Lamar Jackson's sensational start to the 2022 season is "a natural next step", according to Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh, who always believed the quarterback could be "everything he is".

The Ravens improved to 2-1 with a 37-26 win over the New England Patriots on Sunday, in which Jackson threw four touchdown passes and rushed for 107 yards and a further score.

The fifth-year QB became only the second player in NFL history with at least four TD passes, 100 rushing yards and a rushing TD in a game after the Philadelphia Eagles' Randall Cunningham – also against the Patriots – in Week 9 of the 1990 season.

But Jackson also had three TD passes and 100 rushing yards in Week 2 against the Miami Dolphins.

Only seven other QBs (including Cunningham) have previously enjoyed such a performance, and none of them have done so more than once. Jackson has achieved that feat in consecutive games and four times across his career.

Surely a contender again this year, Jackson was the MVP in 2019 when he led the league in passing TDs (36), as he does now (10).

The failure to agree a new Ravens contract in the offseason would likely have made Jackson more determined to bounce back from an injury-hit 2021, but Harbaugh has never doubted his star man.

"No one has to tell me about Lamar Jackson," the Baltimore coach said.

"I believe in him. I love him. I just believed him the first day we drafted him, the first day we talked about drafting him. I felt like he could be everything he is.

"I just think it's a natural next step in terms of like finding his rhythm during the week, what he's looking at, how he studies defenses, how he breaks defenses down.

"It's not a lightbulb thing; it's an evolution of studying the game that you see quarterbacks go through."

Jackson offered his own take on his development, adding: "I'd just say [it is down to] maturity, just because of my age, just knowing the game of football just basically inside out.

"You've just got to stay locked in. That's probably the thing, just being locked in no matter what's going on during the game."

Aleksandar Kovacevic marked his ATP Tour main-draw debut by knocking seventh seed Miomir Kecmanovic out of the Korea Open on Monday.

American Kovacevic was only playing in the first round as a lucky loser in Seoul after he was beaten in the final round of qualifying, but he grasped his chance by winning 6-4 6-4.

The 24-year-old served 14 aces and broke the world number 32 three times to set up a second-round meeting with Christopher O'Connell or Tseng Chun-hsin.

Radu Albot got the better of Hiroki Moriya in his first appearance in Seoul, while Jaume Munar progressed when Yosuke Watanuki retired early in their match due to an ankle injury.

Kaichi Uchida came out on top in the final match of the day, consigning Hong Seong-chan to a 6-4 6-2 defeat.

Milan technical director Paolo Maldini is confident Rafael Leao wants to sign a new contract with the Serie A champions.

Leao joined Milan three years ago in a €35million deal that reportedly also includes a 20 per cent sell-on clause.

He made only 12 Serie A starts in his first season, but that increased to 22 the following campaign and then reached 31 last term as Milan won the title.

Leao played a crucial role in Milan winning a first Scudetto since 2011, scoring 11 goals and setting up another eight – his 19 goal involvements was five more than anyone else for the Rossoneri, while only Theo Hernandez (51) laid on more chances than the Portugal international (45).

The forward's improved productivity has unsurprisingly seen links to other clubs emerge, with Chelsea reportedly keen on him.

But Maldini is optimistic about extending Leao's contract beyond its current expiry in 2024, despite a dispute with former club Sporting CP – whom the player reportedly owes €16.5m after unilaterally terminating his contract in 2018 – threatening to cause a distraction.

"Leao has a difficult situation deriving from the move to Lille, this is affecting him a lot and has meant that our dialogues have often changed," Maldini told Gazzetta dello Sport.

"But Rafa is grateful to us, and I'm interested in what he tells us. He understands that the path in the coming years must be at Milan, he understands it and tells us [this].

"Then there will be a negotiation, but we know that strong players must be paid their worth. If the team continues to grow, Leao will have everything to compete to the fullest.

"But of course, there is no non-transferable [player] for all the teams in the world."

Maldini was then asked if he was confident some form of arrangement could be found with Leao and Sporting, as the player reportedly wants Milan to help fund any future payments to the Primeira Liga side.

"Yes, with [Leao's contract], yes [but] we have nothing to do with Sporting."

Leao has already scored three times in six Serie A appearances this season, with Milan sitting fifth and three points off the summit after seven matches.

Danny Care has been left out of England's training squad ahead of the Autumn Nations Series but Manu Tuilagi and Sam Simmonds return.

Scrum-half Care featured in the Red Rose's series victory over Australia in July, but is not among the 36 players who will report for a three-day camp this weekend.

Centre Tuilagi and number eight Simmonds are back in the fold after recovering from injuries, while pivot Ben Youngs has been selected ahead of the November encounters with Argentina, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa.

Simmonds gets the nod amid reports that he could leave Exeter Chiefs to join Montpellier, a move that would make him ineligible to play for his country.

Locks Alex Coles and Hugh Tizard have been called up for the first time, while Alex Mitchell, Tom Pearson and David Ribbans are also included.

Courtney Lawes and Maro Itoje are among the absentees due to injury.

England head coach Eddie Jones said: "With a year to go to the Rugby World Cup, this is a big opportunity for players to come in and impress. We want them to show real energy and enthusiasm and that they want to be a part of this massive year.

"It doesn't mean that those who have been left out won't be considered for the Autumn Nations Series matches. We'll be looking at club games, form and fitness and the door is left open for those players.

"We finished the Australia tour well. It was a fantastic experience, particularly for the younger players. We now have to start again, but we'll build on what we've done there and continue that momentum."

England training squad:

Forwards: Ollie Chessum, Alex Coles, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Tom Curry, Ellis Genge, Jamie George, Joe Heyes, Jonny Hill, Lewis Ludlam, Tom Pearson, David Ribbans, Bevan Rodd, Patrick Schickerling, Sam Simmonds, Will Stuart, Hugh Tizard, Billy Vunipola, Mako Vunipola, Jack Walker, Jack Willis.

Backs: Henry Arundell, Joe Cokanasiga, Fraser Dingwall, Owen Farrell, Tommy Freeman, George Furbank, Will Joseph, Jonny May, Alex Mitchell, Jack Nowelll, Guy Porter, Marcus Smith, Freddie Steward, Manu Tuilagi, Jack van Poortvliet, Ben Youngs.

Tom Brady acknowledges there have been problems with "execution" right throughout the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offense this season.

The Bucs ranked second in both total touchdowns (63), yards (6,901) and points (511) in 2021, trailing only the Dallas Cowboys in each category.

But after losing 14-12 to the Green Bay Packers in Week 3 this year, Tampa Bay rank joint-27th in total TDs (four), 25th in yards (892) and joint-21st in points (51).

Never has Brady thrown fewer TD passes through his first three starts of a season (three), while only in four seasons has he had fewer passing yards at this stage (673).

"We've just got to do a better job," said Brady, who insisted a finger injury had "zero" impact on the Packers result.

"I wish it was one thing; we're not running as good as we're capable, the passing game hasn't been very good, our screen game. There are a lot of things."

He added: "Our job is to go out there and score points, so we're just not doing it. We're not going to score points if we don't execute well.

"They [the Packers] did a better job than us – good defense, good, physical defense, I give them a lot of credit.

"They forced us to make a lot of good plays, and we just didn't do a great job in execution."

Still, Brady is not panicking, saying: "We're 2-1. There's a lot of football left. We'll keep working at it.

"It doesn't get any easier next week, going up against the Chiefs, but no one feels sorry for us, nor should we. We've just got to go back to work."

Giannis Antetokounmpo believes Stephen Curry is the best player in the world after inspiring the Golden State Warriors' NBA title triumph last season.

Curry won his fourth NBA title in June at the expense of the Boston Celtics, taking the series 4-2.

Superstar guard Curry won the NBA Finals MVP after averaging 31.2 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals in the six games.

The 34-year-old became only the seventh player to win at least four NBA titles and win two MVP awards, a feat Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, LeBron James, Magic Johnson and Tim Duncan have also achieved.

Antetokounmpo claimed the title and was Finals MVP for the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021, but says Curry is now the best on the planet despite Nikola Jokic winning the 2021 and 2022 NBA MVP awards.

He said during a Bucks media day: "I think the best player in the world is the person that is the last man standing.

"It's the person that takes his team to the Finals, the finish line and helps them win the game. - that's how I view it. I believe the best player in the world is Steph Curry."

Antetokounmpo says no individual awards can match the feeling of winning the NBA title.

"The feeling I felt, it was a nice feeling," he said. "I got jealous of Golden State, seeing them in the parade and the ESPYs. You know that feeling now. You know what is getting stripped away from you."

Gareth Southgate has left Trent Alexander-Arnold out of his England squad for Monday's Nations League dead rubber against Germany, citing a need to pick players he believes in.

England have already been relegated from League A after failing to win any of their five matches, which have also only yielded a single goal.

The Three Lions' form has been especially alarming given the World Cup starts in less than two months, with the Germany game essentially their final warm-up match.

With very little riding on the match at Wembley, it was assumed Southgate might take the chance to give opportunities to those who have been used sparingly.

But Southgate has instead given an indication as to who he does not appear to have complete faith in, with Alexander-Arnold – an unused substitute during Friday's defeat to Italy – among those left out.

Fikayo Tomori, James Ward-Prowse and Jarrod Bowen are reportedly the others set to miss out, while Jack Grealish is suspended.

This exclusion is just the latest blow for Alexander-Arnold at international level, with the right-back seemingly underused considering his importance for Liverpool.

"Of course, he does have a fantastic range of passing, we're blessed with different profiles of player in that position," Southgate told reporters when discussing Alexander-Arnold's irregularity for England.

"If we play with wing-backs, [Kieran] Trippier and Reece James are also exceptional with the ball, in different ways, and we're always having to look at the full package with everything and assess the players on all of their attributes.

"They've all been to Champions League finals, some of them have been to latter stages of major tournaments with us, Trent's won the league, Trippier's won the Spanish league, [Kyle] Walker's won the English league; there are so many good attributes about them.

"It's a really difficult position to make decisions on, but we have to go with the ones we believe [in], and ultimately I'll be judged on the outcome, as we know."

For Southgate, it is not simply a matter of putting Alexander-Arnold in the team and telling him to play his natural game; he operates in a certain way for Liverpool because Jurgen Klopp's system allows him to thrive, and England have not yet managed to find such a solution.

"You can have a style of play and a way of playing, and a balance to the team, that... at Liverpool they find a way of playing that brings the best out of his attributes," said Southgate.

"And that’s what we're all trying to do with every team, you're trying to build a team that accentuates the positives, and within the group protects yourselves against how the opponents might come from you."

The Jacksonville Jaguars believe they can be "something special" after Trevor Lawrence ended his wait for a first NFL road win in impressive fashion against the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Chargers are among the favourites in the AFC this season but were beaten 38-10 with Justin Herbert playing through injury at SoFi Stadium.

Lawrence outshone Herbert, throwing for 262 yards and three touchdowns on 28-of-39 passing.

After nine straight defeats on the road to start his career, Lawrence finally guided the Jaguars to victory; the last NFL quarterback to start his career with nine away road losses and then a win was Peyton Manning.

And this was a commanding win, too – the Jaguars' biggest on the road since the 2001 season (33-3 at the Minnesota Vikings in Week 15).

Jacksonville have not enjoyed a winning season since 2017 and had only four victories over the previous two campaigns combined.

But they are halfway to that number already in 2022 at 2-1, boosted by the ability to select consecutive first overall draft picks in Lawrence and Travon Walker.

Team-mate Dawuane Smoot said after the win: "It's been all worth it, going through a rebuild each year. Now, I feel like we're finally starting to get it.

"We just started. It's only three [games]. We still have a long season to go. But I feel like we're turning the corner to being something special."

Having crushed the Indianapolis Colts 24-0 at home in Week 2, Lawrence added: "It's awesome, two weeks in a row.

"I think the coolest thing is [after] a big win last week to see that same focus and intensity and preparation this week. That's a sign we're heading in the right direction. We've got to keep doing that week in, week out.

"Obviously, every week is going to present new challenges; you've just got to come ready to play. We did that, and it was awesome."

Stephen Curry says he spoke to Adam Silver about Robert Sarver's punishment and is pleased with the sanctions imposed on the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury owner.

The NBA suspended Sarver for one year and fined him $10million after an investigation questioned 320 people over allegations about his behaviour during his 18 years with the Suns.

Sarver last week announced that he intends to sell up after he was found him to have engaged in racist and sexist conduct.

Golden State Warriors superstar Curry revealed he contacted NBA commissioner Silver about the issue and has given his backing to the outcome.

He said during a Warriors media day: "[I] got [Silver's] point of view of what decisions and, I guess, mechanisms he had to intervene and bring down a punishment that was worthy of the actions that we were all responding to and representing the league as a whole and protecting the integrity of the league and the standard that we set terms of from execs, ownership, all the way down to players.

"There should be a standard around what's tolerable and what's not."

Curry added: "I think the outcome was exactly what should have happened.

"Honestly, I thought with the punishment that was handed down, it would have dragged out a little longer, but I'm glad we got to a point where hopefully the team is up for sale sooner than later and can kind of move on knowing that's where it should be."

Patrick Mahomes has taken responsibility for the Kansas City Chiefs' inconsistent start to the season on offense despite a largely new cast of receivers.

The Chiefs fell to 2-1 with Sunday's 20-17 defeat to the previously winless Indianapolis Colts.

After dominating the Arizona Cardinals in a 44-21 Week 1 victory, Kansas City had just 20 points on offense in their 27-24 win over the Los Angeles Chargers and came up short against the Colts.

Only three times in Mahomes' career have the Chiefs scored fewer than 17 points in a regular season game.

The superstar quarterback completed only 20 of his 35 pass attempts for 262 yards and a single touchdown, also throwing an interception on the team's final drive as they sought to force overtime.

After scoring TDs on their first two visits to the red zone, the Chiefs returned only three points from their final two, with Matt Ammendola's fourth-quarter field-goal miss proving costly.

This inefficiency might be explained by the absence of Tyreek Hill – traded to the 3-0 Miami Dolphins – but Mahomes is not looking for excuses.

"I don't expect any growing pains," he said. "Obviously we have new players and you don't know everybody's going to respond to tough situations.

"We've got to gel all together. It starts with me. There were certain throws I was putting on guys' back hips instead of in front of him. There were certain situations where we were just barely off of it.

"Whenever you're playing a tough game like that, you have to execute at a higher level and we have to learn from it.

"Our schedule gets no easier. We have a hard game Sunday [against] Tampa next week with a great defense, so we have to get better quickly.

"And if we don't, we don't want these [losses] to start piling up. We want to make sure we get back on that winning train."

For the season, only the Detroit Lions (11) have scored more red zone TDs than the Chiefs (nine from 13 RZ drives), who rank eighth in red zone TD efficiency.

Last year, the Chiefs were 14th in efficiency, scoring 41 touchdowns from 68 red zone drives.

Tua Tagovailoa suggested a back injury was the reason for his stumble in the Miami Dolphins' win over the Buffalo Bills, as he cleared concussion protocol to return to the game.

Coming off a career game against the Baltimore Ravens, Tagovailoa's involvement in Sunday's big AFC East match-up looked set to end early.

The Dolphins quarterback took a hit late in the first half from Bills linebacker Matt Milano, who was flagged for roughing the passer.

Tagovailoa quickly got to his feet but then stumbled back to the ground.

He left the game to be assessed by medical staff, with the team announcing a head injury that made him questionable to return.

Yet Tagovailoa did return – a decision that has reportedly prompted an investigation from the NFL Players Association.

According to the player himself, though, it was a back problem that led to his worrying wobble, explaining why he was able to play again despite appearing to hit his head against the ground.

"I got my legs caught under someone – they were trying to push back and it felt like I hyper-extended my back or something," Tagovailoa said. "It kind of hurt.

"I got up, and that's why I stumbled. My back locked up on me. But for the most part, I'm good. I passed whatever concussion protocol they had."

Indeed, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa was already ailing from an earlier incident.

"He got bent back pretty severe on a quarterback sneak earlier," the coach said.

"When he hit his head on the ground, I assumed it was a head injury, but his legs got wobbly because his lower back was completely loose, as he described it."

Josh Allen believed the Buffalo Bills "really beat ourselves" in a defeat to the Miami Dolphins that prompted members of the team to explain a dramatic final play.

The Bills lost 21-19 in Miami on Sunday but had the opportunity to preserve their winning start on the final drive.

Quarterback Allen's pass to Isaiah McKenzie allowed him to reach the Dolphins' 41, within field-goal range with nine seconds left.

However, McKenzie went down before he could get out of bounds and failed to return the ball to the hash before time expired.

It was the last of a number of frustrating plays for the Bills, who fell to 2-1 despite having possession for 40 minutes and 40 seconds.

After Buffalo had scored a touchdown on their opening drive for an eighth straight game, the Dolphins levelled the scores following an Allen fumble.

The Bills later punted in the first half of a game for the first time this season, and their only second-half points came from a Tyler Bass field goal and a bizarre Miami punt that went out the back of the Dolphins' end zone for a safety.

Allen, whose third 400-yard NFL passing game saw him finish with career highs in attempts (63) and completions (42), said: "We've got to finish drives.

"I think third down we were all right. Red zone we weren't very good. We've got to find a way to get it in the end zone there.

"We really beat ourselves. Credit to them; they had a really good game plan. They came out and did what they had to do.

"There's obviously plays we want back, and that's going to happen over the course of every single game – this one, especially."

McKenzie finished with 76 receiving yards and a TD – one of two thrown by Allen – but crucially came up short when it mattered most.

"I was trying to get out of bounds. I was also trying to get yards," McKenzie explained of the final play.

"I knew [Bass'] range, so I was trying to get out of bounds but also get up the field. I tried to get out of bounds.

"There was nine seconds left, and I was trying to get to the hash. I kind of got bumped by going to the ref, and it just went down from there.

"If I could take it back, I would probably just go up field, get down, put it on the hash myself and live to fight another down."

The Bills' failure to extend the game by another play led offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey to slam his headset, hat and tablet down in frustration in a clip that quickly went viral.

"[Dorsey] is such a competitive guy," said defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier. "He wants to win every situation.

"I think our players seem like they feed off of it. I know we were in training camp, and even when we were competing against each other in OTAs, I could sense the offense really having that same type of intensity that Kenny coaches with.

"But yet, he is a guy who's able to rein it back when he needs to and take it in a different direction, to encourage players at the same time."

Mike McGlinchey says it will be "impossible" for the San Francisco 49ers to replace Trent Williams after he suffered an ankle injury during an 11-10 defeat to the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

Left tackle Williams did the damage when he was blocking Broncos defensive end Bradley Chubb during the third quarter and Denver defensive lineman D.J. Jones fell across his right leg.

On the same play, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo stepped out of the end zone for an ultimately costly safety.

Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed after the game nine-time Pro Bowler Williams, who was replaced by Jaylon Moore, was likely to have sustained a high right ankle sprain.

Right tackle McGlinchey said: "[Trent is] as important to our football team as anybody is. Colton [McKivitz] stepped up, and he's had an unbelievable last year and some change, and he's ready for that.

"Jaylon Moore is capable of playing in that role. We have guys to fill the spot, which is a good thing; but obviously, it's impossible to replace a Trent Williams, and that hurts our football team, for sure."

Garoppolo said: "It's tough. Trent's a warrior. Hopefully, he bounces back fast, but it's always tough when you lose a guy like that, especially the leadership that he brings to this team.

"The poise and everything that he brings, it will be tough to replace that. But we've got to."

Shanahan felt the 49ers could have no complaints after a loss at Empower Field at Mile High that left them at 1-2 early in the season.

"We had our opportunities, but we definitely didn't do enough offensively in the second half," he said.

"I thought we made way too many mistakes. We had our opportunities in the first half, where I thought we should have been a lot more than we were.

"We missed those. Came back in the second half and I thought the defense kept it going, offense had a chance early and started out with a fumbled snap, then we never got it going after that."