Colts hope to rebound from 2nd loss while the Falcons try to regroup from 3-game skid in Berlin

Atlanta (3-5) vs. Indianapolis (7-2) in Berlin, Germany

Sunday, 9:30 a.m. EST, NFL Network

BetMGM NFL Odds: Colts by 6 1/2

Against the spread: Falcons 4-4; Colts 6-3

Series record: Colts lead 15-3.

Last meeting: Falcons beat Colts 29-10 in Atlanta on Dec. 24, 2023.

Last week: Falcons lost to Patriots 24-23; Colts lost to Steelers 27-20.

Falcons offense: overall (15), rush (15), pass (15), scoring (28).

Falcons defense: overall (4), rush (23), pass (1), scoring (T-13).

Colts offense: overall (2), rush (8), pass (T-2), scoring (1).

Colts defense: overall (16), rush (4), pass (26), scoring (7).

Turnover differential: Falcons plus-4; Colts plus-3.

QB Michael Penix Jr. The former Indiana Hoosier returned from a bruised bone in his left knee last week and delivered a strong performance. He was 22 of 37 with 221 yards, three touchdown passes and 19 yards rushing. But he's struggled to string good performances together in back-to-back games this season. If the Colts continue to be a high-scoring team, Penix will need to be on top of his game.

CB Sauce Gardner. The New York Jets traded the two-time All-Pro to Indy on Tuesday, giving him less than 48 hours to get acclimated to his new team before heading to Berlin. He cleared the concussion protocol Thursday and coach Shane Steichen had said if he did, he would likely play Sunday. That means his first appearance with the Colts will come in Europe, giving everyone a chance to see how quickly he picks up the new defensive scheme — and how much he can help this ailing pass defense.

Falcons run defense vs. Jonathan Taylor. Despite gaining only 45 yards against the Steelers, Taylor still leads the NFL in rushing. Time will tell whether it was just a blip — or if the Steelers created a blueprint to contain him in future games. Taylor and the Colts will have something to prove with what a likely run-heavy strategy against a run defense that is allowing 124.4 yards per game. If the Falcons continue to struggle against the run, it's could be a big game for Taylor.

Falcons: Guard Matthew Bergeron (ankle), LB Leonard Floyd (hamstring) and OT Storm Norton (foot) did not practice Wednesday or Thursday though guard Chris Lindstrom (foot) was a limited participant Thursday after sitting out Wednesday. ... LB J.D. Bertrand (knee), CB Mike Hughes (neck) and DT LaCale London (shoulder) were limited in practice Wednesday and Thursday. ... S Jessie Bates (knee) and DT Zach Harrison (knee) were limited participants Thursday after doing all the work Wednesday.

Colts: Indy announced Thursday that Pro Bowl DT DeForest Buckner will not travel with the team because of a neck injury that has kept him out of practice. DEs Samson Ebukam (knee) and Tyquan Lewis (groin) and receiver-kick returner Anthony Gould (knee) continue to miss games. CB Kenny Moore II (Achilles tendon) and WR Michael Pittman Jr. (glute) returned to practice Thursday after sitting out Wednesday.

The Colts won the first 10 games in the series from 1966-89. Since then, the rare matchups have evened out. Atlanta got its first win in 1998 and is 3-5 over the past 27 years. ... The Falcons are 1-7 as the road team but the series has never been played at a neutral site. ... Atlanta's career passing leader, Matt Ryan, played his first 14 NFL seasons with the Falcons. He played his final season in Indy. ... The Colts have six players with Georgia connections while Atlanta has five players with Indiana ties.

Atlanta and Indy are playing their second international games in three years. Jacksonville defeated the Falcons 23-7 in London in 2023. The Colts defeated New England 10-6 in Frankfurt, Germany, also in ’23. Atlanta is 1-2 all time in international games. ... The Falcons have lost three straight and are tied for third among fewest sacks allowed (11) in the NFL. ... RB Bijan Robinson has not rushed for more than 40 yards or scored a touchdown since Oct. 13. ... WR Drake London has three 100-yard games this season, including last week's game in which he caught nine passes for 118 yards and a career-high 3 TDs. ... OT Jake Matthews has the league's longest active streak of consecutive regular-season games started at 186. ... S Jesse Bates III is one of five active NFL players with 25 or more interceptions. ... Rookie S Xavier Watts, a Notre Dame product, has 44 tackles and two interceptions this season. ... Last week, three Atlanta players (Brandon Dorlus, LaCale London and Jalon Walker) had multiple sacks in a single game. It was the first time the Falcons did that since 2005. ... Despite last week's six-turnover game, Indy still averages a league-high 3.25 points per drive — the league's fourth-best total since 2000. ... The Colts are the only team in the league to score 20 or more points nine times this season. ... Indy also has the sixth-best third down conversion rate (45%) and the best fourth down conversion percentage (88.2% on 15 of 17 chances). ... QB Daniel Jones leads the league with 2,404 yards passing. He's also thrown for a TD and run for a TD in four games this season. ... Taylor needs one TD run to break a tie with Hall of Famer Lenny Moore (63) and two pass Hall of Famer Edgerrin James for the most TD runs in franchise history. He also needs 105 yards for his fourth 1,000-yard season. ... With eight games remaining, Tyler Warren needs four catches to pass Dwayne Allen (45) for the franchise receptions record by a rookie tight end. He also needs 118 yards to pass Ken Dilger (635) for the second most by a Colts rookie tight end. ... Michael Pittman Jr. is the only receiver with a TD catch in six or more games this season. ... Indy's defense has allowed just seven points in the final two minutes of either half and just 2.04 yards per play in the red zone this season. ... The Colts have missed only one field goal all season.

Taylor. With the Colts looking to rebound after last week's performance, Colts coach Shane Steichen acknowledged he could have given Taylor more carries. Don't expect Steichen to make the same mistake again, and against a Falcons defense struggling against the run, Taylor is the safest play.

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Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Drake London (5) scores a touchdown against the New England Patriots during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (9) runs against the New England Patriots during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (28) runs against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second half of an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith (56) forces a fumble by Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones (17) during the second half of an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

HOUSTON (AP) — Artemis II’s astronauts returned from the moon with a dramatic splashdown in the Pacific on Friday to close out humanity’s first lunar voyage in more than a half-century.

It was a triumphant homecoming for the crew of four whose record-breaking lunar flyby revealed not only swaths of the moon’s far side — never seen before by human eyes — but a total solar eclipse.

Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen hit the atmosphere traveling Mach 33 — or 33 times the speed of sound — a blistering blur not seen since NASA’s Apollo moonshots of the 1960s and 1970s. Their Orion capsule, dubbed Integrity, made the plunge on automatic pilot.

The tension in Mission Control mounted as the capsule became engulfed in red-hot plasma during peak heating and entered a planned communication blackout.

All eyes were on the capsule’s life-protecting heat shield that had to withstand thousands of degrees during reentry. On the spacecraft’s only other test flight — in 2022, with no one on board — the shield’s charred exterior came back looking as pockmarked as the moon.

Like so many others, lead flight director Jeff Radigan anticipated feeling some of that “irrational fear that is human nature,” especially during the six-minute blackout that preceded the opening of the parachutes. The recovery ship USS John P. Murtha awaited the crew’s arrival off the San Diego coast, along with a squadron of military planes and helicopters.

The astronauts’ families huddled in Mission Control’s viewing room, where cheers erupted when the capsule emerged from its communication blackout and again at splashdown.

The last time NASA and the Defense Department teamed up for a lunar crew's reentry was Apollo 17 in 1972. Artemis II was projected to come screaming back at 36,170 feet (11,025 meters) per second — or 24,661 mph (39,668 kph) — just shy of the record before slowing to a 19 mph (30 kph) splashdown.

“A perfect bull’s-eye splashdown,” reported Mission Control’s Rob Navias.

Launched from Florida on April 1, the astronauts racked up one win after another as they deftly navigated NASA’s long-awaited lunar comeback, the first major step in establishing a sustainable moon base.

Artemis II didn't land on the moon or even orbit it. But it broke Apollo 13's distance record and marked the farthest that humans have ever journeyed from Earth when the crew reached 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometers). Then in the mission's most heart-tugging scene, the teary astronauts asked permission to name a pair of craters after their moonship and Wiseman's late wife, Carroll.

During Monday's record-breaking flyby, they documented scenes of the moon's far side never seen before by the human eye along with a total solar eclipse. The eclipse, in particular, “just blew all of us away,” Glover said.

Their sense of wonder and love awed everyone, as did their breathtaking pictures of the moon and Earth. The Artemis II crew channeled Apollo 8's first lunar explorers with Earthset, showing our Blue Marble setting behind the gray moon. It was reminiscent of Apollo 8’s famous Earthrise shot from 1968.

“It just makes you want to continue to go back,” Radigan said on the eve of splashdown. “It's the first of many trips and we just need to continue on because there’s so much” more to learn about the moon.

Their moonshot drew global attention as well as star power, earning props from President Donald Trump; Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney; Britain's King Charles III; Ryan Gosling, star of the latest space flick “Project Hail Mary”; Scarlett Johansson of the Marvel Cinematic Universe; and even Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner of TV’s original “Star Trek.”

Despite its rich scientific yield, the nearly 10-day flight was not without technical issues. Both the capsule’s drinking water and propellant systems were hit with valve problems. In perhaps the most high-profile predicament, the toilet kept malfunctioning, but the astronauts shrugged it all off.

“We can’t explore deeper unless we are doing a few things that are inconvenient,” Koch said, “unless we’re making a few sacrifices, unless we’re taking a few risks, and those things are all worth it.”

Added Hansen: “You do a lot of testing on the ground, but your final test is when you get this hardware to space and it’s a doozy.”

Under the revamped Artemis program, next year’s Artemis III will see astronauts practice docking their capsule with a lunar lander or two in orbit around Earth. Artemis IV will attempt to land a crew of two near the moon’s south pole in 2028.

The Artemis II astronauts' allegiance was to those future crews, Wiseman said.

“But we really hoped in our soul is that we could for just for a moment have the world pause and remember that this is a beautiful planet and a very special place in our universe, and we should all cherish what we have been gifted,” he said.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

In this photo provided by NASA, the Orion spacecraft with Artemis II crewmembers aboard approaches the surface of the Pacific Ocean for splashdown off the coast of California, Friday, April 10, 2026. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)

In this image from video provided by NASA, the Artemis II Orion capsule splashes down in the Pacific Ocean, on Friday, April 10, 2026. (NASA via AP)

In this photo provided by NASA, U.S. Navy divers prepare to deploy in small boats from the well deck of USS John P. Murtha to recover Artemis II crew members NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist and NASA's Orion spacecraft in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, Friday, April 10, 2026. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)

In this image from video provided by NASA, the Artemis II Orion capsule, right, separates from the service module above the Earth in preparation for splash down in the Pacific Ocean. (NASA via AP)

In this image provided by NASA, the Artemis II crew, counterclockwise from top left, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, Commander Reid Wiseman, and Pilot Victor Glover pose with eclipse viewers during a lunar flyby, Monday, April 6, 2026. (NASA via AP)

In this image provided by NASA, the Artemis II crew photographed the Moons curved limb during their journey around the far side of the Moon on April 6, 2026. (NASA via AP)

In this image provided by NASA, the Artemis II crew photographed a bright portion of the Moon on April 6, 2026. (NASA via AP)

In this image provided by NASA, the Artemis II crew captured this view as the Earth sets behind the Moon during a lunar flyby, Monday, April 6, 2026. (NASA via AP)