Dan Quinn returns to Atlanta as Commanders look to build on 2-1 start while Falcons hope to regroup

Washington (2-1) at Atlanta (1-2)

Sunday, 1 p.m., EDT, CBS

BetMGM line: Commanders by 1.

Series record: Commanders lead 19-10-1.

Against the spread: Commanders 2-1; Falcons 1-2.

Last week: Commanders beat Raiders 41-24; Falcons lost at Panthers 30-0.

Last meeting: Commanders beat Falcons 30-24 in OT on Dec. 29, 2024 at Washington.

Commanders offense: overall (9), rush (2), pass (20), scoring (7).

Commanders defense: overall (20), rush (12), pass (23), scoring (12).

Falcons offense: overall (13), rush (6), pass (19), scoring (31).

Falcons defense: overall (2), rush (10), pass (1), scoring (13).

Turnover differential: Commanders minus-1; Falcons plus-1.

WR-KR Jaylin Lane. The rookie fourth-round pick out of Virginia Tech showed off his serious speed with a 90-yard punt return for a touchdown last week. That was the team’s first punt brought back for a score since 2016. “It builds confidence, not only in me, but for the whole team, the punt return unit, everybody,” Lane said. “It’s just kind of like that (thought): ‘When’s he going to pop the next one,’ so I’m just working toward that.” Will be interesting to see whether he gets more opportunities as a receiver against Atlanta, especially if both Terry McLaurin and Noah Brown are out.

QB Michael Penix Jr. completed only 18 of 36 passes for 172 yards with his first two interceptions of the season, including one returned for a touchdown, last week at Carolina. Penix showed his frustrations on the sideline and was removed from the game in favor of former starter Kirk Cousins in the fourth quarter. Coach Raheem Morris insists the late-game quarterback change is not an indication of a possible competition, but Penix needs a bounce-back game to provide support for the coach's confidence.

Falcons CB Dee Alford vs. WR Deebo Samuel. Alford had his first two pass deflections of the season last week as a fill-in starter for injured regular A.J. Terrell. Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said Alford's “excellent” performance was a rare highlight for the defense, but Alford likely will be the tested often by the Commanders' top receivers.

Commanders: Starting QB Jayden Daniels (knee), top WR Terry McLaurin (quadriceps), WR Noah Brown (groin, knee) and top blocking TE John Bates (groin) were ruled out Friday. Daniels missed last week’s win against the Las Vegas Raiders. Backup Marcus Mariota played well in his first NFL start since 2022 for Atlanta. Daniels has been wearing a knee brace around the team facility but did not gain medical clearance to play. McLaurin was hurt against Las Vegas and missed practice all week. RB Jacory “Bill” Croskey-Merritt (knee) could play. Two defensive backs — Trey Amos (calf) and Percy Butler (hip) — left Sunday’s game with injuries.

Falcons: Cornerback A.J. Terrell (hamstring) was held out of Wednesday's practice. Terrell could miss his second consecutive game if there is any uncertainty about his status as an upcoming bye in Week 5 would provide a better window for a full recovery.

Washington has won the past four games of the series, including a 24-16 win in its most recent visit to Atlanta on Oct. 15, 2023. The Falcons' most recent win in the series was a 38-14 victory at Washington on Nov. 4, 2018. Washington beat Atlanta 24-7 on Jan. 4, 1992 in the only playoff game between the teams. Atlanta's most recent home win over Washington was a 25-19 overtime game in 2015 for its fifth consecutive win in the series.

Washington’s defense has been the best in the league at getting off the field on third down, holding opponents to a 29% conversion rate. That includes limiting Las Vegas to 3 for 14 (21%). … PK Matt Gay is just 3 of 6 on field-goal attempts this season, including a miss from 37 yards last week. … LB Bobby Wagner had two sacks of Geno Smith in Week 3, his first multiple-sack game in almost two years. … Zach Ertz is one of three NFC tight ends who already has two TD catches. … Bobby Wagner’s 32 tackles rank third among NFL linebackers. … The Commanders put up 174 rushing yards in the first half against the Raiders and finished with 201; Washington ranks No. 2 in the league with 157.3 yards on the ground per game this season, trailing only the Buffalo Bills (163). ... Morris and Ulbrich were assistants on Dan Quinn's Atlanta staff from 2015-20. ... Penix threw for 223 yards, including his first career scoring pass, in last season's overtime loss at the Commanders. ... WR Drake London will look for his third straight game against the Commanders with at least 100 receiving yards. ... The Falcons rank last with their average of 14 points per game. ... Penix has not thrown a scoring pass to a wide receiver or tight end this season. ... Falcons QB coach D.J. Williams is the son of Washington executive Doug Williams, the former Washington quarterback. ... The visit from the Commanders is the first of six consecutive games the Falcons will play against teams outside of the NFC South before their rematch against Carolina on Nov. 16. ... Four defensive draft picks — edge rushers Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. and defensive backs Billy Bowman Jr. and Xavier Watts — have combined for two sacks and two interceptions.

Atlanta RB Bijan Robinson has been held without a rushing touchdown through three games but he leads the NFC with 403 scrimmage yards, including team-leading totals of 239 rushing and 164 receiving yards. He has a touchdown catch and the Falcons will be looking to re-emphasize Robinson as the focus of their attack after his impact as a runner was negated by an early deficit in last week's lopsided loss at Carolina.

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

Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson (7) after an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Washington Commanders wide receiver Deebo Samuel (1) catches the ball and runs for a first down as Green Bay Packers linebacker Edgerrin Cooper (56) defends during the second half of an NFL football game Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. passes against the Carolina Panthers during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)

Washington Commanders Dan Quinn reacts on the sideline during the second half of NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California regulators are threatening to suspend Tesla's license to sell its electric cars in the state early next year unless the automaker tones down its marketing tactics for its self-driving features after a judge concluded the Elon Musk-led company has been misleading consumers about the technology's capabilities.

The potential 30-day blackout of Tesla's California sales is the primary punishment being recommended to the state's Department of Motor Vehicles in a decision released late Tuesday. The ruling by Administrative Law Judge Juliet Cox determined that Tesla had for years engaged in deceptive marketing practices by using the terms “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving” to promote the autonomous technology available in many of its cars.

After presiding over five days of hearings held in Oakland, California in July, Cox also recommended suspending Tesla's license to manufacture cars at its plant in Fremont, California. But California regulators aren't going to impose that part of the judge's proposed penalty.

Tesla will have a 90-day window to make changes that more clearly convey the limits of its self-driving technology to avoid having its California sales license suspended. After California regulators filed its action against Tesla in 2023, the Austin, Texas, company already made one significant change by putting in wording that made it clear its Full Self-Driving package still required supervision by a human driver while it's deployed.

“Tesla can take simple steps to pause this decision and permanently resolve this issue — steps autonomous vehicle companies and other automakers have been able to achieve," said Steve Gordon, the director of the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

In a post on Musk's X service, Tesla brushed off the decision as regulatory overkill. “This was a ‘consumer protection’ order about the use of the term ‘Autopilot’ in a case where not one single customer came forward to say there’s a problem. Sales in California will continue uninterrupted,” the company said.

The automaker has already been plagued by a global downturn in demand that began during a backlash to Musk's high-profile role overseeing cuts in the U.S. government budget overseeing the Department of Government that President Donald Trump created in his administration. Increased competition and an older lineup of vehicles also weighed on Tesla sales, although the company did revamp its Model Y, the world’s bestselling vehicle, and unveil less-expensive versions of the Model Y and Model X.

Although Musk left Washington after a falling out with Trump, the fallout has continued to weigh on Tesla's auto sales, which had decreased by 9% from 2024 through the first nine months of this year.

Despite the slump and the threatened sales suspension in California, Tesla's stock price touched an all-time high $495.28 during Wednesday's early trading before backtracking later to fall below $470. Despite that reversal, Tesla's shares are still worth slightly more than they were before Musk's ill-fated stint in the Trump administration — a “somewhat successful” assignment he recently said he wouldn't take on again.

The performance of Tesla's stock against the backdrop of eroding auto sales reflects the increasing emphasis that investors are placing on Musk's efforts to develop artificial intelligence technology to implant into humanoid robots and a fleet of self-driving Teslas that will operate as robotaxis across the U.S.

Musk has been promising Tesla's self-driving technology would fulfill his robotaxi vision for years without delivering on the promise, but the company finally began testing the concept in Austin earlier this year, albeit with a human supervisor in the car to take over if something went awry. Just a few days ago, Musk disclosed Tesla had started tests of its robotaxis without a safety monitor in the vehicle.

California regulators are far from the first critic to accuse Tesla of exaggerating the capabilities of its self-driving technology in a potentially dangerous manner. The company has steadfastly insisted that information contained in its vehicle's owner's manual on its website have made it clear that its self-driving technology still requires human supervision, even while releasing a 2020 video depicting one of its cars purportedly driving on its own. The video, cited as evidence against Tesla in the decision recommending a suspension of the company's California sales license, remained on its website for nearly four years.

Tesla has been targeted in a variety of lawsuits alleging its mischaracterizations about self-driving technology have lulled humans into a false of security that have resulted in lethal accidents. The company has settled or prevailed in several cases, but earlier this year a Miami jury held Tesla partly responsible for a lethal crash in Florida that occurred while Autopilot was deployed and ordered the automaker to pay more than $240 million in damages.

FILE - Tesla vehicles line a parking lot at the company's Fremont, Calif., factory on Aug. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)