TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — With first place on the line in the NFC South, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are looking for some young players to grow up fast against the Atlanta Falcons.
The three-time defending division champions lost star receivers Mike Evans (hamstring) and Chris Godwin (ankle) to injuries during their 41-31 loss to the Baltimore Ravens last Monday night.
Baker Mayfield jumpstarted a stalled career with a lot of help from the team’s top playmakers. Now, the NFL's leader in touchdown passes will have to find a way to win without them.
That means counting on a rejuvenated running game to ease some of the burden on Mayfield and giving a mostly young, unproven group of receivers a chance to make names for themselves.
“It’s going to look different, but that’s OK. And you know what, it’ll be a little bit more creative, and we’ll have some fun with it,” Mayfield said.
“You never know what you can do until you find out what you don’t have. Coach (Bill) Parcells always said that,” Bucs coach Todd Bowles chimed. “Coaches have to do more, players have to do more, and you have to be more creative. We’re putting our heads down to work, and we’ll get it done.”
Running backs Rachaad White, Bucky Irving and Sean Tucker are eager to help. The trio have combined to help the Bucs rush for an average of 168.4 yards per game since Week 4.
Rookie Jalen McMillan, second-year pro Trey Palmer and former New York Giants receiver Sterling Shepard will have an opportunity to help Mayfield keep the passing game on track.
Godwin, who’s out for the season after dislocating his left ankle, leads the NFL in receptions (50) and is second in yards receiving (576).
Evans, who'll miss at least three games with a hamstring injury, teamed with Godwin to catch 11 of Mayfield’s league-leading 18 TD passes. Evans shares the lead in TD receptions with six and Godwin is tied for third with five.
“They’re pros, just like everyone else in the National Football League, so they’re definitely going to have the next-man-up mentality,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said.
“We’ve seen injuries in this league for such a long time, and you’ve seen guys go out there and step up and win football games,” Morris added. “I mean, I’ve been able to do it myself. We’ve been able to do it here in Atlanta.”
The Falcons (4-3) and Bucs (4-3) are facing each other for the second time in less than a month. Atlanta won the earlier meeting at home 36-30 in overtime, with Kirk Cousins throwing for a career-best 509 yards with four TDs.
With his Falcons trailing Seattle 17-7 at halftime of last week’s 34-14 loss, Morris said his players needed to wake up. He wants them to take that message into Sunday's game against Tampa Bay.
“I hope so. You know, that’s the things we want to talk about, right?” Morris said. “There’s not a loss in this game that I’ve ever had that hasn’t been a lesson. And I think we’ve all got to take that into consideration. I think you go out those type of games and it’s a little bit flat from our standpoint, from everything you like. We've got to come out ready to go. You know, they were clearly the fresher team. They wanted to a little bit more than us and they got the win.”
Morris said that following Atlanta’s three consecutive wins over NFC South rivals “a little bit of complacency can set in” adding “these guys are hungry” following the lopsided loss.
“It’s nice to reset and really go out there and play our game,” Morris added.
Falcons rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. made his debut late in last week’s loss to Seattle and completed his only pass for 14 yards to Casey Washington.
There wasn’t a lot for Morris to review when asked about the first-round draft pick.
“Went out there and threw one pass that was complete and handed the ball off in a very angry fashion,” Morris said. “Then got the hell out of dodge.”
Morris added he believes Penix is “stage ready” for a bigger role, if needed.
For all the speculation about how Tampa Bay's offense will fare without Evans and Godwin, Bowles noted the team’s defense also needs to play better.
The Bucs yielded 508 yards to the Ravens last week, with Lamar Jackson producing points on seven of nine offensive possessions.
“We need more from the defense, week in and week out, regardless of who’s playing on offense,” Bowles said.
AP Sports Writers Paul Newberry and Charles Odum contributed to this report.
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Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson (7) is tackled by Seattle Seahawks defensive end Dre'Mont Jones (55) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/ Brynn Anderson)
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) throws a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/ Mike Stewart )
Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike (92) is fouled against Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) during the first half of an NFL football game, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) warms up before an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Prosecutors will recommend Erik and Lyle Menendez be resentenced for the 1989 killings of their parents in the family’s Beverly Hills home, providing the brothers with a chance at freedom after 34 years behind bars.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced during a Thursday news conference that his office would recommend the brothers be sentenced to 50 years to life. Because they were under 26 years old at the time of the crimes, they will be eligible for parole immediately, he said.
“I came to a place where I believe, under the law, resentencing is appropriate," Gascón said. He said some members of his office oppose the decision.
Prosecutors will file the petition on Friday and a hearing before a judge could come within the next month or so, he said.
The Menendez brothers were sentenced in 1996 to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Lyle Menendez, then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, admitted they fatally shot their entertainment executive father, Jose Menendez, and their mother, Kitty Menendez. The brothers said they feared their parents were about to kill them to stop people from finding out that Jose Menendez had sexually abused Erik Menendez for years.
The brothers’ extended family has pleaded for their release, saying they deserve to be free after decades behind bars. Several family members have said that in today’s world — which is more aware of the impact of sexual abuse — the brothers would not have been convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life.
Multiple members of their extended family, including their aunt Joan Andersen VanderMolen, sat in the first few rows of Thursday's news conference. VanderMolen was Kitty Menendez’s sister and has publicly supported their release. Mark Geragos, an attorney for the brothers, was also there.
Anamaria Baralt, a niece of Jose Menendez, said the district attorney's “brave and necessary" decision means “Lyle and Erik can finally begin to heal from the trauma of their past.”
The Menendez brothers were tried twice for their parents’ murders, with the first trial ending in a hung jury.
Prosecutors at the time contended that there was no evidence of molestation, and many details in their story of sexual abuse were not permitted in the second trial. The district attorney’s office also said back then that the brothers were after their parents’ multimillion-dollar estate.
Gascón said he made the final decision only an hour before the news conference and that family members were told just minutes before.
Despite their life sentences, Gascón said the brothers worked on redemption and rehabilitation inside prison.
“I believe that they have paid their debt to society,” he said.
Not all Menendez family members support resentencing. Attorneys for Milton Andersen, the 90-year-old brother of Kitty Menendez, filed a legal brief asking the court to keep the brothers’ original punishment. “They shot their mother, Kitty, reloading to ensure her death,” Andersen’s attorneys said in a statement Thursday. “The evidence remains overwhelmingly clear: the jury’s verdict was just, and the punishment fits the heinous crime.”
Though Kitty Menendez was not accused of abusing her sons, she appears to have facilitated the abuse, according to her sons' legal filings. One cousin testified during the brothers’ first trial that Lyle told her he was too scared to sleep in his room because his father would come in and touch his genitals. When the cousin told Kitty Menendez, she “angrily dragged Lyle upstairs by his arm,” the petition said.
Another family member testified that when Jose Menendez was in the bedroom with one of the boys, no one was allowed to walk down the hallway outside.
The LA district attorney is in the middle of a tough reelection fight against former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman who has blamed Gascón’s progressive reform policies for recent high-profile murders and increased retail crime.
Gascón said Thursday that his office has recommended resentencing for some 300 offenders, including people behind bars for murder.
Hochman on Thursday questioned the timing of the Gascón's announcement, coming less than two weeks before the election and calling it a “desperate political move.”
He said he is unable to form his own opinion on the case without access to confidential records and relevant witnesses.
“If I become DA and the case is still pending at that time, I will conduct a review consistent with how I would review any case,” Hochman said.
The Menendez case has gained new traction in recent weeks after Netflix began streaming the true-crime drama “ Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.”
The evidence under prosecutorial review included a letter written by Erik Menendez that his attorneys say corroborates the allegations that he was sexually abused by his father.
Roy Rossello, a former member of the Latin pop group Menudo, also recently came forward saying he was drugged and raped by Jose Menendez, the boys’ father, when he was a teen in the 1980s.
Menudo was signed under RCA Records, which Jose Menendez headed at the time.
Rossello spoke about his abuse in the 2023 Peacock docuseries “Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed.” His allegations are part of the evidence listed in the petition filed last year by the Menendez brothers’ attorney, seeking a review of their case. Rossello’s assertion that he was raped twice by Jose Menendez is part of the Menendez brothers’ petition.
Cristine Soto DeBerry, director of the progressive prosecutorial reform organization Prosecutors Alliance, applauded Gascón for his decision to support resentencing.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon, talks during a news conference at the Hall of Justice on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Members of the media take photos during a news conference about the Menedez brothers held by Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon, right, flanked by Menendez family members, speaks during a news conference at the Hall of Justice, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Kitty Menendez's sister, Joan Andersen VanderMolen, center is greeted by Defense Attorney Mark Geragos as Diane Hernandez niece of Kitty Menendez, left, looks on prior to a news conference being held by Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon at the Hall of Justice on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Family attorney Bryan Freedman, left greets Kitty Menendez's sister, Joan Andersen VanderMolen, center as Diane Hernandez niece of Kitty Menendez, left, looks on prior to a news conference being held by Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon at the Hall of Justice on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Diane Hernandez niece of Kitty Menendez is joined by Arnold VanderMolen, Nephew of Kitty Menendez, right, and Kitty Menendez's sister, Joan Andersen VanderMolen, center sit at a news conference being held by Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon speaks during a news conference regarding the Menendez brothers, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, at the Hall of Justice in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon, center, arrives at a news conference at the Hall of Justice on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Media gather for a news conference being held by Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Mark Geragos, Erik and Lyle Menendezs' defense attorney waits at a news conference held by Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon at the Hall of Justice on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Diane Hernandez niece of Kitty Menendez sits prior to a news conference being held by Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon at the Hall of Justice on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Arnold VanderMolen, Nephew of Kitty Menendez, right, talks with Kitty Menendez's sister, Joan Andersen VanderMolen at a news conference being held by Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
FILE - Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon addresses the media at a news conference at the Hall of Justice in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
FILE - Kitty Menendez's sister, Joan Andersen VanderMolen, bottom left, and niece Karen VanderMolen, right, sit together during a press conference to announce developments on the case of brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
FILE - Lyle, left, and Erik Menendez sit with defense attorney Leslie Abramson, right, in Beverly Hills Municipal Court during a hearing, Nov. 26, 1990. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, File)
