KIRK COUSINS

The NFL salary cap is going back up this year with a projection of $208.2 million per team.

The Minnesota Vikings have finalized their hiring of head coach Kevin O’Connell.

Shaquille O’Neal will return to the city where he helped the Los Angeles Lakers win three straight championships.

From the NFC North to the AFC East, the firings began almost immediately after the NFL’s first 17-game season concluded.

Dallas star rookie linebacker Micah Parsons and Cincinnati running back Joe Mixon were the latest big-name players added to the COVID-19 reserve list.

The Philadelphia Eagles have placed defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and tight end Dallas Goedert along with 10 others on the reserve/COVID-19 list Monday ahead of Saturday’s regular- season finale against Dallas.

Aaron Rodgers threw two touchdown passes, A.

Here's a look at the top stories making headlines on the "CBS Evening News," hosted by Major Garrett.

The Minnesota Vikings have placed quarterback Kirk Cousins on the COVID-19 reserve list.

Brandon Powell returned a punt 61 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter to lift Los Angeles with Matthew Stafford mired in a slump.

Kirk Cousins threw for two touchdowns, and the Minnesota Vikings beat the struggling and short-handed Chicago Bears 17-9.

The Dallas Cowboys made good on coach Mike McCarthy’s guarantee by holding on to beat Washington 27-20 and snap their rival’s winning streak at four.

The Minnesota Vikings held on to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 36-28 by forcing an incomplete pass in the end zone on the final play.

Jared Goff threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown as time expired, lifting the previously winless Detroit Lions to a 29-27 win over the Minnesota Vikings.

To celebrate hip-hop's first-ever history month, "CBS Mornings" spoke with Sha-Rock, America's first female MC, Public Enemy's Chuck D and Smithsonian curator Dwan Reece to examine the impact and influence of hip-hop on American culture.

Minnesota beat Green Bay by making sure Aaron Rodgers didn't get to touch the ball last.

It was another blowout-filled weekend in the NFL only this time several of teams on the losing end came from teams near the top of the standings.

Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook maintains he was the victim in a fight last year with a former girlfriend suing him for personal injury.

"One of our players that was vaccinated, he had to go to the ER last night because of COVID," Zimmer said. "It's serious stuff."

Cooper Rush subbed for the injured Dak Prescott and passed for 325 yards and two second-half touchdowns, the last a 5-yarder to Amari Cooper with 51 seconds left in the Dallas Cowboys’ 20-16 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night.

Several months after COVID-19 vaccinations were made widely available in the United States, vaccination status continues to disrupt professional and college sports.

Kirk Cousins completed a 27-yard touchdown pass to K.

The Minnesota Vikings accelerated past Seattle 30-17 for their first win over the Seahawks in 12 years.

Kyler Murray threw for 400 yards and three touchdowns, and the Arizona Cardinals topped the Minnesota Vikings 34-33 after Greg Joseph missed a 37-yard field goal wide right in the final seconds.

Patrick Mahomes led the Chiefs to touchdowns on his only two chances with the ball as Kansas City beat the Minnesota Vikings 28-25.

Pro Bowl running back Aaron Jones and his Green Bay Packers teammates have resumed an annual preseason ritual after a pandemic-imposed hiatus by riding bicycles to their training camp workouts.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins has been activated from the COVID-19 reserve list.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins has been absent from practice this week due to COVID-19 protocols.

The Minnesota Vikings are facing a severe shortage of quarterbacks early in training camp.

History dictates that it’s likely at least a couple of the five first-round quarterbacks won’t fulfill the hopes of the teams that drafted them.

Super Bowl LV in Tampa Bay kicks off on Sunday and local officials have already warned about the rise of human trafficking that often surrounds the big game. For Minnesota Vikings quarterback and father Kirk Cousins, fighting human trafficking is a cause that is personal. High-profile events like the Super Bowl are often targeted by traffickers. Kirk Cousins, the starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings, is part of the International Justice Mission's fight against human trafficking. According to the Human Trafficking Hotline's latest data, Florida had the third most reported cases of human trafficking in the U.S. in 2019.

(AP Photo/Butch Dill)MINNEAPOLIS – Running back Dalvin Cook is not practicing with the Minnesota Vikings this week, due to the death of his father. Cook has a younger brother, James Cook, who is a running back for Georgia. He was picked for a second straight Pro Bowl, with 1,557 rushing yards, 361 receiving yards and 17 total touchdowns in 14 games. Cook’s absence will clinch a second consecutive rushing title for Tennessee’s Derrick Henry, who has a 220-yard lead on Cook. Cook has a slim lead on Henry atop the NFL with 1,918 total yards.

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) breaks free past Minnesota Vikings cornerback Cameron Dantzler (27), outside linebacker Eric Wilson (50) and defensive end D.J. He finished with a career-high 155 yards rushing to help New Orleans beat the Minnesota Vikings 52-33 on Friday and clinch a fourth straight NFC South title. He has since set Saints records for rushing TDs in a season with 16 and total TDs with 21 (he has five receiving). It would be 8-yard gain, 7-yard gain.”The Saints (11-4) never punted, and set a record of yards gained in a game by a Vikings opponent with 583. New Orleans' 264 yards rushing were the most by a Vikings opponent in Zimmer's seven seasons.

Chicago Bears safety Eddie Jackson (39) celebrates at the end of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in Minneapolis. Cairo Santos, who converted all four of his kicks, stretched his streak to 22 straight field goals made. The Bears then intercepted a last-snap heave by Cousins into the end zone to drop the Vikings to 3-5 at home this year. When the Vikings beat them 19-13 five weeks ago in Chicago, the Bears managed two first-half field goals and needed a kickoff return touchdown by Cordarrelle Patterson to stay competitive. Vikings: play at New Orleans on Friday.

The Bucs (8-5) bolstered their chances of their first postseason berth in 13 years with Sunday's 26-14 victory over Minnesota. Bailey nearly cost the Vikings the previous week, too, missing two extra points and a potential winning kick before nailing a field goal in overtime to beat Jacksonville. This time, Brady shrugged off a scoreless opening quarter with help from Bailey and a trio of costly of penalties on the Vikings' defense. Brady launched two of Tampa Bay’s three first-half scoring drives after missed field goal attempts. A pass interference call on linebacker Todd Davis gave Tampa a chance to tack on the field goal that made it 17-6 at the break.

Minnesota Vikings place kicker Dan Bailey (5) celebrates with teammates after kicking a 23-yard field goal during overtime in an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020, in Minneapolis. The Cowboys, Panthers and Jaguars (1-11), who lost their 11th straight game, are a combined 8-27. Chase McLaughlin even had a chance to win it with a 62-yard field goal at the end of the fourth quarter that fell short. FOUR FIGURESJefferson joined Pro Football Hall of Fame member Randy Moss (1998) as the only rookies in Vikings history to reach 1,000 receiving yards. Vikings: CB Jeff Gladney (calf) and TE Brandon Dillon (ankle) each left the game.

(AP Photo/Chris Szagola)In this strangest of NFL seasons in this weirdest of years, here's a matchup of division leaders you wouldn't expect: Seattle hosting the New York Giants. “If you win your division, you win your division,” Carroll says, and he knows: Seattle went 7-9 in 2010 and won the NFC West, then beat New Orleans in a playoff game. Patrick Mahomes has thrown for at least 300 yards seven times this season and has 22 straight games with at least one TD passing. New England has won the past five meetings, including a 2018 divisional playoff game. Chargers WR Keenan Allen leads the NFL with 85 receptions and has a TD catch in five straight games.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins throws during the first half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears Monday, Nov. 16, 2020, in Chicago. Cousins threw for 292 yards and two touchdowns, and the Minnesota Vikings overcame a 104-yard kickoff return by Chicago’s Cordarrelle Patterson to beat the Bears 19-13. “We’ll try to keep building on it now, and it’ll be so important to keep stringing these together if we can. It was the longest kickoff return in franchise history, surpassing Gale Sayers’ 103-yarder against Pittsburgh on Sept. 17, 1967. Cousins completed 25 of 36 passes with two touchdowns to Thielen, who has nine on the season.

Green Bay had the ball at Minnesota's 41-yard line with 12 seconds and no timeouts left, but D.J. Each of the Vikings’ first four possessions ended with Cook touchdowns. Green Bay went a 2-point conversion got within 28-22 when replays determined the ball crossed the goal line on Jamaal Williams’ inside run. Green Bay got the ball back and reached Minnesota’s 41-yard line with 12 seconds and no timeouts left, but D.J. Four times in the second half, Green Bay reached Vikings territory without scoring.

Brady threw for 166 yards and two touchdowns, including one to Gronkowski, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers rolled to a 38-10 win over the previously undefeated Green Bay Packers. Brady hit Rob Gronkowski for a 12-yard touchdown with 1:02 left in the second quarter to cap the rally. It's been a tough afternoon so far for Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The Dolphins had a 21-0 halftime lead after Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 147 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Board has movement in his limbs after suffering a concussion and neck injury in the team's win over Washington.

(AP Photo/John Froschauer)SEATTLE – Russell Wilson capped a 94-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass to DK Metcalf on fourth-and-goal with 15 seconds left, and the Seattle Seahawks beat the Minnesota Vikings 27-26 on Sunday night. Seattle improved to 5-0 for the first time in franchise history with Wilson providing some more prime-time magic and yet another late comeback. Seattle appeared to get a winning TD to Metcalf on second-and-goal, but he lost the ball as he was hit from behind. After Cousins' pass was intercepted by K.J. After Seattle punted for a second time inside Vikings territory, Cousins led Minnesota 97 yards, capping the drive with a 6-yard TD pass to Thielen.

The Minnesota Vikings reopened their headquarters for team activities on Thursday, following another morning of zero positive COVID-19 test results four days after playing a Tennessee Titans team that experienced the NFL's first outbreak. The Vikings announced their resumption of practice shortly after the league postponed Tennessee's home game on Sunday against Pittsburgh. Minnesota plays at Houston on Sunday, a game between two of the NFL's six 0-3 teams that remains on track for now. Vikings coaches took their strategizing for the Texans home on Tuesday, which is already a day off for the players unless they need injury treatment. Then instead of taking the field to install the game plan for the week on Wednesday, players discussed it virtually with the coaches via video conference.

MINNEAPOLIS – Stephen Gostkowski made his career-high sixth field goal of game, a 55-yarder with 1:48 left that lifted undefeated Tennessee to a 31-30 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday after Derrick Henry and Ryan Tannehill carried the Titans on another comeback. Henry rushed for 119 yards and two third-quarter touchdowns for the Titans, who improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2008 after trailing for most of the game. Tannehill passed for 321 yards, guiding the Titans on a go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter or overtime for the sixth time in 16 games since becoming the starter. The Titans are 12-4 behind Tannehill, including the playoffs, and they're 15-0 when Henry hits the 100-yard mark. The depleted Vikings defense didn't do enough to hold it, though, as Tannehill moved the Titans just close enough for Gostkowski to go to work.

Davante Adams was predictably the biggest beneficiary, with a career-high, franchise-record-tying 14 catches for 156 yards and two scores. Aaron Jones rushed for 66 yards and a touchdown for the Packers, who posted their highest score against the Vikings since a 44-31 victory at the Metrodome on Oct. 27, 2013. Jaire Alexander, who also recorded a safety on an untouched cornerback blitz in the second quarter, made the bobbling interception. When LG Lucas Patrick (shoulder) was forced out in the second quarter, Jenkins moved back to his original spot and free agent addition Rick Wagner entered at RT. ... DT Kenny Clark (groin) was hurt in the second quarter during Alexander's interception and didn't return.