while the NFC has locked down four postseason berths. Here are the playoff-clinching scenarios for this weekend.

Seattle's win at Chicago on Thursday helps the Seahawks in the battle for the NFC West crown, but maybe not enough for them to survive the weekend.