Falcons turn to rookie QB Michael Penix Jr. for key game vs Giants

New York Giants (2-12) at Atlanta (7-7)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, Fox

BetMGM NFL Odds: Falcons by 8 1/2.

Against the spread: Giants 4-10; Falcons 6-8.

Series record: Falcons lead 14-12.

Last meeting: Falcons beat the Giants 17-14 on Sept. 26, 2021, in East Rutherford, N.J.

Last week: Giants lost to the Ravens 35-14; Falcons beat the Raiders 15-9.

Giants offense: overall (29), rush (18), pass (30), scoring (32)

Giants defense: overall (T21), rush (31), pass (7), scoring (20)

Falcons: overall (9), rush (12), pass (6), scoring (20)

Falcons defense: overall (20), rush (13), pass (24), scoring (20)

Turnover differential: Giants minus-8; Falcons minus-7.

WR Malik Nabers had his third double-digit catch game of the season against the Ravens and joined Odell Beckham Jr., Jaylen Waddle and Brock Bowers as the only rookies in NFL history with three games of 10-or-more receptions. The No. 6 overall pick in the draft, Nabers has 90 catches for 901 yards and is two shy of breaking the Giants rookie record of 91 held by Beckham (2014) and Saquon Barkley (2018).

QB Michael Penix Jr. will make his first career start after the Falcons benched 13-year veteran Kirk Cousins. Penix, the Heisman Trophy runner-up at Washington in 2023, was the No. 8 pick in this year's draft but wasn't expected to land the starting job so soon. The timetable ramped up dramatically when Cousins threw nine interceptions and just one touchdown over the past five games. After pulling out an ugly 15-9 win at Las Vegas, where it became clear that the Falcons had lost confidence in their passing game, the decision was made to switch to Penix.

Atlanta's defensive front vs. Giants offensive line. After managing a league-low 10 sacks through their first 11 games, the Falcons have turned up the pressure with 13 sacks in three games since their bye week. Eight players have notched sacks during that span, led by OLB Kaden Elliss and DE Arnold Ebiketie with three apiece. With Drew Lock set to return as New York's quarterback after missing last week with a heel injury, the Falcons will be looking to bring the heat against a team that has allowed 45 sacks, tied for seventh most in the NFL.

Giants: QB Tommy DeVito, who started last week in place of Lock, is out of concussion protocol and should be the backup. … G Aaron Stinnie (concussion), LB Patrick Johnson (knee) and LB Bobby Okereke (back) are out. ... CB Greg Stroman (shoulder/shin) is doubtful. .. New York is hopeful CB Deonte Banks (ribs) can return after sitting out the last three games.

Falcons: K Younghoe Koo was placed on injured reserve with an undisclosed issue, knocking him out for the rest of the regular season and putting his future with the team in doubt. Koo had been one of the league's most reliable kickers, but he has missed a career-high nine field-goal attempts this season. ... The Falcons brought in Riley Patterson to take Koo's spot. WR Casey Washington (concussion) is out.

The Falcons have won three straight in the series. ... New York's most recent win over the Falcons was a 30-20 triumph in 2014. ... The Giants' most recent win in Atlanta was a 31-10 blowout in 2007. ... The teams have met once in the playoffs, with New York rolling to a 24-2 wild-card win during the 2008 season. ... The first win in Falcons' history was a 27-16 victory over the Giants at Yankee Stadium during Atlanta's inaugural season in 1966.

The Giants tied their franchise record for consecutive losses at nine last weekend. They have done it three times in their 100-year history, the most recent time in 2019. … Lock passed for 313 yards, threw two TDs and ran for one for Denver in 2020 in his only career start against the Falcons. … RB Tyrone Tracy ranks second among rookies with 695 yards rushing. He has scored a TD in his past three road games. … WR Wan’Dale Robinson has a career-high 71 receptions. .. Burns has his eighth sack of the season last week and became the sixth player since 2000 with at least 7 1/2 sacks in each of his first six seasons. He had two sacks in his most recent game against the Falcons, playing for the Panthers in 2023. … ILB Micah McFadden has a career-high 102 tackles. … Penix was among a record-tying six QBs taken in the first round of the 2024 draft. He is the fifth member of that group to earn a start, ahead of only Minnesota's J.J. McCarthy, who won't play until 2025 because of a knee injury. ... Falcons RB Bijan Robinson rushed for a career-high 125 yards on 22 carries against Las Vegas. That gave the second-year back the first 1,000-yard season of his young career, pushing him to 1,102 yards. ... Robinson has topped 100 yards in three of the past five games, and he has at least 20 carries in four of the past five games as the Falcons turned away from their passing game amid Cousins' struggles. ... Elliss has a career-high 124 tackles after making 11 stops at Las Vegas. ... OLB DeAngelo Malone has his first two sacks of the season against the Raiders. ... P Bradley Pinion had four punts downed inside the 10, including two inside the 5, in the Monday night win.

Robinson is a good bet to keep getting plenty of carries and rushing yards, especially with the Falcons breaking in a new quarterback. He's also an option in the passing game, providing a safe outlet for short-to-medium passes that would further lessen the burden on Penix.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

FILE - Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. warms up before an NFL football game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Malik Harrison (40), cornerback Desmond King II (35) and linebacker Chris Board (49) tackle New York Giants wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson (17) during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) greets Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Desmond Ridder (10) after an NFL football game, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Chris Board (49) and cornerback Marlon Humphrey (44) tackle New York Giants tight end Daniel Bellinger (82) during the third quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

FILE - Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. warms up prior to an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker, File)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Leaders from four major European countries threatened to ratchet up pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin if he does not accept an unconditional 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine that they offered on Saturday in a strong show of unity with Kyiv.

The leaders of France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Poland said their proposal for a ceasefire to start on Monday was supported by U.S. President Donald Trump, whom they had briefed over the phone earlier in the day.

There was no immediate response from Moscow, whose own unilateral three-day ceasefire declared for the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany expires Saturday. Ukraine says Russian forces have repeatedly violated it. In March, the United States proposed an immediate, limited 30-day truce, which Ukraine accepted, but the Kremlin has held out for terms more to its liking.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking to reporters alongside the European leaders in Kyiv, called their meeting "a very important signal.”

French President Emmanuel Macron said that the U.S. would take the lead in monitoring the proposed cease-fire, with support from European countries, and threatened “massive sanctions ... prepared and coordinated, between Europeans and Americans,” should Russia violate the truce.

Macron traveled to Kyiv with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

“This is Europe stepping up, showing our solidarity with Ukraine,” Starmer said.

Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, said Saturday that a “comprehensive” 30-day ceasefire, covering attacks from the air, land, sea and on infrastructure, “will start the process for ending the largest and longest war in Europe since World War II.”

Progress on ending the three-year war has seemed elusive in the months since Trump returned to the White House, and his previous claims of imminent breakthroughs have failed to come to fruition. Trump has previously pushed Ukraine to cede territory to Russia to end the war, threatening to walk away if a deal becomes too difficult.

Since the start of U.S.-mediated talks, Russia has kept up attacks along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line, including deadly strikes on residential areas with no obvious military targets.

The ceasefire would include a halt to fighting on land, sea and in the air. The European leaders threatened to ratchet up sanctions, including on Russia’s energy and banking sectors, if Putin did not comply.

The priority was to make it too costly for Russia to keep fighting in Ukraine, said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.

When asked how the monitoring mechanism would work, Sybiha told The Associated Press the details were still being discussed.

Addressing scepticism over whether fresh sanctions against Moscow, which has so far managed to keep fighting in the war, Merz said “almost all member states of the European Union and a large coalition of the willing around the world are determined to enforce these sanctions even if our initiative of the weekend should fail.”

The leaders also discussed security guarantees for Ukraine.

Building up Kyiv's military capabilities will be a key deterrent against Russia and require supplying Ukraine with robust quantities of arms to deter future attacks and investing in its defense sector. A force comprised of foreign troops could also be deployed as an added “reassurance” measure, Macron said.

He said details about potential European deployments to Ukraine were still being fine-tuned. No mention was made of NATO membership, still Kyiv’s top choice for a security guarantee.

Earlier on Saturday, the European leaders joined a ceremony at Kyiv's Independence Square marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. They lit candles alongside Zelenskyy at a makeshift flag memorial for fallen Ukrainian soldiers and civilians slain since Russia's invasion.

On Saturday morning, local officials in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region said Russian shelling over the past day killed three residents and wounded four more. Another civilian man died on the spot on Saturday as a Russian drone struck the southern city of Kherson, according to regional Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin.

Trump said last week that he doubts Putin wants to end his war in Ukraine, expressing new skepticism that a peace deal can be reached soon, and hinted at further sanctions against Russia.

Ukraine’s European allies view its fate as fundamental to the continent’s security, and pressure is now mounting to find ways to support Kyiv militarily, regardless of whether Trump pulls out.

Associated Press writers Thomas Adamson in Paris, Philipp Reissfelder in Berlin and Danica Kirka in London contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

From left, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, walk in front of the memorial of fallen Ukrainian soldiers at independence square in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Saturday, May 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

France's President Emmanuel Macron, left, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, right, sit during a summit at the Mariinskyi Palace, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, May 10, 2025. (Ludovic Marin, Pool Photo via AP)

From left, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrive to put flowers on memorial of fallen Ukrainian soldiers at independence square in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Saturday, May 10, 2025. Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska Olena Zelenska is seen behind, second right. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

From left, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska Olena Zelenska,Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stand at the memorial of fallen Ukrainian soldiers at independence square in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Saturday, May 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, meets with French President Emanuel Macron, center, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz onboard a train to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv where all three will hold meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Friday, May 9, 2025. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, meets with French President Emanuel Macron, center, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz onboard a train to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv where all three will hold meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Friday, May 9, 2025. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool Photo via AP)