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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/nfl-stories/nfl-week-8-losers-vikings-falcons-panthers-slapped-reality-checks');   ga('set', 'title', 'NFL Week 8 Losers: Vikings, Falcons, Panthers slapped with reality checks');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/NFL-Week-8-Losers.jpg"></figure><h1>NFL Week 8 Losers: Vikings, Falcons, Panthers slapped with reality checks</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-28T17:05:38-07:00">October 28th, 5:05pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-28T17:05:38-07:00">October 28th, 5:05pm</time><address><a>Troy Finnegan</a>Troy Finnegan is a Senior Editor, NFL and NCAA Sports Lead at ClutchPoints. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2023 with a degree in journalism and minors in communications and sports media, as well as a critical sports studies certificate. He has had a passion for sports his entire life, and enjoys covering and writing about all sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Atlanta Falcons</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>There wasn’t a ton of drama and intrigue in Week 8 of the NFL season, but sometimes that’s what it takes to draw some hard lines in the sand about who is for real and who is not as the season reaches its halfway point.</p><p>The week opened with a blowout on Thursday night, when the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/los-angeles-chargers/chargers-news-jim-harbaugh-mic-violent-truth-bomb-dominating-vikings">Minnesota Vikings got crushed 37-10 by the Los Angeles Chargers</a>. Sunday followed suit with just one game that finished with a final margin of one score between the Bengals and the Jets.</p><p>Just because there wasn’t a classic Witching Hour on Sunday afternoon doesn’t mean there aren’t a lot of important takeaways to take from the games. Some of the teams that got hit with a reality check on Sunday headline the list of losers from Week 8.</p><h2><b>Vikings get humbled by Chargers in prime time</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Carson-Wentz-and-Khalil-Mack.jpg"><figcaption>Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Minnesota Vikings came into the year with high expectations despite an uncertain quarterback situation. Kevin O’Connell’s squad boasts one of the most talented rosters in the league, but it turns out the QB situation has doomed them in 2025.</p><p>Things came to a head on Thursday night in prime time, as the Vikings were blown out by the Chargers 37-10 with the whole country watching. After an <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/minnesota-vikings/vikings-news-fans-isaiah-rodgers-pick-six-overturned">Isaiah Rodgers pick-six was called back</a> on the first drive of the game, nothing went right for the Vikings as they fell to 3-4 on the season with a tough stretch coming up.</p><p>Carson Wentz has played poorly since taking over for the injured JJ McCarthy, and now he is out for the season with a shoulder injury. Now, McCarthy is returning, but he also didn’t look great earlier in the season. The rest of the ream is either banged up or underperforming, and it is starting to look more and more like a lost season in Minnesota.</p><h2><b>The bad Falcons show up… again</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Falcons.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>So far this season, there has been the good Falcons and the bad Falcons. The bad Falcons have been especially ugly at times, suffering  a blowout loss to the Panthers and a lifeless performance against the shorthanded 49ers. Sunday’s showing, a 34-10 blowout loss at home against what’s left of the Dolphins, takes the cake.</p><p>Even with <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-michael-penix-week-9-update-before-dolphins-showdown">Michael Penix Jr. sidelined with an injury</a>, the Falcons still should have been able to move the ball with Kirk Cousins at quarterback against one of the worst defenses in the league against the run and the worst unit in football against the pass. That was not the case, however, as Atlanta finished with the fifth-lowest EPA per play of the week on offense.</p><p>The running game was by far the most disappointing part of the game. The Falcons, normally a great running team, finished below only the Vikings with a negative-0.65 EPA per rush mark in Week 8. Now, Atlanta is sitting at 3-4 with a tough game against the Patriots coming up and its playoff hopes in serious jeopardy.</p><h2><b>Joe Flacco brings back the full Bengals experience</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Joe-Flacco-throwing-a-pass-against-the-Jets.jpg"><figcaption>© Katie Stratman-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Joe Flacco was a revelation for the Bengals in his second start since being traded from the Browns, picking up an improbable prime time win over the Steelers. Flacco seemingly revived the Bengals’ offense, including the fantasy football stock of Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, giving fans optimism that Cincy could stay in the division hunt with Joe Burrow out of the lineup.</p><p>Unfortunately for the Bengals, the addition of Flacco has restored the full Bengals experience. Flacco, Chase and company carved up a putrid Jets defense on Sunday, but Justin Fields, Breece Hall and company had no trouble scoring on a terrible Cincinnati defense in a 39-38 win to get New York on the board this season.</p><p>Sunday looked like so many Bengals losses over the years, no matter who was at quarterback. Chase popped off and was the engine of the offense and Tee Higgins hit a big-play touchdown, but the defense let them down in what ended up being a very frustrating loss.</p><p>In fact, the Jets finished the week with a top-five mark in both overall EPA per play and EPA per pass. Not bad for a team whose owner was at war with the starting quarterback during the week.</p><h2><b>Panthers finally get to the test and leave with a big fat F</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Oliver-vs-the-Panthers.jpg"><figcaption>Bob Donnan-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Carolina Panthers were one of the surprises of the league through seven weeks and entered Week 8 sitting at 4-3, right in the mix in the NFC playoff picture. However, it was easy to pick apart some of those wins. Carolina beat the Jets, it beat up a terrible Cowboys defense, and it beat the dreadful Dolphins.</p><p>On Sunday, Carolina faced a big test against the Buffalo Bills. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/fantasy-sports/bills-news-james-cook-more-valuable-fantasy-football-weapon-than-josh-allen">James Cook ran wild for 216 yards</a> and the Bills crushed Carolina 40-9 in a clash of two teams that are clearly on different levels.</p><p>The Panthers get somewhat of a pass for this loss because Bryce Young was out and Andy Dalton played terribly, including a couple of shocking rookie mistakes, but Carolina was exposed on every level on both sides of the ball in this game. If a Week 9 matchup with the Packers goes wrong on top of this and the Panthers drop to 4-5, it might be time to start looking at mock drafts in Carolina.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NFL Week 8 Losers: Vikings, Falcons, Panthers slapped with reality checks

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-rumors-did-atlanta-blow-kirk-cousins-trade-opportunity-insider-claims-not-so-fast');   ga('set', 'title', 'Falcons rumors: Did Atlanta blow Kirk Cousins trade opportunity? Insider claims not so fast');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Falcons-quarterback-Kirk-Cousins-against-the-Dolphins.jpg"><figcaption>Brett Davis-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Falcons rumors: Did Atlanta blow Kirk Cousins trade opportunity? Insider claims not so fast</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-27T08:42:08-07:00">October 27th, 8:42am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-27T08:42:08-07:00">October 27th, 8:42am</time><address><a>Gerard Angelo Samillano</a>Gerard Angelo Samillano is an Associate Editor for ClutchPoints, with his focus primarily on the NBA, NFL, MLB and NCAA Football. When he's not writing for CP, Gerard can often be seen playing VALORANT or playing pick-up basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Atlanta Falcons</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Football is a game of inches. That often holds true on the field, but that mentality can be applied outside the field. The windows to make a move for a team often come by fast and close even faster. All throughout the season, there was a lot of discussion about whether the<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-matt-ryan-michael-penix-jr-kirk-cousins-take"> Atlanta Falcons should trade Kirk Cousins</a>. Those talks only intensified later in the season, as teams seemingly in need of a serviceable quarterback started popping out.</p><p>After the Falcons’ latest game, everyone is now wondering whether the Falcons could even trade Cousins. The veteran QB stepped in for the injured Michael Penix Jr against the Miami Dolphins.<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-kirk-cousins-boo-birds-disastrous-play-dolphins"> Cousins looked hapless against the porous Dolphins defense</a>, mustering up 171 yards, completing 21 of his 31 pass attempts. Miami scored just 10 points against one of the worst teams in the league.</p><p>With how badly Cousins played against Miami, it’s fair to wonder if the Falcons could still shop Cousins around. Dan Graziano thinks that <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/46734277/nfl-week-8-overreactions-surprises-fantasy-justin-fields-myles-garrett-kirk-cousins">Cousins still won’t be traded,</a> but he asserts that the reason won’t be his awful game against the Dolphins.</p><p>“One is that, again, the Falcons don’t want to trade Cousins,” Graziano reports. He likely will get cut after the season, but they want to keep him around for weeks just like this and hope he will perform better the next time they need him. But the second reason is that teams always are looking for quarterback help, and the Falcons could probably find a team willing to give them a decent draft pick or two if they decide to deal Cousins, especially since they’ve already paid such a high percentage of his contract.”</p><p>The NFL trade deadline is next week, which still gives time for the Falcons to try and trade Cousins for some value. However, the quarterback’s insanely high contract and Atlanta’s plans for Cousins this season make that unlikely. We’ll see if some team that’s in desperate need of quarterback help shells out an offer that the Falcons simply couldn’t refuse.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Falcons rumors: Did Atlanta blow Kirk Cousins trade opportunity? Insider claims not so fast

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-raheem-morris-guarantee-embarrassing-loss-dolphins');   ga('set', 'title', 'Falcons’ Raheem Morris makes guarantee after embarrassing loss to Dolphins');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Raheem-Morris.jpg"><figcaption>Dale Zanine-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Falcons’ Raheem Morris makes guarantee after embarrassing loss to Dolphins</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-26T16:54:33-07:00">October 26th, 4:54pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-26T16:54:33-07:00">October 26th, 4:54pm</time><address><a>Dan Fappiano</a>Dan Fappiano is a Connecticut-based sports journalist with over five years of professional experience. After graduating from Central Connecticut State University with a bachelor's degree in journalism, he has covered every sport from fencing to football in the online and print medium. Dan hopes to see his beloved Bears win a Super Bowl someday.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Atlanta Falcons</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After falling to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 7, the Atlanta Falcons wanted to make a statement against the 1-6 Miami Dolphins in Week 8. They did anything but, losing 34-10 and dropping to 3-4 on the season.</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-michael-penix-week-9-update-before-dolphins-showdown">Falcons were without starting quarterback Michael Penix</a>, which clearly affected their offense. However, the Dolphins hadn’t scored 30 points all season, showing it was a rough performance on all fronts. Head coach Raheem Morris <a href="https://x.com/TerrinWaack/status/1982539792899600395" rel="noopener">didn’t mince words</a> after the loss, via team reporter Terrin Waack.</p><p>“Tough day obviously at the office,” Morris said. “Sundays, man, you can be humbled. Today was one of those days.”</p><p>The Falcons gained just 213 total yards of offense. They had more penalty yards (76) than rushing yards (45) as backup Kirk Cousins threw for 173 scoreless yards. On the flip side, the Dolphins gained 338 yards of offense as Tua Tagovailoa threw for four touchdowns.</p><p>One area Atlanta truly struggled was on third downs, going two-for-11. Morris didn’t shy away from the miscues but knows the Falcons’ <a href="https://x.com/TerrinWaack/status/1982540258698031461" rel="noopener">problems were much larger</a> in Week 8, via Wack.</p><p>“Not very good,” Morris said of their third down conversion rate. “We were not good in a lot of aspects of football today.”</p><p>However, if there’s one thing Morris knows, it’s that the Falcons locker room won’t disintegrate. It’s still early in the season and the Falcons can still compete for a playoff spot. It may have been an ugly loss, but <a href="https://x.com/TerrinWaack/status/1982540258698031461" rel="noopener">it’ll take more to tear apart</a> Atlanta, via Wack.</p><p>“That’s the easy part,” Morris said. “For us, these guy are together. The locker room will stay together. They will stay bonded.”</p><p>Still, the Falcons have now lost two straight games which could heighten emotions. They’ll look to get back on track against the Patriots in week 9.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Falcons’ Raheem Morris makes guarantee after embarrassing loss to Dolphins

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-kirk-cousins-boo-birds-disastrous-play-dolphins');   ga('set', 'title', 'Falcons’ Kirk Cousins brings out boo birds with disastrous play vs. Dolphins');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Kirk-Cousins-jogging.jpg"><figcaption>Matt Krohn-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Falcons’ Kirk Cousins brings out boo birds with disastrous play vs. Dolphins</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-26T12:44:17-07:00">October 26th, 12:44pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-26T12:44:17-07:00">October 26th, 12:44pm</time><address><a>Jaren Kawada</a>Jaren Kawada is a former full-time sports bettor and is now a NFL, College Football and Betting Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. Kawada was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, but now resides in Indianapolis, Indiana, after graduating from Butler University with a B.A. in sports media. Aside from football, Kawada is an avid combat sports and basketball bettor.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Atlanta Falcons</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Michael Penix Jr. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-michael-penix-week-9-update-before-dolphins-showdown">sitting out of the Atlanta Falcons’ Week 8 game</a> against the Miami Dolphins gave Kirk Cousins another shot at redemption. Instead, all he did was remind fans why he was benched in the first place.</p><p>Cousins led the Falcons to just three points in the first half, resulting in a 17-3 deficit. He completed six of his eight passes, but accounted for just 53 passing yards at the break.</p><p>Fans in Mercedes-Benz Stadium were unsurprisingly upset with his subpar performance. The Falcons’ faithful let Cousins hear it from the opening drive and immediately <a href="https://x.com/DavidFurones_/status/1982517394502545595" rel="noopener">showered the veteran quarterback with boos</a>, David Furones of the Sun Sentinel reported.</p><p>Atlanta ran 19 first-half plays and had just 65 yards to show for it. The Dolphins also bottled up Bijan Robinson, who had no running room through the first 30 minutes of action.</p><p>The Falcons prepared for Cousins to start all week, but it did not help his performance. He was off-target and not on the same page for the entire first half.</p><p>However, in Cousins’ defense, the Falcons’ defense did not set him up for success. Atlanta was set up for success as Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa dealt with an eye injury, but could not stop Miami in the first half. Tagovailoa shrugged off his criticism and led the team to three scoring drives in the first half to put Cousins’ back against the wall from the gun.</p><p>Cousins also <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-drake-londons-last-gasp-attempt-play-vs-dolphins-doesnt-work">played without Drake London</a>, the Falcons’ leading receiver. Miami honed in on Darnell Mooney defensively, leaving tight end Kyle Pitts as Atlanta’s top pass-catching option for the game.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Falcons’ Kirk Cousins brings out boo birds with disastrous play vs. Dolphins

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-drake-londons-last-gasp-attempt-play-vs-dolphins-doesnt-work');   ga('set', 'title', 'Drake London’s last-gasp attempt to play vs. Dolphins doesn’t work out');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Drake-London-of-the-Atlanta-Falcons.jpg"><figcaption>Brett Davis-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Drake London’s last-gasp attempt to play vs. Dolphins doesn’t work out</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-26T08:47:22-07:00">October 26th, 8:47am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-26T09:06:26-07:00">October 26th, 9:06am</time><address><a>Ben Strauss</a>Ben Strauss is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a die-hard NFL fan who cheers for the Detroit Lions. He has previously written fantasy football content for IDPGuys and ImportantNonsense.com.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Atlanta Falcons</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Atlanta <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-kirk-cousins-trending-toward-starting-vs-dolphins">Falcons will be shorthanded</a> for Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins. Falcons WR Drake <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-drake-london-injury-report-week-8-dolphins">London popped up on the injury report</a> on Saturday with a hip injury. It appears that injury is significant enough to keep him out of the lineup in Week 8.</p><p>London <a href="https://x.com/AdamSchefter/status/1982469632645648722" rel="noopener">is officially inactive</a> for Sunday’s game against the Dolphins, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.</p><p>Atlanta planned to check in with London at the stadium to <a href="https://x.com/AdamSchefter/status/1982427151266906180" rel="noopener">determine if he could play</a> in Week 8. Apparently that process did not go well, as London is now inactive.</p><p>Atlanta’s offense should be noticeably worse without London on the field. The young wide receiver is one of the Falcons’ biggest producers, hauling in 38 receptions for 469 yards and two touchdowns so far this season.</p><p>The Falcons may need to place more on Bijan Robinson’s plate with London out of the lineup.</p><p>Unfortunately, London is not the only Falcons offensive player who will miss Week 8.</p><h2><b>Falcons also expected to be without Michael Penix Jr. vs. Dolphins</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Michael-Penix-Jr-of-the-Atlanta-Falcons.jpg"><figcaption>Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Atlanta will also be without QB Michael Penix Jr. against the Dolphins.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-michael-penix-jr-questionable-week-8-dolphins">Penix is officially questionable with a bone bruise</a> but he is not expected to play. Instead, the Falcons should turn to veteran Kirk Cousins after preparing for Penix’s absence this week.</p><p>“ESPN Sources: Falcons QB Kirk Cousins is ‘highly likely’ to start Sunday’s game vs. the Dolphins as Michael Penix recovers from a bone bruise to his knee,” Schefter reported on Saturday. “Penix was limited at practice all week, and Cousins worked with the first-team offense, gearing up to start Sunday.”</p><p>NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport added on Sunday that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-michael-penix-week-9-update-before-dolphins-showdown">Penix has a “real chance” to return in Week 9</a> against the Patriots. He even claimed that Penix might have been able to play in Week 8 “if it as a playoff game.”</p><p>It could be smart for Atlanta to play it safe with their franchise quarterback. Especially when they have a high-priced backup like Cousins waiting in the wings.</p><p>Hopefully Atlanta can cruise to an easy victory in Week 8 and get back in the hunt in the NFC South.</p><p>Falcons vs. Dolphins kicks off at 1PM ET on Sunday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Drake London’s last-gasp attempt to play vs. Dolphins doesn’t work out

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-michael-penix-week-9-update-before-dolphins-showdown');   ga('set', 'title', 'Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. gets Week 9 update before Dolphins showdown');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Penix-Jr.-throws.jpg"><figcaption>Kyle Terada-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. gets Week 9 update before Dolphins showdown</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-26T05:10:07-07:00">October 26th, 5:10am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-26T05:10:07-07:00">October 26th, 5:10am</time><address><a>Ben Strauss</a>Ben Strauss is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a die-hard NFL fan who cheers for the Detroit Lions. He has previously written fantasy football content for IDPGuys and ImportantNonsense.com.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Atlanta Falcons</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Atlanta Falcons could really use a win on Sunday. Atlanta is falling behind in the NFC South with both Carolina and Tampa Bay <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/standings">ahead of them in the division rankings</a>. Unfortunately, the Falcons will have to find a way to win without their starting quarterback.</p><p>Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. is <a href="https://x.com/RapSheet/status/1982288578009776155" rel="noopener">expected to be out</a> in Week 8 with a bone bruise, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.</p><p>However, Rapoport noted that Penix has a “real chance” to be back on the field in Week 9 against the Patriots.</p><p>It certainly sounds like Penix was a close call to play on Sunday. In fact, Rapoport added that “if it was a playoff game” in Week 8, Penix might be out there.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-michael-penix-jr-questionable-week-8-dolphins">Penix is officially listed as questionable</a> on the injury report after <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-michael-penix-considered-day-to-day-bone-bruise">picking up a bone bruise against the 49ers</a> last week.</p><p>The young quarterback told reporters earlier this week that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-michael-penix-jr-week-8-injury-plan">he planned to play against the Dolphins.</a> But it seems that Atlanta will play it safe with Penix, who entered the NFL with an extensive injury history.</p><p>Playing it safe with Penix’s injury is likely the smart decision for the Falcons.</p><h2>Kirk Cousins expected to start for Falcons in place of Michael Penix Jr.</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Falcons-2.jpg"><figcaption>Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Now that Penix is set to miss a game, veteran Kirk Cousins is expected to start in his place.</p><p>ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Saturday that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-kirk-cousins-trending-toward-starting-vs-dolphins">Cousins will almost certainly start against the Dolphins</a> while Penix rests his knee.</p><p>“ESPN Sources: Falcons QB Kirk Cousins is ‘highly likely’ to start Sunday’s game vs. the Dolphins as Michael Penix recovers from a bone bruise to his knee,” Schefter wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday. “Penix was limited at practice all week, and Cousins worked with the first-team offense, gearing up to start Sunday.”</p><p>Cousins has only made one brief appearance in 2025, playing a few snaps in Week 3. The last time Cousins started for the Falcons was in December of 2024 before the team handed the reins to Penix.</p><p>Kirk has a fortunate matchup against a weak Dolphins defense. Falcons fans will be <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/nfl-stories/dolphins-vs-falcons-bold-predictions-for-2025-nfl-week-8-clash">expecting to pick up a big win in Week 8</a>, even without their starting quarterback.</p><p>Falcons vs. Dolphins kicks off at 1PM ET on Sunday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. gets Week 9 update before Dolphins showdown

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-drake-london-injury-report-week-8-dolphins');   ga('set', 'title', 'Falcons’ Drake London lands on injury report before Week 8 vs. Dolphins');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Falcons-WR-Drake-London.jpg"><figcaption>Brett Davis-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Falcons’ Drake London lands on injury report before Week 8 vs. Dolphins</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-25T13:46:05-07:00">October 25th, 1:46pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-25T13:46:05-07:00">October 25th, 1:46pm</time><address><a>Jaren Kawada</a>Jaren Kawada is a former full-time sports bettor and is now a NFL, College Football and Betting Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. Kawada was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, but now resides in Indianapolis, Indiana, after graduating from Butler University with a B.A. in sports media. Aside from football, Kawada is an avid combat sports and basketball bettor.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Atlanta Falcons</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-kirk-cousins-trending-toward-starting-vs-dolphins">Atlanta Falcons’ offense might be severely shorthanded</a> when they take on the Miami Dolphins in Week 8. Already preparing to play without Michael Penix Jr., the team also added star receiver Drake London to its injury report late in the week.</p><p>Neither Penix nor London has been ruled out yet, but the latter joined his quarterback on Saturday’s <a href="https://x.com/TomPelissero/status/1982176670758166870" rel="noopener">injury report as questionable</a>, NFL insider Tom Pelissero reported. The Falcons added him to the official report with a hip injury.</p><p>Needless to say, missing London would be a massive loss for the Falcons. The team could certainly do worse than having a veteran like Cousins step in for Penix, but London’s absence would create a massive void in the offense. The fourth-year receiver leads the team with 38 catches for 469 receiving yards through seven games.</p><p>The Falcons’ receiving corps is already thinning out since they <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-atlanta-shockingly-releases-michael-penix-weapon">surprisingly released veteran Ray-Ray McCloud</a>. Former undrafted free agent David Sills V is currently listed as Atlanta’s third starting receiver behind London and Darnell Mooney.</p><p>The Falcons might have a soft matchup with the 1-6 Dolphins on paper, but Miami has been mostly competitive in its losses. Mike McDaniel’s team has sandwiched a pair of three-game skids around a Week 4 win over the New York Jets, but has only lost three games by double digits.</p><p>If London sits, expect Casey Washington to step into the Falcons’ starting lineup. Washington has started two of the team’s first seven games as Atlanta continues to scramble to identify a solid rotation.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Falcons’ Drake London lands on injury report before Week 8 vs. Dolphins

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-atlanta-places-starting-linebacker-on-ir');   ga('set', 'title', 'Falcons place starting linebacker on IR');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Atlanta-places-starting-linebacker-on-IR.jpg"><figcaption>Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Falcons place starting linebacker on IR</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-25T13:30:30-07:00">October 25th, 1:30pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-25T13:30:30-07:00">October 25th, 1:30pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/chris.spiering.3" rel="facebook">Chris Spiering</a>Chris Spiering graduated from the University of San Diego with a Communication Studies Degree. He spent his final year as the Sports Editor for the USDVista newspaper. Chris used to manage the betting team at ClutchPoints and now contributes about the NFL, MLB, NCAA Sports, and NBA, but he follows most sports, including NCAA Basketball. Chris also covers San Diego State men's basketball for East Village Times.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Atlanta Falcons</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Atlanta Falcons might be the hardest team in the NFL to figure out. You just don’t know what team you are going to get on any given Sunday. A 30-0 blowout loss to the Carolina Panthers was responded to with two consecutive wins against the Washington Commanders and Buffalo Bills. Last Sunday, the Falcons fell to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football, 20-10.</p><p>Atlanta is 3-3 on the season, looking to get back above .500 with a win against the Miami Dolphins, who are just 1-6.</p><p>On Saturday, the Falcons placed starting linebacker Divine Deablo on the <a href="https://x.com/JFowlerESPN/status/1982175213233062027" rel="noopener">IR with a fractured forearm</a>.</p><p>This is a brutal blow to the Falcons’ defense as Deablo is a rising star in this league. In his first season with the Falcons, the linebacker has played in all six games, earning 24 tackles with a half-sack and one fumble recovery. He already has a career-high four pass deflections, which is a great thing to see from a linebacker.</p><p>Deablo played four seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders. The Virginia Tech product really excelled in 2023 when he finished the season with 106 tackles in only 15 games. He did not capitalize in 2024, ending with only 63 tackles in 14 games. Before the injury, Deablo was on pace for a better season. Injuries are the worst thing about sports, and it’s not close.</p><p>The Falcons will look to DeAngelo Malone and JD Bertrand to fill in at inside linebacker.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-kirk-cousins-trending-toward-starting-vs-dolphins">Atlanta may look to Kirk Cousins against the Dolphins</a>. He is trending toward starting this week as Michael Penix Jr. continues to deal with a bone bruise. Cousins has been the backup ever since he threw four interceptions against the Los Angeles Chargers last season.</p><p>Cousins will aim to rebound from a rough 2024 season and hopes to take down the Dolphins in what could be his first start of the season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Falcons place starting linebacker on IR

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-kirk-cousins-trending-toward-starting-vs-dolphins');   ga('set', 'title', 'Falcons’ Kirk Cousins trending toward starting vs. Dolphins');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Kirk-Cousins-2.jpg"><figcaption>Brett Davis-Imagn Images </figcaption></figure><h1>Falcons’ Kirk Cousins trending toward starting vs. Dolphins</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-25T06:23:35-07:00">October 25th, 6:23am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-25T06:49:33-07:00">October 25th, 6:49am</time><address><a>Zachary Weinberger</a>Zachary Weinberger joined ClutchPoints in October 2023 as a Miami Heat reporter as well as an Associate Editor. He graduated from Florida Atlantic University in 2022 after covering the school's athletic programs since his freshman year at the FAU University Press, where he was a Sports Editor and Editor-in-Chief. He then covered FAU Sports for The Palm Beach Post.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Atlanta Falcons</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>As <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-michael-penix-jr-questionable-week-8-dolphins">Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was questionable</a> going into Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins, his status has likely been revealed ahead of the contest. While the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-michael-penix-jr-week-8-injury-plan">Falcons’ plan for Penix probably has changed</a> within the week, the team will likely have backup Kirk Cousins under center when taking on the Dolphins.</p><p>This was reported by Adam Schefter of ESPN, stating that Cousins is <a href="https://x.com/AdamSchefter/status/1982066557300932740" rel="noopener">“highly likely to start”</a> as Penix continues to deal with a bone bruise in his knee.</p><p>“ESPN Sources: Falcons QB Kirk Cousins is ‘highly likely’ to start Sunday’s game vs. the Dolphins as Michael Penix recovers from a bone bruise to his knee,” Schefter wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Penix was limited at practice all week, and Cousins worked with the first-team offense, gearing up to start Sunday.</p><p>Cousins was originally the starting quarterback for Atlanta last year, leading the team to a 6-3 start before struggling mightily later in the season, being benched for Penix in Week 16 as the Washington product has been the starter ever since. Penix had been struggling to find a rhythm to begin this season, but turned it around in wins over the Washington Commanders and Buffalo Bills.</p><p>Though Penix was part of the team’s 20-10 loss against the San Francisco 49ers last Sunday.</p><h2><b>Falcons confident in Kirk Cousins to fill in for Michael Penix Jr.</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Kirk-Cousins-1.jpg"><figcaption>Bob Donnan-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>With fans locking in their<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/nfl-stories/dolphins-vs-falcons-bold-predictions-for-2025-nfl-week-8-clash"> predictions for the Falcons’ game against the Dolphins</a>, Cousins’ inclusion no doubt changes the dynamic of the game. Still, with Penix dealing with a bone bruise, Atlanta head coach Raheem Morris said Friday that Cousins <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/46719199/sources-falcons-highly-likely-start-kirk-cousins-vs-dolphins" rel="noopener">had “significant” usage</a> and reps in practice this week in preparation in case the 25-year-old was unable to go.</p><p>“I’m really confident in our backup,” Morris said about Cousins, according to ESPN. “We’re gonna give [Penix] every opportunity we can give him. The kid is tough. He’s a guy, he’s a stud.”</p><p>So far this season, Penix has thrown for 1,409 yards to go along with five touchdowns and three interceptions as he’s completed 61 percent of his passes. He said Wednesday,<a href="https://x.com/TerrinWaack/status/1981094131956142359" rel="noopener"> “I feel good right now,”</a> which led to a follow-up question from the media about whether he feels he could play.</p><p>“Yes, that’s the plan,” Penix said, according to Terrin Waack.</p><p>Obviously, plans change as Cousins is most likely to start Sunday against Miami, as Schefter reported with the Falcons 3-3, putting them third in the NFC South.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Falcons’ Kirk Cousins trending toward starting vs. Dolphins

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-michael-penix-jr-questionable-week-8-dolphins');   ga('set', 'title', 'Falcons’ Michael Penix Jr. questionable for Week 8 vs. Dolphins');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Michael-Penix-Jr-of-the-Atlanta-Falcons.jpg"><figcaption>Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Falcons’ Michael Penix Jr. questionable for Week 8 vs. Dolphins</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-24T11:44:25-07:00">October 24th, 11:44am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-24T11:55:40-07:00">October 24th, 11:55am</time><address><a>Benedetto Vitale</a>Benedetto Vitale is an avid sports writer who is an expert at covering the NFL, college football, NBA, and UFC. He graduated from the University of Oregon in 2016 with a film degree but has since dedicated his career to sports writing.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Atlanta Falcons</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/nfl-stories/dolphins-vs-falcons-bold-predictions-for-2025-nfl-week-8-clash">Atlanta Falcons are set to take on</a> the Miami Dolphins in a Week 8 matchup that could elevate Atlanta to a record above .500 with a win. However, the club may be without starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. due to an injury.</p><p>Reports indicate that Penix, who is 25 years old, <a href="https://x.com/RapSheet/status/1981785801743905079" rel="noopener">is listed as questionable</a> for Sunday, as he’s dealing with a bone bruise in his knee, according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. The former first-rounder claims he plans to play in the contest. Additionally, wide receiver Darnell Mooney is said to be available for the game against the Dolphins.</p><p>“The Falcons list QB Michael Penix Jr as questionable, though Penix has said he plans to play despite a bone bruise in his knee. WR Darnell Mooney (hamstring) is off the report and good to go.”</p><p>If Penix is unable to play, then the Falcons would start Kirk Cousins. The veteran quarterback was initially the starter for Atlanta last season after signing a four-year, $180 million contract in the 2024 offseason. However, the franchise <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-michael-penix-jr-week-8-injury-plan">believes Michael Penix Jr. is the future</a> and gave him the reins as the starter late last season.</p><p>The former Washington Husky has 11 games under his belt so far in his two seasons in the league. So far, Penix has flashed potential in his sophomore year with the Falcons. In his six starts in the 2025-26 campaign, Michael Penix Jr. has accumulated 1,409 passing yards and five touchdowns while completing 61.0% of his pass attempts. He’s also recorded a lone rushing touchdown.</p><p>With the game against the Dolphins taking place on Sunday, the Falcons will reveal their final injury report on Saturday. Additionally, Raheem Morris and his coaching staff will have until 90 minutes before the scheduled 1 p.m. EST kickoff to reveal the list of players inactive for the contest.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Falcons’ Michael Penix Jr. questionable for Week 8 vs. Dolphins

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/nfl-stories/dolphins-vs-falcons-bold-predictions-for-2025-nfl-week-8-clash');   ga('set', 'title', 'Dolphins vs. Falcons bold predictions for 2025 NFL Week 8 clash');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Dolphins-vs.-Falcons-bold-predictions-for-2025-NFL-Week-8-clash.jpg"></figure><h1>Dolphins vs. Falcons bold predictions for 2025 NFL Week 8 clash</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-24T11:23:33-07:00">October 24th, 11:23am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-24T11:24:45-07:00">October 24th, 11:24am</time><address><a>Dominik Zawartko</a>Dominik Zawartko is a Michigan State graduate with a degree in Political Science and English. Having previously worked in the nonprofit and legal sectors, he decided to pursue his true love of writing with ClutchPoints. Dominik's hobbies include painting, cooking food, training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and always having a laugh. His main focus areas are UFC coverage and all things sneakers.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Atlanta Falcons</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Week 8 of the NFL season is already here and the first half of the season has already seen it’s twists and turns, making for one of the more wide-open races for the Lombardi Trophy we’ve seen in recent memory. Taking a look at this upcoming Week 8 clash, we’ll give you some <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/packers-bold-predictions-for-week-8-2025-showdown-with-steelers">bold predictions</a> when the <b>Miami Dolphins (1-6) </b>visit the <b>Atlanta Falcons (3-3) </b>with both teams looking to bounce back from recent losses.</p><p>The Miami Dolphins come in following a disastrous 31-6 Week 7 loss to the Cleveland Browns. The offense failed to score a touchdown and they’ve been spiraling in the wrong direction. Their only win has come against the winless New York Jets and they have yet to win a football game on the road. They come into this game as the underdogs once again <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/miami-dolphins/dolphins-rumors-will-miami-blow-it-up-insiders-debate-tua-tagovailoa-trade">looking to salvage their season</a>.</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-play-made-zac-robinson-sick-during-49ers-loss">Atlanta Falcons fell 20-10 on the road against the San Francisco 49ers</a> in Week 7, another tough day for their offense facing an inspired defense. Prior to the loss, they rode back-to-back wins over the Commanders and Bills, so this Falcons squad is due for another big win to put them on the right side of .500 – this matchup against the Dolphins will be the perfect opportunity to do so.</p><p>Heading into this game, the Atlanta Falcons are <a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/nfl">favored to win</a> at home by 7.5 points. The implied game total for both teams has been set at 44.5, making for one of the lower-scoring matchups of NFL Week 8. Referring to our <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/fantasy-sports/nfl-week-8-fantasy-football-injury-report-2025">Week 8 injury report</a>, here’s what we can expect ahead of this game.</p><h2>Dolphins vs. Falcons Bold Predictions – Week 8, 2025</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Miami-Dolphins-head-coach-Mike-McDaniel-leaves-the-field-at-the-end-of-a-game-against-the-Los-Angeles-Chargers.jpg"><figcaption>© Rich Storry-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p><b>Dolphins’ Head Coach Mike McDaniel can’t escape the hot seat.</b></p><p>Based on recent reports from ESPN NFL Insider <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/miami-dolphins/dolphins-news-dianna-russini-observes-mike-mcdaniel-checked-out-despite-ownership-backing">Dianna Russini, she believes coach Mike McDaniel has effectively “lost control”</a> of the situation in Miami. The Dolphins have face serious adversity this season with the loss of WR Tyreek Hill, TE Darren Waller landing on IR right when his season was looking up, and the constant talk surrounding their franchise quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.</p><p>Understandably, Mike McDaniel has been frustrated with the results and with all questions coming back to him as the coach, there’s a clear disconnect between him and the media during some of his press conferences. While he looks to<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/miami-dolphins/dolphins-news-mike-mcdaniel-reveals-owner-conversations-as-seat-gets-hotter"> preserve his position</a>, Dolphins’ ownership continues to back McDaniel with confident as they believe he can still turn things around.</p><p>Unless the Miami Dolphins can put together a much better performance than what we’ve seen from recent weeks, a 1-7 record through this point would seriously put McDaniels’ position in question. By the same token, an upset win would instill a great deal of confidence in the team’s direction for the rest of the season.</p><p><b>The Atlanta Falcons win, big.</b></p><p>After holding the San Francisco 49ers offense to 20 points in a loss and the Buffalo Bills to 14 points in a win, this Falcons’ defensive unit will be looking to sink their teeth into a Dolphins’ offense with the <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/stats/team/_/view/turnovers/table/miscellaneous/sort/totalTakeaways/dir/desc">most (12) giveaways in the NFL</a>. Furthermore, the Falcons’ defense ranks fifth league-wide with nine total takeaways – expect their secondary to be flying around and their defensive front looking to strip the ball.</p><p>The Falcons have also shown their offensive capabilities this season behind one of the league’s best backs in Bijan Robinson and a renewed passing game behind Michael Penix Jr. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-michael-penix-jr-week-8-injury-plan">Planning to play through a minor injury in Week 8, Penix</a> should be in-line for a big performance after his offense struggled against the 49ers. Don’t be surprise if the Falcons run away with this game early, earning some of their starters additional rest.</p><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Atlanta-Falcons-running-back-Bijan-Robinson-7-scores-a-touchdown.jpg"><figcaption>© Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p><b>Bijan Robinson rushes for 200 yards vs. Dolphins</b></p><p>Already notching 170 rushing yards (238 all-purpose) against the Buffalo Bills this season, the 200-yard rushing game is certainly within reach for a talented player like Bijan Robinson. The last player to do so was actually Dolphins’ star RB De’Von Achane <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/football/news/dolphins-devon-achane-eclipses-200-yard-mark-in-win/">in 2023</a> when he rushed for 203 yards against the Denver Broncos.</p><p>Robinson is a massive focal point in the Falcons’ passing attack, but the Dolphins have actually been decent against opposing air attacks this season, allowing the <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/articles/nfl/2025-nfl-defense-rankings-team-pass-and-rush-stats">11th-fewest passing yards per game</a> (203.9). Furthermore, with quarterback Michael Penix Jr. playing through injury, the Falcons could lean on their running game and Robinson as their offensive workhorse in this game.</p><p>This is all because the Miami Dolphins rank last in rushing defense this season, allowing an average of 159.3 yards per game to opposing teams. With how explosive Robinson has been throughout his career in breaking through the second level of defenses, don’t be surprised if he can break a few long runs and put himself right there for a career day running the football.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Dolphins vs. Falcons bold predictions for 2025 NFL Week 8 clash

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-michael-penix-jr-week-8-injury-plan');   ga('set', 'title', 'Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr.’s Week 8 injury ‘plan’ revealed');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Penix-Jr.-during-preseason.jpg"><figcaption>Brett Davis-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr.’s Week 8 injury ‘plan’ revealed</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-23T07:50:10-07:00">October 23rd, 7:50am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-23T07:50:10-07:00">October 23rd, 7:50am</time><address><a>Jaren Kawada</a>Jaren Kawada is a former full-time sports bettor and is now a NFL, College Football and Betting Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. Kawada was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, but now resides in Indianapolis, Indiana, after graduating from Butler University with a B.A. in sports media. Aside from football, Kawada is an avid combat sports and basketball bettor.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Atlanta Falcons</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Despite a brief scare, the Atlanta Falcons should have their quarterback under center for their Week 8 matchup with the Miami Dolphins. Barring a setback, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-michael-penix-considered-day-to-day-bone-bruise">Michael Penix Jr. intends to play through his bone bruise</a> injury.</p><p>Penix has been questionable throughout the week, but <a href="https://x.com/TerrinWaack/status/1981094131956142359" rel="noopener">told reporters that “the plan”</a> is to play in Week 8, via Falcons reporter Terrin Waack. Penix has yet to miss a game since taking over as Atlanta’s starting quarterback late in the 2024 season.</p><p>Penix, who was a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice, will likely remain questionable. Given his injury history, the Falcons have been cautious with him and continue to manage his workload with limited sessions.</p><p>Although Penix is the biggest name on the injury report, Atlanta has other significant concerns. The Falcons’ defense is in danger of missing several key members on Sunday, with linebacker Divine Deablo, cornerback Billy Bowman Jr. and edge-rusher Jalon Walker all missing practice on Wednesday.</p><p>Receiver Darnell Mooney, running back Tyler Allgeier, offensive tackle Jake Matthews and cornerback Mike Ford Jr. joined Penix as limited participants. The team has two more full practice sessions remaining in Week 8 to gain further clarity on its injury situation.</p><h2><b>Michael Penix Jr. leads Falcons into pivotal Week 8 Dolphins matchup</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Raheem-Morris-great-take-on-Zac-Robinson-Oklahoma-State-rumors.jpg"><figcaption>Brett Davis-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>With Penix likely remaining in the rotation, the Falcons find themselves in somewhat of a must-win situation in Week 8. After losing to the hobbled San Francisco 49ers in Week 7, Atlanta cannot afford to drop another game to a struggling team.</p><p>Although the Falcons own a respectable 3-3 record through six games, the journey has been anything but clear. They looked impressive in their <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/atlanta-falcons/falcons-news-bijan-robinson-completes-incredible-feat-last-seen-1991">upset wins over the Buffalo Bills</a> and Minnesota Vikings, but lopsided losses to the 49ers and Carolina Panthers puzzlingly even out their record.</p><p>The 1-5 Dolphins have been a soft matchup for most teams in 2025, but they are far from a pushover. Despite losing all but one game, Miami has been competitive in all but two games thus far.</p><p>Atlanta has yet to lose two consecutive games and is not expected to do so in Week 8. The Falcons are listed as 7.5-point favorites to get back on track and further the Dolphins’ 2025 woes.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2024 SEASON STATS
RECEPTIONS	RECEIVING YDS	TOUCHDOWNS	POSITION RANK
0	0	0	-

2024 SEASON STATS
RECEPTIONS	RECEIVING YDS	TOUCHDOWNS	POSITION RANK
0	0	0	-

Teagan
Quitoriano

2022 Projected vs Actual Pts

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Teagan Quitoriano

2022 Projected vs Actual Pts

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Falcons’ Drake London lands on injury report before Week 8 vs. Dolphins

• Falcons place starting linebacker on IR

• Falcons’ Kirk Cousins trending toward starting vs. Dolphins

• Falcons’ Michael Penix Jr. questionable for Week 8 vs. Dolphins

• Dolphins vs. Falcons bold predictions for 2025 NFL Week 8 clash

• Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr.’s Week 8 injury ‘plan’ revealed

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