The Falcons swap out a 1966 throwback profile picture after WWII comparisons

Atlanta Falcons 2026 uniform lineup: white away, red home, white away with black pants, and the 1966 throwback with the red helmet and black jersey

The Atlanta Falcons changed their X and Instagram profile pictures on Wednesday, October 21, to a retro graphic that nods to the 1966 expansion team: the original black falcon over vertical red, white and black stripes. The post was captioned "New PFP" with an eyes emoji.

The timing lines up with the uniforms. Atlanta wears its 1966 throwback, the red helmet, black jersey and white pants, on Sunday, October 25, against the 49ers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It is the first of two throwback dates this season. The second is Week 13 against the Lions on Sunday, December 6.

Replies quickly filled with users comparing the striped design and the black spread-wing falcon to World War II-era German military imagery, as NBC News reported. Most of the reaction came as jokes and memes. We did not find a statement from any advocacy group, and the NFL has not commented.

A team representative told NBC News the Falcons do not have a "new logo" and declined further comment. Within a day or two, the team quietly replaced the retro graphic with a red Falcons helmet, Yahoo Sports reported. As of Friday, the organization had not publicly addressed the reaction.

None of this changes Sunday. The throwback itself is not new. Atlanta brought back the red helmet with the black jersey in 2022, and kept it as the alternate when it released updated uniforms in April 2026, the set where red became the home jersey again. Because of that switch, the two throwback games are the only times all season the Falcons wear black.

San Francisco is expected in its white road set. Every Week 7 look is in our NFL Week 7 uniforms guide, and every Falcons game is in the 2026 Falcons uniform schedule.

Image: Atlanta Falcons

Source: NBC News·Falcons 2026 uniform schedule→

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12:20

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MLB

The Rays' AL champions gear sticks with the standard TB look

The Rays clinched the pennant with a 7-3 win over the Guardians in Game 6 on Monday night, and the American League champions locker room gear is out: the Fanatics 2026 AL Champions locker room T-shirt in heather charcoal and the New Era 2026 American League Champions Locker Room 9SEVENTY adjustable hat in charcoal, the same template the Brewers got for winning the National League. It is essentially the same gear with a different logo, so it gets the same grades we gave Milwaukee's: a B for the shirt and a B+ for the hat.

Both use the Rays' standard TB logo and type, not the Devil Rays throwback look Tampa Bay wore in two of its three ALCS home games, Game 2 and the Game 6 clincher. The Rays are 2-0 in the throwback this postseason. Every jersey they have worn this October is in our World Series uniforms guide.

The Rays gear is fine. It's the same as the Brewers', but now it feels off to be using their standard TB logo and type print when they've pretty much moved to the Devil Rays look. Same grades as the Brewers: B for the shirt, B+ for the hat.
Jake Daneshgar

Source: MLB Shop·What the Rays and Brewers wear in the World Series→

4:05

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NBA

Bulls bring back the Chicago flag City Edition for 2026-27

The Bulls released their 2026-27 City Edition on NBA Jersey Day, and it is the 2017-18 Chicago flag set coming back: a white shirt with a red "Chicago" script, the city flag's four red six-pointed stars down the side and light blue at the collar.

Chicago wears it six times this season, starting Thursday, January 14 at the United Center against the Timberwolves. We moved the Bulls up to No. 10 in our City Edition ranking.

I like them, and I like the elements of red as well as the light blue they've used in years past. My favorite part is the shorts. I love the Bulls logo staying on the side. My only issue is it's a bit boring, but I like that they stayed consistent with their past City Editions. B-.
Jake Daneshgar

Source: @chicagobulls·Every 2026-27 City Edition, ranked→

3:35

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NFL

ESPN's new Monday Night Football scorebug

ESPN soft-launched a new NFL scorebug and graphics package during a Raiders vs. Texans preseason game in August, and it is now the look on Monday Night Football. It is a long, flat bar with the team logos at each end on team color.

ESPN says the package will keep evolving through the season and will be the base for its graphics at Super Bowl LXI on February 14, 2027, on ESPN and ABC. That is ESPN's first Super Bowl.

We grade the scorebug a B-. In our ranking of every NFL TV broadcast, Monday Night Football finishes last overall with a D+.

It's an improvement over years past, but I think it's still boring. They got rid of the neon yellow theme and went to a more simple look. It's just very boring and doesn't have a lot of personality. B-.
Jake Daneshgar

Source: NewscastStudio·Every NFL TV broadcast ranked→

3:30

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College

Cal reveals a Grateful Dead helmet for the Grateful Bears game against Wake Forest

Cal Football posted its Grateful Dead helmet on Monday night: a gold shell with the Cal script inside a Steal Your Face skull, a tie-dye blue center stripe with a white lightning bolt, and the dancing bears on the white rear bumper in blue-gray, pink, orange and green, with Oski in a CAL sweater in the middle.

It is for the Grateful Bears theme game, which Cal says celebrates the band's 29 shows at the Greek Theatre on campus. Cal (3-3) hosts No. 21 Wake Forest on Saturday, October 17, at 7:30 p.m. Pacific on ESPN2. The jersey and pants have not been shown yet.

Those are awesome, they get an A+ from me. I love the Grateful Dead colored bears on the bottom to go along with the Cal bears, with just a nice pop of color. I'm a real sucker for teams that keep their main colors and then throw in colorful details.
Jake Daneshgar

Source: @CalFootball·Cal uniform schedule→