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Quarterback Brock Purdy became first San Francisco 49ers quarterback to throw four interceptions in a game since Colin Kaepernick in 2015; Baltimore Ravens and 49ers both remain top of their respective conferences and can still clinch No 1 seeds

Lamar Jackson led the Baltimore Ravens past the San Francisco 49ers in a stunning 33-19 victory after throwing two touchdown passes in 18 seconds in the third quarter at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.

Kyle Hamilton and the Ravens defense intercepted quarterback Brock Purdy on three of the first four drives of the game for the 49ers to turn a 16-12 halftime lead into a commanding 30-12 advantage.

Purdy became the first 49ers quarterback to throw four interceptions in a game since Colin Kaepernick in 2015 and finished 18 for 32 for 255 yards before leaving the field after sustaining a left shoulder stinger in the fourth quarter with Sam Darnold replacing him.

Jackson took an intentional grounding safety after he tripped over a fallen official in the end zone and attempted a pass to give the 49ers the first points of the game.

On first-and-10 at Baltimore’s 15, Purdy attempted to force a pass to wideout Deebo Samuel that Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton stepped in front of for an interception.

After Baltimore forced a punt on the opening drive of the second half, Jackson capped a drive by throwing a 6-yard touchdown pass to Nelson Agholor.

Williams injured his groin attempting to tackle Ravens linebacker Patrick Queen after Purdy’s fourth interception. Jackson immediately turned that into another score with a 9-yard TD pass to Zay Flowers that made it 30-12. Jackson threw for 252 yards, ran for 45 more and vaulted past Purdy to take the limelight.

San Francisco’s Christian McCaffrey set a franchise record with his eighth straight game with at least 100 yards from scrimmage.

Darnold replied for the 49ers with a fourth-quarter touchdown after replacing an injured Purdy but by then it was already too late.

Both teams remain on top of their conferences. The Niners are in a three-way tie with Philadelphia and Detroit for the best record in the NFC and can still clinch the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye with wins in their final two games.

The Ravens remained a game ahead of Miami for the best record in the AFC and can clinch the No. 1 seed with a win next week against the Dolphins.

What did they say?

Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh: “Our guys work hard. They compete hard. Everybody wants to be respected. There’s one way to be respected, and that’s to go out there and earn that. I thought Lamar had an MVP performance tonight. It takes a team to create a performance like that, but it takes a player to play at that level, to play at an MVP level, it takes a player to play that way. Lamar was all over the field.”

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson: “We got the W. I don’t really care about performance. I just want to win. That’s what happened tonight. On Christmas, I got my gift.”

San Francisco 49ers Kyle Shanahan coach: “I didn’t mind his [Purdy] demeanour. He stayed in there and kept battling. Our whole team struggled there in the second half, so it wasn’t just him.”

What’s next?

The Ravens host Miami Dolphins while the 49ers visit Washington on Sunday December 31.

Make sure you tune in to Sky Sports NFL every Sunday at 6pm for the first game of our triple-header of live action. The evening’s entertainment also includes NFL Redzone action as hosted by Scott Hanson, as well as Sunday Night Football to round off the night.

Sky Sports will broadcast two exclusive live games every Sunday throughout the regular season in the 6pm and 9pm slots, while also showing every Thursday Night, Sunday Night and Monday Night match-up.

Fans can also watch every minute of the playoffs across January, followed by Super Bowl LVIII at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on February 11.

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The Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills are primed for a 13 seconds rematch, the Dallas Cowboys have their sites on snatching the NFC East title from the Philadelphia Eagles. Week 14 is shaping up nicely; we guide you through the latest news, views and build-up ahead of Sunday in the NFL…

Editor’s note…

There might not be a quarterback playing better football in the NFL than Dak Prescott at this moment. He has entered the MVP conversation, and so too the Dallas Cowboys to-be-taken-seriously Super Bowl contention. Yes, you might have heard that before.

It can often be what goes unnoticed that can be so impressive and so defining to the way Dak plays. From the mastery of his rhythmic and hoodwinking pre-snap cadence, to the speed at which he can diagnose a field and slide protections, adjust assignments or alter play concepts accordingly at the line of scrimmage. “He plays the position” as Aaron Rodgers said recently on the Pat McAfee Show, igniting a ‘Texas Coast’ offense that has buried its early-season teething issues.

Only Brock Purdy owns a better EPA+CPOE composite (an advanced metric on quarterback play-by-play value and efficiency) than Prescott this season, the Dallas quarterback having put up a passer rating of at least 115.0 in five of six games since the Week Seven bye week. In that time he has completed 156 of 221 passes (70.59 per cent) for 1,901 yards and 20 touchdowns to two interceptions. He also happens to be the league’s best quarterback on third down this year, which tends to serve as a nice indication of how well a passer is faring in decisive moments of a game, which always comes with an added caveat of pressure as an expectation-burdened Cowboys play-caller.

McCarthy’s offense is purring as it empowers its quarterback to take command of games with more aggressive pass designs and opportunities to use his legs alongside an increased use of play-action, while dressing up the line of scrimmage with pre-snap motion and crowning CeeDee Lamb as their focal point by shifting him across multiple spots in the formation.

Lamb has taken a seat at the table alongside the league’s most dynamic receivers with 90 catches for 1,182 yards and seven touchdowns, Brandin Cooks has answered the Cowboys’ call for a legitimate No 2 receiver, Jake Ferguson is peppering the seam as his threat continues to increase as the team’s lead tight end. Tony Pollard’s multi-purpose production out of the backfield has meanwhile picked back up after a minor lull as a crucial sell for the Cowboys play-action game.

Dallas rank third in EPA/play and sit at the top of scoring rankings on offense, while Dan Quinn’s stunting, route-jumping defense continues to be among the NFL’s elite at third in EPA/play and third in total yards. ‘Our year’ sentiment has been long-exhausted and long-unfulfilled in Cowboys territory amid their pursuit of a first Super Bowl appearance since their victory at the end of the 1995 season.

The 49ers are nagging frontrunners to prolong that pain, and beckon as a potential ultimate test somewhere down the line in the playoffs. Before then, Dak and the Cowboys have the opportunity to force home their respective MVP and Championship credentials across a home stretch that sees them face the Philadelphia Eagles – who they could yet leapfrog in the NFC East – and Mike McDaniel’s Miami Dolphins.

How ’bout them Cowboys? We are about to find out.

Around the league…

• Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence was limited on his return to practice Thursday having appeared to swerve serious injury after suffering a high ankle sprain in Monday’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals; Lawrence said he was hopeful of facing the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, with head coach Doug Pederson insisting he won’t sacrifice a player’s health for one game.
• New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh confirmed Zach Wilson will start at quarterback against the Houston Texans having been demoted for Tim Boyle and Trevor Siemian in the last two games.
• Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane said Von Miller remains available to play against the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday following allegations of domestic violence against the edge rusher.

• Former Indianapolis Colts three-time Pro Bowl linebacker Shaq Leonard signed a one-year deal with the Eagles this week.
• Miami Dolphins right tackle Austin Jackson agreed a three-year, $36m extension on Thursday amid his impressive 2023 campaign.
• Justin Jefferson is set to make his return for the Minnesota Vikings against the Las Vegas Raiders after missing seven games due to a hamstring injury.
• Carolina Panthers tight end Hayden Hurst has been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Amnesia by an independent neurologist after suffering a concussion in the Week 10 game against the Chicago Bears, his father announced.
• Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy is expected to coach at the weekend despite undergoing surgery on Wednesday after being diagnosed with an acute case of appendicitis.

What to watch…

Los Angeles Rams (6-6) @ Baltimore Ravens (9-3): The Ravens struck gold with Kyle Hamilton, who has arrived as advertised since entering the league as the No 14 pick at the 2022 Draft. He stands to be the quintessential modern NFL safety as Mike Macdonald’s disguised blitzer, hybrid box tackler, slot demon and sideline-to-sideline blockade. With Marcus Williams on hand to play deep, Hamilton has free rein to wreak havoc as Baltimore’s most dangerous disruptor at the line of scrimmage. And while attention has been on the Rams’ young offensive playmakers, the audition process for Aaron Donald’s supporting cast has been intriguing. Third-round rookie nose tackle Kobie Turner has quietly amassed a rookie-leading 5.5 sacks, while fellow third-rounder Byron Young is close behind on five sacks.

Buffalo Bills (6-6) @ Kansas City Chiefs (8-4): Tight ends, assemble. For years the Bills have watched Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce torch the NFL as the league’s most dynamic quarterback-tight end tandem, shattering Buffalo’s Super Bowl hopes on a couple of occasions in the process. In a bid to add their own Kelce-esque dimension, the Bills went and drafted Dalton Kincaid in the first round earlier this year. The vision was tight splits in multiple tight end sets from which he and Dawson Knox could sell the run game, lure defenses downhill and open up shots for Josh Allen downfield, as well as leaking out into routes of their own. The production (56 catches, 474 yards) has been sporadic, not helped by the absence of Knox, with flashes of an integral supporting role behind Stefon Diggs, while Kelce, without lighting up the world, leads the Chiefs with 813 receiving yards and five scores.

Philadelphia Eagles (10-2) @ Dallas Cowboys (9-3): Do we call this the Shaq Leonard bowl? There was little surprise when the Eagles edged out the Cowboys to wrap up a deal for the former Indianapolis Colts man, not because Howie Roseman is one of the savviest operators in the market but because of the extent to which the 49ers exposed Philly’s linebackers in Week 13. Time and time again Kyle Shanahan disorientated the likes of Nicholas Morrow and Christian Ellis, standing in for the injured Zach Cunningham, with Deebo Samuel’s pre-snap reload motion to muddy the play direction, eventually disguising it to unleash the Niners receiver for his first-half catch-and-run touchdown out of the backfield. Morrow bit hard on a Christian McCaffrey out-route at the sideline before later being shrugged off by Samuel again on his 48-yard touchdown; it was a torrid day, Nick Sirianni’s safeties included as Shanahan toyed with the middle of the field. Can Leonard step in immediately? And will the Cowboys similarly plot to exploit the Eagles’ weakness at the second level?

Best quotes

Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence on his injury against the Bengals: “I’m thankful it’s not a worse injury than what I thought on the field.”

Taylor Swift, in her interview for 2023 Time magazine’s person of the year: “Football is awesome, it turns out. I’ve been missing out my whole life.”

Nick Bosa suggests the 49ers showed the NFL how to stop Jalen Hurts: “You see it on tape. Obviously, we put the blueprint out there. Hopefully, the Dallas Cowboys watch the tape. We made Jalen stay in the pocket and escape outside instead of those B-gaps. And it paid off.”

Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers on The Pat McAfee Show: “The most disappointing thing about the whole rehab process was December 24 was literally on my mind. It would have been like 14-and-a-half weeks, I thought that would be reasonable based on my progress.”

Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel on his team’s 9-3 record at the top of the AFC: “Call me when it’s a 13-game season. That’s all nice, but we have a job to do today. If we short-change and are worried about anything other than the Tennessee Titans when we’re game planning, then all those conversations and stories literally don’t matter at all.”

Ravens coach John Harbaugh on Rams receiver Puka Nacua: “I liked him (in the Draft). He was one of my highest-rated guys. You can ask anybody here, he was way up on my board. He’s playing exactly how I thought he would, for the record.”

Jets defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich on facing Houston’s CJ Stroud: “He’s a very unique young quarterback. He’s a guy I really wish we would’ve played Weeks One to Four when he was still trying to figure out this game.”

The stats

• Tyreek Hill’s 938 yards on vertical routes so far this season are the most of any receiver in a single campaign since 2018
• Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen currently has 898 catches in 138 games and has the chance to surpass Antonio Brown (143 games) as the fastest player in history to reach 900 career receptions
• Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson sits on 5,396 career receiving yards, leaving him needing just 117 more to overtake Michael Thomas for most by a player in his first four seasons in history
• Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons, who has 11.5 sacks on the year, is looking to become the second player since sack statistics began in 1982 to record at least 13 sacks in each of his first three seasons – Hall of Famer Reggie White having been the first
• CJ Stroud needs 253 passing yards to overtake Andrew Luck for the second-most by a player in his first 13 games
• Brock Purdy can become the fourth quarterback in NFL history to post a completion percentage of 70-or-higher in seven straight games this weekend

Essential reading:

NFL playoff contenders or pretenders: Can Packers make a charge?

The NFL playoff race has reached the home stretch in one of the most wide-open seasons in recent memory, with surprise teams occupying postseason spots and expected contenders battling for their place.

Sky Sports NFL‘s Phoebe Schecter gives her verdict on some of those around whom there remain question marks when it comes to their playoff credentials…

The 13 seconds rivalry: Bills and Chiefs meet once again

All is not rosy in the land of the mighty. The defending champion Kansas City Chiefs have been marred by drops and deficiencies on a limping offense, behind which Patrick Mahomes and Steve Spagnuolo’s defensive subterfuge have between them retained some level of serious contention, with question marks over an 8-4 team speaking volumes as to the self-imposed expectations in Arrowhead.

And in western New York the Buffalo Bills are fighting for their playoff lives as they play catch-up having endured marquee injuries, suffered late heartbreak, fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey and slipped behind the pack in what is still deemed a Championship window for under-pressure head coach Sean McDermott and his high-powered team.

Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen know all about thrillers. The AFC rivals meet again in their latest high stakes clash on Sunday…

Her Huddle: Meet Nausicaa Dell’Orto.

Hannah Wilkes and Phoebe Schecter talk to Italy Women’s flag football captain Nausicaa Dell’Orto about the challenges she faced in forming a female team in Milan.

Inside the Huddle: 49ers-Dolphins Super Bowl?

Neil Reynolds and Jeff Reinebold discuss the San Francisco 49ers’ emphatic win over the Philadelphia Eagles and the red-hot form of the Miami Dolphins…

Thursday night rewind…

Bailey Zappe threw three first-half touchdown passes as the New England Patriots snapped a five-game skid while damaging the Pittsburgh Steelers’ playoff hopes with a 21-18 victory on Thursday night.

Watch the Baltimore Ravens host the Los Angeles Rams from 5pm (kickoff at 6pm) live on Sky Sports NFL this Sunday, followed by the Buffalo Bills at the Kansas City Chiefs and the Dallas Cowboys against the Philadelphia Eagles

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson says “everything is stable” with Trevor Lawrence after the quarterback suffered an ankle injury in Monday’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals; Pederson has not ruled Lawrence out of Sunday’s clash with Cleveland Browns

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson says quarterback Trevor Lawrence was “very fortunate” to avoid a more serious injury after damaging his ankle in Monday’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Lawrence was injured in the fourth quarter as Jake Browning threw for 354 yards and a touchdown in his second career start to lead the Bengals to a stunning 34-31 overtime win.

Browning also ran for a score as the Bengals (6-6) won on Monday Night Football for the first time since 1990 on Evan McPherson’s 48-yard field goal in the extra frame, with Lawrence’s injury for the Jaguars (8-4) appearing to be potentially the biggest blow of the evening for the home team.

Left tackle Walker Little stepped on Lawrence’s ankle, causing him to twist it as he was sacked. Lawrence tried to get up, but dropped to the ground, ripped off his helmet and threw it in disgust. He was helped off the field and into the tunnel for X-rays.

Pederson said on Tuesday tests on Lawrence’s right ankle showed “everything’s stable, everything’s good”. He added surgery “is not necessarily something that would be warranted at this time”.

“We’ll see where he’s at in a couple days,” Pederson said roughly 12 hours after the game had finished.

“[It] looked worse than it really was. Very fortunate there.”

It ended an otherwise stellar night for Lawrence, who completed 22 of 29 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a score.

Pederson has not ruled Lawrence out of Sunday’s upcoming clash with the Cleveland Browns.

“I’m not going to put that timetable on Trevor,” he added. “Not going to put him in a box like that. We’ll see how he is in a couple of days.”

Browning was equally stout in place of star Joe Burrow, who watched and coached from the sideline while wearing a cast and a sling. Browning completed 32 of 37 passes and directed the overtime drive that set up McPherson’s winner.

McPherson, who played collegiately at nearby Florida, banged a 57-yarder off the crossbar in the same direction early in the game.

Jacksonville backup CJ Beathard completed nine of 10 passes for 63 yards in relief of Lawrence. Beathard put the Jaguars in position for Brandon McManus’ 40-yard field goal with 26 seconds remaining in regulation.

Stats leaders:

Cincinnati Bengals

• Passing: Jake Browning, 32/37, 354 yards, 1 TD
• Rushing: Joe Mixon, 19 carries, 68 yards, 2 TDs
• Receiving: Ja’Marr Chase, 11 catches, 149 yards, 1 TD

Jacksonville Jaguars

• Passing: Trevor Lawrence, 22/29, 258 yards, 2 TDs
• CJ Beathard, 9/10, 63 yards
• Rushing: Travis Etienne, 11 carries, 45 yards, 1 TD
• Receiving: Evan Engram, 9 catches, 82 yards, 1 TD

Ja’Marr Chase caught 11 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown, a 76-yarder in the third quarter that got the Bengals going. Joe Mixon ran for 68 yards and two scores, and rookie Chase Brown added 61 yards on the ground for the league’s worst rushing attack. Mixon also had six receptions for 49 yards.

The Bengals made it harder than it should have been when coach Zac Taylor called a trick play that turned into a debacle in third.

Browning lateraled to receiver Tyler Boyd, who inexplicably threw directly to pass rusher Josh Allen. Allen caught the ball for his second career interception. The Jaguars scored four plays later when Lawrence jumped and stretched the ball across the goal line.

It was the second bungled trick play for the Bengals, who also lost seven yards when Chase completed a double pass to Browning. Still, the Bengals finished with 491 yards and were eight of 14 on third down.

Scoring summary

What did they say?

Jags quarterback C.J. Beathard on injury to Lawrence: “First instinct was ah, it sucks for Trevor when you see him on the ground hurting. That sucks. It kind of takes the breath away from the guys on the sidelines and stuff when you see your starting quarterback hurting like that. But then you quickly flip into going into that two-minute drive to try and tie the game or win the game. Obviously, don’t have much time for the news to kick in, just kind of got to go.”

What next?

The Bengals are back in action at home to the Indianapolis Colts (7-5), while the Jaguars prepare for a spell without Lawrence on the road against the Cleveland Browns (7-5).

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DaRon Bland made it five interceptions returned for a touchdown in a single season, breaking the record he had equalled in Week 11; Dak Prescott passed for 331 yards and four touchdowns in a big win for the Dallas Cowboys; Washington Commanders QB Sam Howell was sacked four times

DaRon Bland capped a 45-10 Thanksgiving victory for the Dallas Cowboys over their NFC East rival Washington Commanders by breaking the NFL record for most interceptions returned for a touchdown in a season.

Rico Dowdle put the Cowboys (8-4) ahead at AT&T Stadium with 46 seconds remaining in the first quarter with a 15-yard touchdown, and further scores from Brandin Cooks and Tony Pollard helped the home side into a 20-10 lead at half time.

Joey Slye’s field goal and a rushing touchdown from Commanders quarterback Sam Howell, who ended the day with 300 yards and completed 28 of 44 passes but was sacked four times, ensured the visitors kept within touching distance of their NFC East rivals.

But after a scoreless third quarter Brandon Aubrey’s field goal, a sixth receiving touchdown of the season for CeeDee Lamb and KaVontae Turpin’s grab in the end zone ensured a sixth-straight home game of Dallas scoring 30-plus points, with quarterback Dak Prescott passing for 331 yards and four touchdowns.

There was still time for Bland to make NFL history though, coming up with a pick-six with under five minutes remaining as he snagged a pass from Howell and raced 63 yards downfield for his fifth of the season – breaking the record of four he had jointly held with Eric Allen (1993), Jim Kearney (1972) and Ken Houston (1971).

Stats leaders:

Washington Commanders

• Passing: Sam Howell, 28/44, 300 yards, 1 INT
• Rushing: Brian Robinson Jr, 15 carries, 53 yards
• Receiving: Curtis Samuel, 5 catches, 100 yards

Dallas Cowboys

• Passing: Dak Prescott, 22/32, 331 yards, 4 TD
• Rushing: Tony Pollard, 13 carries, 79 yards, 1 TD
• Receiving: Brandin Cooks, 4 catches, 72 yards, 1 TD

The dichotomy that is Howell’s 2023 season was shown again on Washington’s opening drive as the NFL’s passing yard leader heading into this game was sacked for a league-leading 52nd time this season, and the Commanders were forced to punt after their first two possessions of the game stalled at midfield.

Having punted at the end of their first possession, the Cowboys built steadily on their second, despite back-to-back penalties which left them facing second and 25, and put together a 15-play, 110-yard drive which ended in Prescott’s short pass to Dowdle sending the running back streaking away for the opening score.

The Commanders responded with a strong second-quarter drive led by Howell and running back Brian Robinson Jr earning consecutive first downs, yet some strong defensive plays from the Cowboys saw the visitors pushed back to third and 18, and eventually have to settle for a 43-yard field goal from Joey Slye.

Dallas were soon on the board again though as Prescott unleashed a pass to Cooks, who broke double coverage and sprinted away for a 31-yard touchdown to extend the home side’s advantage.

Despite being sacked for the second time in the game, Howell was able to guide Washington up to within striking distance and finished off the 67-yard drive with a four-yard run for a touchdown which closed the gap to four points inside the two-minute warning.

The Cowboys stunned the Commanders with a third touchdown before half time though, taking over possession with 1:51 of the second quarter remaining and going 70 yards for a drive which was finished by Pollard rushing seven yards up the middle to score, although Aubrey missed the extra point attempt.

Washington’s offense clicked more into gear in the third, but each time they found themselves thwarted by some determined defense from the Cowboys and were unable to make further inroads despite preventing the hosts from adding to their tally as well.

Dallas eventually managed to add some points to their tally early in the fourth quarter as rookie kicker Aubrey notched his record-extending 22nd-consecutive field goal with a 52-yarder.

Micah Parsons’ 11th sack of the season and Johnathan Hankins taking down Howell as the Commanders went for it on fourth then earned the Cowboys a turnover on downs, and they put the game to bed soon after when Prescott connected with Lamb for a 15-yard touchdown pass which was followed by a successful two-point conversion.

The Cowboys were not done there though as Prescott found Turpin with a 34-yard pass, followed by cornerback Bland putting the icing on the cake and writing his name in the NFL history books.

Scoring summary

What was said?

Dallas Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland, after breaking the individual pick-six season record on Thanksgiving: “To do it on Thanksgiving just means everything, in front of fans and family.”

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott on what was behind his team’s big win: “I credit a lot around me, the offensive line protected great, look back at a couple of those touchdowns and they gave us a lot of time. We are playing free.”

What’s next?

The Dallas Cowboys open Week 13 at home to the Seattle Seahawks, who face NFC West rivals the San Francisco 49ers in the late game on Thanksgiving, in the Thursday night encounter.

The Washington Commanders, meanwhile, face a tough task when they host the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, December 3.

The New York Jets (4-6) then take on the Miami Dolphins (7-3) in the NFL’s first ever Black Friday game from 8pm.

Mac Jones was benched for Bailey Zappe in the final minutes of the fourth quarter as the New England Patriots fell to a 10-6 defeat to the Indianapolis Colts in Frankfurt, Germany; Jonathan Taylor rushes for a first-half touchdown while Julian Blackmon comes up with late interception

Mac Jones was benched in the fourth quarter as Jonathan Taylor’s first-half touchdown helped the Indianapolis Colts to a 10-6 victory over the New England Patriots in Frankfurt on Sunday.

Julian Blackmon came up with a sucker-punch interception to derail a late Patriots drive, marking the final straw on a tough day for Jones as he exited the game for Bailey Zappe with two minutes to play.

His backup did not fare much kinder, throwing a game-icing interception to Rodney Thomas II as the Colts improved to 5-5 on the year in the final international regular-season game of the season.

Jones finished 15 of 20 passing for 170 yards and an interception, while Colts quarterback Gardner Minshew went 18 of 28 for 194 yards and a pick.

Both teams missed field goals either side of half-time, which the Colts had entered with a 7-3 lead thanks to Taylor’s second rushing touchdown of the season and three sacks from Dayo Odeyingbo.

The Patriots threatened a perfect start to the second half when Myles Bryant was well-positioned to collect Minshew’s tipped pass off the hands of Michael Pittman Jr for an interception at the half-way line.

Jones almost landed himself in trouble as he attempted a dangerous under-arm shovel while scurrying to try and escape pressure.

The pick eventually went unrewarded as the Patriots failed to convert on third-and-three before Chad Ryland skewed his 35-yard field goal attempt wide of the posts.

New England’s next drive was all about the run, Stevenson carrying the ball five times alongside two Ezekiel Elliott runs and a 15-yard Mac Jones scramble to set themselves up at the Colts 24 at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

Jones was almost intercepted by Julian Blackmon as the Colts safety got hands on a lofted pass in the end zone, the Patriots settling for a 24-yard field goal at the end of a 15-play drive lasting eight minutes.

Stats leaders:

Indianapolis Colts

• Passing: Gardner Minshew, 18/28, 194 yards, 1 INT
• Rushing: Jonathan Taylor, 23 carries, 69 yards, 1 TD
• Receiving: Michael Pittman Jr, 8 catches, 84 yards

New England Patriots

• Passing: Mac Jones, 15/20, 170 yards, 1 INT
• Rushing: Rhamondre Stevenson, 20 carries, 88 yards
• Receiving: Demario Douglas, 6 catches, 84 yards

Matt Gay’s 51-yard field goal pushed the Colts’ lead to 10-6 on the ensuing drive after Isiah McKenzie had ignited the response with a 42-yard kick return.

The Patriots would come up short once again in their efforts to turn the game on its head when Blackmon snagged Jones’ pass at the goal line with four minutes to play, much to the despair of the New England sideline at the end of a nine-play series.

Zappe entered the game with two minutes remaining, before any hopes of a late twist fizzled out when the Patriots quarterback was intercepted by Rodney Thomas II.

The Colts defense blunted Jones and the Patriots to the sight of five sacks heading into the break, three of which came courtesy of Odeyingbo.

New England flashed signs of mending their stuttering offense during a 13-play opening drive that ended in Ryland’s 37-yard field goal after an Odeyingbo had derailed the series on third-and-six.

Taylor capped an immediate response when he skipped outside to run in for a one-yard touchdown at the end of a 14-play, 75-yard, seven-minute march ignited by Minshew’s off-script 30-yard throw to Isaiah McKenzie on third-and-six.

The sides then exchanged seven punts to test Deutsche Bank Park’s low-hanging scoreboard, Kwity Paye joining the sacks tally for the Colts having returned from an injury scare earlier in the half.

Minshew put the Colts in position to extend their lead late in the first half when he connected with Josh Downs for 12 yards on fourth-and-four, only for Matt Gay to miss the 57-yard field goal attempt.

Scoring summary

What’s next?

The Patriots enter a bye week before returning to face the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in Week 12, while the Colts are due to host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after their break.

Week 10 in the NFL concludes on Monday night when the Denver Broncos visit the Buffalo Bills in the early hours of Tuesday, before the Cincinnati Bengals take on the Baltimore Ravens in Thursday Night Football to kick off Week 11.

Jacksonville Jaguars. Detroit Lions.

Two of the harder sells in terms of the NFL in recent years. Decades even.

The two teams form part of a foursome of franchises to have never before reached a Super Bowl, joining the Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans as the only teams never to do so.

The Lions haven’t even been to the playoffs in seven years and, staggeringly, are without a postseason win since the 1991 season!

The Jaguars’ recent history isn’t quite so bleak perhaps. Established as a franchise four years after Detroit’s last playoff win, they actually shocked the world with a run to the AFC Championship game in just their second season, getting back there again in 1999 and, more recently, in 2017.

Last year, after a few barren seasons which saw them earn the No 1 pick in back-to-back NFL drafts (2021 and 2022), Jacksonville again made the playoffs, riding the coattails of the very man they selected first overall in the first of those drafts, quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

They pulled off a remarkable 27-point comeback to beat the Los Angeles Chargers 31-30 in the wild card round, and then pushed eventual champs the Kansas City Chiefs all the way before ultimately succumbing to a 27-20 defeat in their divisional matchup.

The Chiefs (7-2) are again top dogs in the AFC through the opening nine weeks of the 2023 season, while last year’s NFC winners, the Philadelphia Eagles (8-1), are again sitting pretty on their perch. But, below both, poised, ready to pounce are the Lions (7-2) and Jaguars (6-2) at second and third in their respective conferences.

There is a new elite forming in the NFL and we’ve got to get used to the unusual sensation of seeing Detroit and Jacksonville very much at the heart of it.

Gone are the days of the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady axis in New England that saw the Patriots sweep all before them in claiming six Super Bowl titles (seven for Brady when you add in his three-year dalliance with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers), and while storied franchises like the Miami Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys are all certainly in the mix, it has been a long time since any of them got their hands on the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

Could we be witnessing the start of the era of the Jaguars? Or is there a dynasty forming in Detroit?

We’ll get the chance to see both squads up close and personal this Sunday, when Jacksonville host the 49ers (6pm kickoff) and the Lions then travel to Los Angeles to take on the Chargers (9.05pm kickoff) – both games live on Sky Sports NFL and Main Event.

Campbell’s ‘kneecap biters’ delivering on promise

But what has led to the sudden optimism for these two down-trodden NFL teams? It starts with the coaching and, specifically, the two leaders entrusted with establishing a winning culture and turning the teams’ fortunes around.

Dan Campbell certainly got everyone’s attention when, at his introductory press conference with the Lions in 2021, he said: “This team’s going to be built on: we’re going to kick you in the teeth, all right, and when you punch us back, we’re going to smile at you and when you knock us down, we’re going to get up. And, on the way up, we’re going to bite a kneecap off.

“And, we’re going to stand up, and then it’s going to take two more shots to knock us down. And, on the way up, we’re going to take your other kneecap, and we’re going to get up and then it’s going to take three shots to get us down. And, when we do, we’re going to take another hunk out of you. Before long, we’re going to be the last one standing. That’s going to be the mentality.”

Campbell’s kneecap-biters took a while to work up an appetite, however, with a 3-13-1 season following in his debut campaign, before a 1-6 start to 2022 had him firmly on the hot seat.

Eight wins followed over Detroit’s final 10 games, the team agonisingly falling short of a playoff spot but the coach earning a stay of execution which he has certainly made the most of.

The Lions bettered the defending-champion Chiefs in a thrilling 2023 season-opener, and have only been bested by the Seattle Seahawks (5-3) and Baltimore Ravens (7-2) so far this year. They rank second, behind only the explosive Dolphins, in total offense, registering 390.6 yards per game, while their underrated defense is top five, allowing only 296.9 YPG.

The fulcrum of the Lions defensive unit is second-year standout Aidan Hutchinson. The sophomore star has 4.5 sacks this year following the 9.5 the Michigan alumni registered in his rookie campaign, while he also has a pick to go with the three he logged last year.

It’s another way in which the Lions and Jaguars will be linked, and the success of both teams compared, over the next decade, as Hutchinson was taken with the No 2 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, having been overlooked by the Jaguars, who owned the first selection.

Jacksonville instead opted for Travon Walker out of Georgia, the NFL Combine stud with the eye-catching measurables. Though he didn’t flash as much as Hutchinson in his rookie season, there are signs to suggest Walker is coming good on that selection, with his 3.5 sack total this year already matching his tally for 2022.

He forms part of an imposing Jaguars defense that ranks in the top-10 in scoring, allowing only 19.5 points per game, and is tied with the New Orleans Saints for the most takeaways this season with 18 (11 interceptions, seven forced fumbles).

Josh Allen, namesake of the Buffalo Bills quarterback, has two of those forced fumbles to his name and is the standout on Jacksonville’s defense, with his nine sacks for the year already placing him only one behind league-leader Danielle Hunter of the Minnesota Vikings and on course for a career-best total to beat his 10.5 set in his rookie 2019 season.

The Jaguars are currently in the midst of a five-game win streak, coming off their bye, as they get set to welcome San Francisco this Sunday. Their only losses on the year came in consecutive weeks when dropping games to Kansas City and Houston following an opening win over the Indianapolis Colts.

It’s all a far cry from the team that was in turmoil as recently as 2021 when then-head coach Urban Meyer was fired from the team midway through a dismal 3-14 season which saw him clash with both his coaches and players, as well as be caught up in a viral video scandal which appeared to show the married man dancing inappropriately with a women at a restaurant one day after a defeat to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Lawrence leaves London a franchise quarterback

Doug Pederson, Super Bowl winner in 2017 with Philadelphia, came in and though the team got off to a slow 2-6 start, seven wins in nine followed to secure a playoff berth, with Lawrence in particular stepping up following a Week Eight loss to the Denver Broncos in London.

Lawrence completed over 70 per cent of his passes for an average of 252.6 yards per game down the stretch, returning a 102.6 passer rating and a sparkling 15-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He registered three 300-yard passing games over the final nine games of the season, matching his tally from the first 25 games of his NFL career.

But Lawrence isn’t the only top-drafted quarterback delivering against his lofty position. Jared Goff, a former No 1 overall pick for the Los Angeles Rams in 2016, was much maligned for the first five years of his NFL career – in spite of taking the team to the Super Bowl in his third season – but he’s enjoying quite the renaissance in Detroit.

Traded to the Lions in 2021 in a deal that also included two first-round picks in 2022 and 2023, and a 2021 third-round selection, in exchange for QB Matthew Stafford, Goff was viewed as nothing more than a stopgap at the position until such time as Detroit could find better.

But Campbell and co have stuck with him and are now reaping the rewards, with Goff throwing 29 TDs to only seven interceptions last season and having tallied 12 already this year, along with 2,174 passing yards which places him fifth in the NFL when broken down into yards per game (271.8).

The weaponry available to both Goff and Lawrence is plentiful also. They each boast a sizeable threat in the backfield, with Lions rookie Jahmyr Gibbs boasting a breakout performance of 189 scrimmage yards and a score in their latest win over the Las Vegas Raiders, while the Jaguars have Travis Etienne who saved his best for their win over the Bills in London as he racked up 184 scrimmage yards and two TDs.

In terms of pass-catching targets, Lawrence boasts Calvin Ridley and Christian Kirk in Jacksonville, while Goff has Amon-Ra St. Brown leading the way, backed up by promising second-year speedster Jameson Williams. There’s also tight end talents Evan Engram (Jaguars) and Sam LaPorta (Lions), who by some strange coincidence both have 434 yards on the season to date – albeit the latter logging four TDs along the way.

Simply put, these two teams are stacked. And it’s time the NFL took these two teams seriously as, who knows, we could well have a Super Bowl first-timer on our hands this season. Or two of them.

Watch the Indianapolis Colts take on the New England Patriots in Frankfurt, Germany live on Sky Sports NFL from 1.30pm Sunday, with kick-off at 2.30pm; the San Francisco 49ers then face the Jacksonville Jaguars from 6pm followed by the Detroit Lions at Los Angeles Chargers.

Trent McDuffie starred as the Kansas City Chiefs defense proved instrumental yet again to inspire Andy Reid’s defending Super Bowl champions to victory over the Miami Dolphins in Frankfurt; the Chiefs built a 21-0 half-time lead before denying the Dolphins overtime late in the game.

How fitting it would prove of a Steve Spagnuolo unit to play a defining role on his return to Frankfurt as the Kansas City Chiefs marched to victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. 

Spagnuolo, who coached for the Frankfurt Galaxy in 1998, watched on as a Trent McDuffie-inspired unit contained one of the league’s most potent attacks to underline the story of the season so far for the defending Super Bowl champions.

Tyreek Hill was limited to 62 yards while Tua Tagovailoa threw for a season-low 193 yards as Mike McDaniel’s side suffered their third loss to a team with a winning record this season.

“The fact that they’re so good at all three levels, they’re deep,” said Patrick Mahomes. “Guys rotate in. They can play. It’s hard to get everybody snaps, that’s how good they are. It’s got to be the top defense in the NFL.

“That’s a great offense. To hold them to 14 points where I fumbled in our own area for seven of those points, that’s a tremendous job. I think they’re going to continue to get better because they’re young and they love it.

McDuffie paved the way for the Chiefs to take a 21-0 lead into half-time when he dislodged the ball from Tyreek Hill to set up Bryan Cook’s 59-yard fumble recovery.

Leo Chenal meanwhile stood firm in the face of Miami’s wide zone running scheme, L’Jarius Sneed took ownership over the task of shadowing Hill, and 2020 undrafted free agent Tershawn Wharton was on hand to deliver a drive-derailing sack late in the fourth quarter.

“I knew they were going to be good. You look at the end of last year, they played great football and no one really noticed. I knew they were going to be good,” said Mahomes.

“They brought back so many people, so many young guys, they were going to develop. I mean, the fact they’re all developing this fast, I don’t know if anyone could have guessed it. I knew they were going to be great as their careers went on. Good to have a lot of young guys that can play like that.”

It marked the latest instalment of a standout year for McDuffie, who was notably acquired in the 2022 NFL Draft with one of the picks the Chiefs received during Hill’s trade to the Dolphins.

“I’m blessed, look at what football can do, take it all across the world and put it in front of a whole new crowd, I love it,” McDuffie told Sky Sports NFL. “They were whistling, yelling, clapping, I wanted to see what that soccer atmosphere look like and they brought it.

“Like I said you’ve got to get your hands on that man (Hill). He’s fast, he’s elusive, he can make a lot of plays, it’s about limiting the explosives.”

Miami threatened an unlikely comeback in the third quarter when Cedrick Wilson Jr and Raheem Mostert both found the end zone to cut the Chiefs’ lead to seven points, only for Spagnuolo’s defense to ice the game.

“We went in there (at half-time) and knew the game would come back to the defense, we had them at zero and the only way they could win was if we gave it up. Gotta love the tenacity we showed the whole game,” added McDuffie.

“This defense has been wanted to score and create turnovers, it shows how great this defense is becoming.”

Offensive fireworks have often been at the heart of Super Bowl charges for Andy Reid’s Chiefs in recent years. This year has a different feel. The frightening prospect being the might of the defending champions should Mahomes and co. begin to pile up the points.

“Defensively, what a first half,” said Reid. “What a second half. The fourth quarter was really something, which made a very exciting. The McDuffie strip of Tyreek, punching the ball out, Mike Edwards picking it up, Cook scoring. Doesn’t get any better than that. Sneed’s ability to match up most of the day on Tyreek was big, although Tyreek is a heck of a football player. He made a couple real nice plays in there, too.”

“Typically two good offenses, that being the No. 1 offense, the Dolphins, in the National Football League right now,” said Reid. “For the things that our defense did right there, that was a tremendous achievement. Obviously we got to keep it going. You’re just as good as the next game that you play in. That was a heck of an achievement. [Defensive coordinator] Steve [Spagnuolo] did a great job with scheming it. The players executed very well.

Week Nine concludes on Monday night when the Los Angeles Chargers visit the New York Jets, live on Sky Sports NFL from 1.15am in the early hours of Tuesday; Stream the NFL and more with NOW

In an exclusive interview with Sky Sports NFL, Commissioner Roger Goodell says the league is expecting to make a decision on a new host partner for 2024 in “30 to 45 days”; He added: “I think it may be the single most important growth moment in our history.”

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has confirmed to Sky Sports that the league will stage a regular season game in a new host country in 2024. 

The league’s international expansion is celebrating another milestone over the next fortnight as it prepares to play the first-ever regular season matchups in the city of Frankfurt when the Kansas City Chiefs meet the Miami Dolphins on Sunday before the New England Patriots take on the Indianapolis Colts the following weekend.

It comes a year after the league introduced Germany as a host partner alongside the UK and Mexico as Tom Brady led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Munich.

Spain and Brazil have recently emerged as possible candidates to enter the fold, with Commissioner Goodell telling Sky Sports NFL’s Neil Reynolds that a decision is close to being made.

“We’re looking and analysing where we go next year,” Goodell told Sky Sports in an exclusive interview. “We will certainly go to a new market next year for sure. We’re debating on that and I think we’ll have a decision in the next 30-45 days. So we’ll be ready to. I think that’ll be exciting for us.”

The Dolphins are currently affiliated with both Spain and Brazil as part of the NFL’s Global Marketing Program, while the Chicago Bears also own rights to market in Spain.

With the league’s growing presence overseas has come comparisons to Formula One’s global presence as it delivers its sport from city to city across the world. Goodell agreed with the likening and insists further progress is still to come.

London, Germany, Mexico. Spain? Brazil? The interested parties are forming a queue, Ireland notably among those eyeing a game of their own such is their relationship with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“I actually went to my first NFL event in Montreal back in June and just to see and experience what we could learn from it (was great),” Goodell continued. “When we expanded our regular season from 16 to 17 games we talked at one time about whether the 17th game would be all international games.

“We didn’t feel we were in that position, because we didn’t feel we had the markets developed enough for that. And so I think this is something that will get a lot more attention but I do expect to expand in regular game series quite dramatically.”

The Jacksonville Jaguars made history in October as they became the first team to play back-to-back games overseas by facing the Atlanta Falcons and Buffalo Bills on a two-week road trip in London, the reward being two victories amid what has since become a five-game winning streak.

Last year had seen the league achieve the clean sweep in the UK when the Green Bay Packers became the 32nd and final franchise to play across the pond, ultimately falling to the New York Giants at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

While travel requirements and changing time zones remain topics of conversation, the feedback over international games continues to be positive. Positive feedback serves as a springboard for further growth.

“I think they (team owners) completely understand the potential of it,” said Goodell. “Every one of our teams has played an International Series game, every one of them come back with the exact same reaction and there’s clearly something powerful here. And there’s an opportunity for us to become a global sport.

“I think the debate is, how fast and what we do to sort of accelerate that growth. But that’s healthy debate, that that’s what we expect to have. How we make decisions is making sure we hear all the different perspectives including the people on the ground.

“We have made it clear to our ownership that we think this is a unique time in our history and to advance our growth particularly. I think it may be the single most important growth moment in our history. Because we now get a chance to share our game.”

Chase Young made the most notable move of the NFL’s trade deadline day as he switched from the Washington Commanders to the San Francisco 49ers; listen to Neil Reynolds and Jeff Reinebold every week on Inside the Huddle as they break down the biggest stories around the league.

Chase Young will provide a much-needed boost to the San Francisco 49ers pass rush amid their pursuit of a Super Bowl, believes Jeff Reinebold.

The 49ers landed the biggest move of the day ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline as they reinforced their defensive front by adding Young via a trade with the Washington Commanders.

Young joins a San Francisco side that have posted a joint-second-fewest 18 sacks so far in 2023, despite having a third-most 86 pressures across a contrasting start to the year that has seen them follow up a commanding 5-0 run with a three-game losing streak.

The former No 2 overall pick teams up with one of his old college companions to form one of the league’s most impressive edge rush duos.

“I think it’s really going to be really interesting watching that because him and Nick Bosa were college teammates at Ohio State and they reunite,” said Reinebold. “When they were at Ohio State you talk about coming off both edges, they were a dynamic pass rush and that’s what the 49ers are lacking.

“In the last few games, they’ve struggled to get pressure on the passer to finish up the quarterback and Chase Young will certainly do that.

“This is an interesting one because there’s been some discontent with Chase young in Washington, which I couldn’t figure it out. I did a little digging, and what I heard was that sometimes he has a tendency to go off-script and try and make splash plays on his own. I think he’s kind of wore out his welcome a little bit that way with the defensive coaches and head coach.”

Young was not the only departure in Washington on Tuesday, with the Commanders also trading Montez Sweat to the Chicago Bears for a second-round draft pick. Sweat, a former first-round pick, has 35.5 sacks over four-and-a-half seasons in the NFL, including 6.5 this season as he joins a unit that has recorded a league-fewest 10 sacks and just 46 pressures in 2022.

“It’s it’s just perplexing to me,” added Reinebold. “When you look at the Commanders give up two pass rushers, and you think about it and say, ‘Okay, what’s the premium right now, in the NFL?’. If you can draft pass rushers, you’ve got to get pass rushers, they have pass rushers and they let them go.

“You’re in a division where you better be able to rush the passer because you have got great passers in your division. So it was really a surprising to see both of those guys leave the Commanders.”

Elsewhere in Minnesota, the Vikings acquired veteran quarterback Joshua Dobbs in a trade with the Arizona Cardinals following the news that Kirk Cousins will miss the remainder of the season with a torn Achilles.

Dobbs had been the starter across the first half of the season in Arizona as the team waited on the recovery of Kyler Murray, whose return from a torn ACL suffered last year is imminent. The Vikings are riding a three-game winning streak and sit 4-4 to stay alive despite losing Justin Jefferson to injury a couple of weeks ago.

“I think he gives them a guy who has started,” says Reinebold .”If you think Josh Dobbs is going to go over there and be Kirk Cousins and do Kirk Cousins type things, you better think again.

“I think Josh Dobbs is a serviceable quarterback, he’ll be a very good backup quarterback, a bridge guy for them. And they got him for a seventh round draft pick, you have got to say that’s a good trade, because you’re going to get an experienced starter.

“He’s not Cousins by any stretch of the imagination. He’s not an elite quarterback, but he is a guy who has started proving he can win games. He took a Cardinals team and helped them beat the Dallas Cowboys earlier in the year, we’ve seen him do enough to say that’s a good move by Minnesota.”

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins left his team’s 24-10 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday with what the team believe is an Achilles tendon injury which will rule him out for the rest of the campaign

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins is likely to miss the rest of the NFL season due to an Achilles injury picked up during his team’s 24-10 victory against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

Cousins walked gingerly to the sideline in the fourth quarter after getting sacked for a second consecutive play, a series that ended with Green Bay’s Karl Brooks blocking Greg Joseph’s 44-yard field-goal attempt.

The 35-year-old was getting treatment on the sideline during the Packers’ ensuing possession, which ended with them losing the ball on downs at the Minnesota 10-yard line.

Backup quarterback Jaren Hall – a rookie fifth-round pick from BYU – entered the game when the Vikings regained possession with 7:15 left in the game.

“We are fearing an Achilles injury,” an emotional head coach Kevin O’Connell said after the game. “The severity of that, I do not know at this point.”

O’Connell said further testing to confirm the initial diagnosis at Lambeau Field would be completed in the next 24 hours.

“We’re thinking about our leader… our guy right now and I’m just so proud of him and way he’s played all season,” O’Connell said, adding Cousins was given the game ball in the locker room after leading the Vikings to a 4-4 record following an 0-3 start.

Cousins completed 23 of 31 passes for 274 yards and two touchdowns before his injury.

The Vikings have no decision on whether Hall or Nick Mullens would start if Cousins is out for the season, but O’Connell said Mullens could be an option moving forward because his back injury has improved.

Stream all the latest NFL games and more with NOW

The New York Giants are still yet to score an offensive touchdown in the first half of a game in the 2023 NFL season; Cincinnati Bengals rookie Andrei Iosivas scores his first NFL touchdown on his birthday in the win over the Seattle Seahawks.

Sky Sports Cricket statistician – and big Buffalo Bills fan – Benedict Bermange dives into the 2023 NFL season to pick out the best stats from each week…

It was a ‘Kickathon’ in London as there were nine field goals in the Ravens’ 24-16 victory over the Tennessee Titans – only the 10th game in NFL history with that many field goals. There were 10 in the 2019 meeting between the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins.

Justin Tucker made six field goals in the game, and Nick Folk tied Tucker’s record with his 70th consecutive field goal under 40 yards.

The Atlanta Falcons’ loss to the Washington Commanders was Desmond Ridder’s first home defeat in either his College or NFL career. Prior to this weekend’s 24-16 defeat, he was 5-0 at home in the NFL having gone 26-0 at home over the course of his college career in Cincinnati from 2018 to 2021.

Andrei Iosivas of the Bengals scored his first career touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks. He became the first wide receiver to score his first NFL touchdown on his birthday since Chris Conley of the Kansas City Chiefs against the Pittsburgh Steelers on October 25, 2015.

It was another one-score game for the Minnesota Vikings as they defeated the Chicago Bears 19-13. They improved their record this season to 2-4 having been a perfect 11-0 in one-score games in last year’s regular season.

The Jacksonville Jaguars defeated the Colts 37-20 and in doing so raised their record to 4-2. This marks the first time for 82 games that they have been at least wo games above .500. The last time was when they were 3-1 after four games of the 2018 season. However, they then proceeded to lose 10 of their last 12 games to end 5-11.

Having scored two touchdowns against the Buffalo Bills in London last week, Travis Etienne scored two more against the Indianapolis Colts. He joined Frank Gore of the San Francisco 49ers as the only players to have scored at least two touchdowns in back-to-back games in different countries. Back in 2013 Gore achieved the feat in Week Seven against the Tennessee Titans and then in Week Eight against the Jaguars in London.

Etienne’s two touchdowns this week came in the space of 16 seconds. Only three players have scored two touchdowns in a shorter span in the same half:

The Cleveland Browns became the first team to defeat the 49ers in the regular season since the Chiefs in Week Seven of last year. The 49ers had won 15 straight regular-season games, tying the longest winning streak in franchise history.

Christian McCaffrey became the fourth player in NFL history to score a scrimmage touchdown in 15 straight games including the playoffs. He now trails only Lenny Moore for the most consecutive games with at least one touchdown scored of any kind. Moore scored in 17 consecutive games from 1963 to 1964.

The Houston Texans defeated the New Orleans Saints despite CJ Stroud throwing his first career interception. It came on his 192nd pass attempt, a new record for the most consecutive pass attempts without an interception to begin a career.

The New York Jets won their first-ever game against the Philadelphia Eagles after a run of 12 straight defeats which dated back to their first-ever meeting back in 1973. It was the Jets first win against an opponent that was undefeated in Week Six or later since they beat the Colts in Week 16 of the 2009 season.

The Giants have still not scored an offensive touchdown in the first half of a game this season. The only teams to have had worse starts to a season in that respect were the 1998 Chargers and Buccaneers, neither of whom scored an offensive touchdown in any of their first seven games of the season.

Week Six in the NFL begins when the Kansas City Chiefs host the Denver Broncos, live on Sky Sports NFL from 1.15am in the early hours of Friday morning. Stream the 2023 NFL season and more with NOW.

Around the NFL’s Gregg Rosenthal joins Hannah Wilkes and Phoebe Schecter on this week’s Her Huddle to look ahead to Sunday’s final NFL London game of the season; coverage of the Baltimore Ravens against the Tennessee Titans begins at 1pm ahead of kick-off at 2.30pm live on Sky this Sunday

On this week’s edition of the Her Huddle podcast, Hannah Wilkes and Phoebe Schecter were joined by Around the NFL podcast hero Gregg Rosenthal to preview Sunday’s NFL London match-up between the Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans.

It was an offseason of change in Baltimore as Todd Monken arrived from College Football national champions Georgia to lead a new era for the Ravens’ offense. In replacing Greg Roman he sought to install the most diverse offense yet, designed to preserve not only Lamar Jackson’s explosiveness but showcase his passing talents in a more expansive aerial attack.

“Lamar Jackson to me is different, I was curious as to how he was going to look in this offense,” said Rosenthal on Her Huddle. “I know they [the Ravens] are 3-2 and have blown two games they shouldn’t have, but as a Lamar Jackson fan this is what I’ve always wanted, which is a normal offense.

“That’s not just a unique and creative tough-to-stop running game, it’s like ‘ohh there’s open receivers down the field, I haven’t seen that in the past!’

“They still have a good running game because Todd Monken coaches that up, the offensive line is good and Lamar makes the running game better. But you see Odell Beckham open, Zay Flowers open, Mark Andrews open; I see Lamar more accurate and better from the pocket.

“I know people will say ‘Lamar has always been good from the pocket’, but guys do get better as they age, mentally he’s even better than he was four years ago and he’s really playing well.”

Derrick Henry remains the ever-familiar heartbreak of the Tennessee offense as he comes up against a Ravens defense that has ranked second against the run through five weeks this season.

“Henry is so hard if he can get to the second level, to take down,” added Rosenthal. “Roquan Smith on the Ravens’ defense has been one of the very best defensive players in the league, he is key to it.

“They lose a lot of players but they are so well-coached it’s hard to run against them.

“If he can get to the second level he can make big plays. I’d love to see him with a big long run. It’s not just him, though. They have a rookie Tyjae Spears who went to my alma mater Tulane, he is making a really nice impact as a second running back.”

Which Titans team will turn up?

Fellow Around the NFL podcast hero Dan Hanzus has questioned which Mike Vrabel-led Titans team will show in London this weekend amid their to and fro form that has seen them cruise beyond the Cincinnati Bengals and lose to the Indianapolis Colts in recent weeks.

“The Titans are a team that is hard to figure out week to week, but they have playoff potential,” Hanzus told Sky Sports this week.

“Their offense is ranking near the bottom of the league in a lot of categories but there are pieces there. They added a veteran receiver in DeAndre Hopkins who has really played well for them, Ryan Tannehill is a veteran quarterback who has proven before he can lead a team to a deep playoff run.

“King Henry (Derrick Henry) is one of the great running backs of his era, it will be tough against the Ravens defense but he has the ability to go for 150 yards.”

Marc Sessler is, meanwhile, braced for the most dynamic and dangerous MVP-winning Jackson yet as the Ravens seek to bypass the Titans’ stern ground blockade.

“They’ve been real up and down the Titans, and it starts with their quarterback play,” said Sessler. “I really think Tennessee’s strength in most games has been their run defense, and Baltimore wants to attack you with the run but they are much more competent through the air right now.

“This is a much more different Ravens offense through the air than we’ve seen in the past. We’re getting the best version of Lamar Jackson that we’ve gotten in a while.”

Watch the Baltimore Ravens against the Tennessee Titans in the final NFL London game of the season live on Sky Sports this Sunday, with coverage beginning at 1pm ahead of kick-off at 2.30pm at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Elsewhere Buffalo Bills linebacker Matt Milano looks set to miss the rest of the 2023 season after suffering a leg and knee injury during his team’s defeat to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London; New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones also suffers an injury

The Indianapolis Colts were dealt a scare on Sunday as quarterback Anthony Richardson exited with a right shoulder injury in his side’s 23-16 win over the Tennessee Titans. 

Richardson was officially ruled out early in the third quarter and replaced by Gardner Minshew after going down hurt at the end of a four-yard run.

NFL Network reported after the game that X-rays on Richardson’s shoulder came back as negative.

Richardson stayed down for several minutes before walking slowly to the injury tent, with his shoulder noticeably drooping on the right side. After spending several more minutes in the injury tent, he headed to the locker room with team medical personnel.

The fourth overall pick at this year’s Draft has been banged up on multiple occasions in his rookie year, missing the final minute of Indy’s season-opening loss to Jacksonville with minor knee and ankle injuries before going into the concussion protocol after scoring two touchdowns the following week at Houston and sitting out Week Three having not cleared the protocol.

Richardson was nine of 12 with 98 yards. He also ran twice for five yards and took a sack on a backward pass. He is 20 yards rushing away from passing Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas (155 in 1956) for the franchise’s third-highest single-season rushing total by a Colts rookie quarterback.

Milano likely out for season

The Buffalo Bills suffered another huge blow to their season as star linebacker Matt Milano was carted off with a leg injury during Sunday’s defeat to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.

Milano went down after 11 snaps in the first quarter at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after seemingly getting his leg caught in a pile of players.

NFL Network reported that Milano sustained a fractured leg while there are also fears he picked up a season-ending knee injury.

“It’s a knee and lower leg injury,” said Bills head coach Sean McDermott. “I know it’s not looking good right now, but I don’t know any details beyond that at this point.”

Jones goes down for Giants

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones meanwhile exited Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins early in the fourth quarter due to a neck injury.

Jones was sacked by Miami linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel with 12:11 remaining in the game. The hit took Jones by surprise, as it came from his blind side, with his neck cocked back before he was driven to the turf.

Tyrod Taylor took over under center for the Giants, who were trailing 31-13 at the time of Jones’ departure.

Prior to exiting, Jones completed 14 of 20 passes for 119 yards while being sacked six times.

Tua Tagovailoa throws for 309 yards and four touchdowns while Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane combine for 285 rushing yards and five touchdowns to steer the Miami Dolphins to a team-record 70-20 victory over the Denver Broncos

The Miami Dolphins posted over 700 yards of offense on their way to a franchise-record 70-20 victory over the Denver Broncos on Sunday. 

Mike McDaniel’s side logged the most points in a game by an NFL team since 1966 and the fourth 70-point game in history, falling short of the regular-season record of 72 points set by Washington.

Tua Tagovailoa, who was 16 of 16 in the first half, completed 23 of 26 passes for 309 yards and four touchdowns, before backup Mike White threw for 67 yards and a score upon entering the game late. Rookie running back De’Von Achane meanwhile rushed for 203 yards and two scores in the company of Raheem Mostert’s 82 yards for three touchdowns and Chris Brooks’ 63 yards on the ground.

“Shame on us if you put a ceiling on what you’re capable of,” McDaniel told reporters. “If you just worry about the right things, you don’t worry about anything but your technique and fundamentals and assignment within the team, don’t worry about stats or credit, it’s amazing what a group of people can do going in one direction.

“The points don’t carry over but I do think this is a meaningful game for a lot of guys to understand to not let an opportunity on the field together slip through your fingers in any way, shape or form, because collectively we have all the right people to do some pretty cool stuff on the field.

“It’s just incredible, it goes through my mind all the intentional work that goes into it.

“I was most proud of the unrelenting nature we had. I think it was the first outside of the Houston game last year where we had a lead of maybe three touchdowns or more going into the half and it ended up being pretty close at the end. So we want guys to learn from stuff. It’s so key you don’t let the ebbs and flows of the game interject with how you play football, that’s the biggest thing the guys can learn from this game.”

Miami had the chance to top Washington’s all-time record when they moved into field goal range, but instead elected to take a knee to ice the win.

“It felt like chasing points, chasing a record is not what we came here to do,” said McDaniel. “Ten times out of 10 you concede and kneel down. The message it would send wasn’t really in line with how I view things.”

Victory moved the Dolphins to 3-0 on the year and, for all of Denver’s struggles, reinforced their Super Bowl credentials behind a red-hot Tagovailoa.

Miami’s previous record had been 55 points set against St Louis on November 24, 1977, the Dolphins surpassing that mark on Achane’s 10-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter and Jason Sanders’ subsequent extra point.

The Dolphins are the first team to score five rushing touchdowns and five receiving touchdowns in the Super Bowl era, per ESPN stats. Their 726 total yards are meanwhile second only to the 1951 Rams’ 735 against the Yanks.

Joe Burrow “tweaked” his calf injury during the Cincinnati Bengals’ 27-24 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday; the Bengals have started 0-2 for a second successive NFL campaign; Burrow also vows to get wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase more involved with offense

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has admitted his calf injury could continue to be a problem throughout the NFL season, after aggravating the issue during Sunday’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Burrow limped off the field late in the 27-24 loss that dropped the Bengals to 0-2 for the season, and afterwards confirmed that he had “just tweaked it a little bit again.”

Having missed most of the pre-season with the issue, Burrow finished 27-41 for 222 yards and two touchdowns, after passing for just 82 in last weekend’s season-opening loss to Cleveland.

“We’re going to have to wait and see,” Burrow said after the game.

“I’m not sure how it’s going to feel the next couple of days. It’s pretty sore right now, but no telling how it’s going to fell, so I think we’re going to take it day by day.

“We’ll give it a couple of nights, a couple of sleeps, and we’ll see, we’ll go from there.

“Whenever you have these kind of things, it’s always ongoing, it’s always something that you’re managing. I don’t know how I’m going to feel the next couple of days, we’ll have to wait and see.”

Asked whether he expects the injury to be something he needs to continue to manage throughout the campaign, Burrow added: “I don’t know. It’s tough to tell, tough to look into the future and see that.

“I’m doing everything I can to get healthy and get that thing the way I need it to so I can go out and perform the way I need to, to win, we’ll see.”

Burrow ‘still confident’ | ‘We need to get Chase involved’

The Bengals recovered from an 0-2 start last season to finish AFC North champions with a 12-4 record, and Burrow insists the team are capable of producing a similar turnaround.

The 26-year-old old has pinpointed getting off to quicker starts as a key factor in enabling the team’s offense to flourish.

“When your quarterback misses camp, it’s tough to start fast. It’s not an ideal situation,” Burrow said.

“I’m still confident. I feel really confident in all the guys we have that in that room.

“We always want to start fast. Teams play us soft, keep everything in front.

“I think we did a good job of taking what they gave us today, but if you start fast, teams think twice about playing that way, so we’ve got to start fast.”

Along with Burrow, Bengals’ star receiver Ja’Marr Chase has made an underwhelming start to the season, hauling in just five receptions in each game, without scoring a touchdown.

Both of Burrow’s touchdown throws on Sunday went to his usual secondary option Tee Higgins, and the quarterback has admitted he needs to do more increase Chase’s output.

“I think we threw him (Chase) a couple today, we’ll go watch the film and check it out,” Burrow said. “It’s tough to tell from just sitting here and not having watched the tape. We’ll go back and re-evaluate that.

“We need to get him involved, he’s our best player on offense, so we need to find a way to get him off.”

Burrow will have extra time to recover for the Bengals Week Three fixture, which is a Monday Night Football clash with the Los Angeles, live on Sky Sports at 1:15am in the early hours of Tuesday, September 26.

Travis Kelce missed Kansas City Chiefs’ defeat to Detroit Lions in NFL season opener but is making progress ahead of Sunday’s clash with Jacksonville Jaguars, live on Sky Sports; Chiefs head coach Andy Reid says team “will work things out” after loss in Week One

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce could return for his team’s game against Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

Kelce hyperextended his knee in training last week and missed the reigning Super Bowl champions’ 21-20 defeat to Detroit Lions but head coach Andy Reid says the 33-year-old’s fitness is improving.

Reid said: “Travis is getting better. We’ll see how he does the rest of today or tomorrow and we’ll go from there.”

In Kelce’s absence against Lions, backup tight ends Noah Gray and Blake Bell combined to catch five passes for 43 yards.

Kadarius Toney, meanwhile, had several of the eight drops by Kansas receivers.

Reid added: “We’ll get the receiving things taken care of. I feel good about the receivers we have.

“We are not normally guys that drop the ball but we did and we have to fix it. I think there is talent that will just keep improving as they continue to play. I have seen them do it before. I think we’ll get that worked out.

“We’ve all got to do better. That’s the thing I took out of this. Whether it’s coaching, it’s playing, the O-line, the D-line – we can all take something out of this game and get better at it.

“There were spurts of good and there were spurts of not-so good, and we were in position to win the game. Normally we do that and we did not.”

Chiefs’ game with Jaguars is live on Sky Sports Action from 5pm on Sunday, with coverage also on Sky Sports Main Event from 7pm

Cooper Kupp injured his hamstring at the beginning of August in training camp and has since aggravated it; despite seeing a specialist for treatment he was unable to recuperate sufficiently and will not play for at least another month

The Los Angeles Rams’ star receiver Cooper Kupp will miss the team’s first four games of the new NFL season after being placed on the injured reserve list.

Kupp will now be sidelined until at least Week Five, when the Rams host Philadelphia on October 8.

The Rams also put new tight end Hunter Long on injured reserve on Saturday, just one day before their season opener in Seattle against the Seahawks.

Kupp injured his hamstring August 1 in training camp, and he aggravated the injury late last month. The Super Bowl 56 MVP got treatment and saw a specialist in Minnesota in recent days but didn’t improve enough to play.

Kupp also missed the final eight games of last season with an ankle injury. He won the triple crown of receiving in 2021 and was named the AP’s NFL Offensive Player of the Year before leading the Rams to their Super Bowl victory over Cincinnati.

The Rams also signed kicker Brett Maher and quarterback Brett Rypien from their practice squad ahead of their trip to Seattle to face the Seahawks. Rypien will be the backup to Matthew Stafford in the absence of Stetson Bennett, who wasn’t put on injured reserve despite a shoulder problem which is likely to prevent him from suiting up in Seattle.

Los Angeles also signed linebacker Troy Reeder from its practice squad, ahead of the trip to Lumen Field.

Week One of the 2023 NFL season continues Sunday as the San Francisco 49ers visit the Steelers, with coverage from 4.30pm ahead of kickoff at 6pm, followed by the Dolphins at Chargers at 9.25pm. Stream with NOW.

Super Bowl-winning defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh will join the Sky Sports NFL coverage for four weeks during the 2023 season.

The five-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro brings with him 13 seasons worth of expert knowledge, during which he has recorded 600 tackles and 71.5 sacks while winning one Championship ring across spells with five teams since being drafted by the Detroit Lions as the No 2 overall pick in 2010.

Suh arrives on the back of featuring in the Philadelphia Eagles team that reached Super Bowl LVII, where Nick Sirianni’s side were beaten by the Kansas City Chiefs.

He previously starred in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers team, led by Tom Brady, that toppled Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs to win Super Bowl LV at the end of the 2020 season, having made the first of his three Super Bowl appearances with the Los Angeles Rams team that came up short against the New England Patriots in 2018/19.

The former Defensive Rookie of the Year is now set to bring his insight to your screens as part of Sky Sports NFL’s Sunday coverage in a four-week stint starting from October 1.

“You can expect a lot of excitement, great insights on football, especially from somebody who’s been doing it for 13 years plus and potentially 14 years,” Suh told Sky Sports.

“We’ll see how things pan out after my amazing time over in the UK with you guys so just looking to have a lot of fun and give great insights.

“I’ve explored the UK a lot. I think this will be probably my seventh or eighth time over. I’m looking forward to getting to my favourite restaurant in London, and then obviously to go check out some great football as you guys call it over there. I grew up playing since I was three and love watching the Premier League.

“UK fans, I’m excited to spend time with you guys. We’re gonna have lots of fun, lots of exclusive insights, and look to share many of those with you, not only in the studio, but also in person and around the game. So tune in and then let’s enjoy!”

The key to winning a Super Bowl…

The race to Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas is on, with Suh able to vouch for the prime ingredients to any Championship contender.

“Outside of the little bit of luck, a lot of hard work,” he says. “Along with consistency and a team coming together, you’ve been able to see teams, dynasties that have core members for long periods of time, but then you’ve been on the flipside to see a team just put it together at the right time, which I think when you look at my run with Tampa Bay and winning a Super Bowl.

“We had an amazing group of guys on defense, amazing group of guys on offense and we all put it together collectively as a team at the right time. Because we went through plenty of struggles throughout that season and it was not smooth sailing like it was when I was in Los Angeles.

“My first Super Bowl, when I went to it was smooth sailing outside of one blemish during the regular season against the Saints and then maybe a couple towards the end of the year. But overall it’s like we’re just running over most of the NFC, even the league when we got into the playoffs, and then just at the very end, we couldn’t put it together to cement the deal. But I think there’s a combination of ways you get to this to the Super Bowl but it always comes down to hard work.”

The winning feeling

Suh finally captured his first Super Bowl ring a decade after entering the league, the wait only making the feeling of eventual victory even sweeter.

“That emotion was pure joy and excitement,” he recalls. “It was probably one of the best years of my life, if not the best year of my life. One not only winning a Super Bowl but bringing my kids in, my twin boys into the world as champions.

“And I’ve always said this, my wife is been a huge part of my success. She first moved in when I was living in Los Angeles, and that was my first year to get to a Super Bowl. Unfortunately, we couldn’t win it, but I was in the NFC Championship Game and then ever since then have been vying for one and been in three of the last six Super Bowls.

“She’s a big part of my corner, so you’ve got to have a strong woman behind every great man.”

Can Suh’s Lions surprise the NFL?

Suh’s introduction coincides with a season in which his former team Detroit have been touted as one of the league’s potential surprise packages after a sparkling end to the 2022 campaign.

“I think the biggest story I’m excited to watch and see is the city of Detroit and the Lions,” said Suh. “I’m excited to see them hopefully get back to an elite level like we were when I was playing there. We had some great seasons but 2014 especially.

“Aidan Hutchinson. Jared Goff, who I played with, and then obviously I wish the best for Dan Campbell, who was my interim head coach in Miami and spent some good time with him. Always respected him and and loved playing for him and then also against him when he was at the Saints.

“He (Campbell) is a ball of energy, just full non-stop bouncing off the walls. Great energy guy. There’s no quiet time around him from recollection. But a coach that you love to play for. Always brings excitement to the game, even through tough times. He finds a way to be very positive and push people, which I’ve always appreciated about him.”

Having spent five seasons with Detroit from 2010-2014, the former Nebraska Cornhusker is eager to see Lions fans treated to another Super Bowl run.

“There’s no question you wanna see about some loyal fans,” he added.

“Detroit has some of the most loyal fans and normally the only fans that I would pick over them as loyal fans would be the University of Nebraska, which are obviously the best fans in college football!

“I definitely believe that city is deserving of a Super Bowl, and I wish I could be there. Part of something of that nature because I know it would be amazing. I got so much joy and support from them and I love that city deeply.”

Watch the 49ers at Steelers live on Sky Sports NFL on Sunday, with coverage beginning from 4.30pm ahead of kickoff at 6pm, followed by the Dolphins at Chargers at 9.25pm. Stream with NOW.