Week 4 of the NFL season could well have a substantial bearing on how the playoff race shakes out.

Through three weeks, the 2022 campaign has delivered excitement at almost every turn, and there are plenty of high-stakes matchups to whet the appetite this weekend.

There are conference championship and Super Bowl rematches on the docket, as well as extremely intriguing matchups between some of the season's early pacesetters.

But which of the games on the schedule are likely to deliver the best contests? Stats Perform can provide some insight in that regard, using its SmartRatings as a guide.

SmartRatings is an AI-based platform that provides excitement ratings for sporting events, teams and players. The excitement scale, ranging from 0-100, is powered by complex algorithms that are predicated upon six primary variables: pace, parity, novelty, momentum, context and social buzz.

The weight of each variable is dynamic and adapts as a season progresses. The excitement scale translates to the following general sub-ranges: 0-39 (Dull Game), 40-64 (OK Game), 65-84 (Good Game), 85-100 (Great Game).

So, let's take a look at the three games rated among the most exciting on the Week 4 slate and break down the key matchups that could decide them.

Buffalo Bills @ Baltimore Ravens

SmartRating: 67

Win probability: Buffalo Bills (55.3%)

Key Matchup: Lamar Jackson vs. Bills linebackers

The Bills only need to look to their AFC East rivals the New England Patriots for a reminder of what can happen when a defense fails to defend 2019 MVP Lamar Jackson effectively.

Last week, Jackson threw for 218 yards and four touchdowns with one interception while rushing for 107 yards and a touchdown on just 11 carries. He became the first player in Ravens history to throw at least three touchdown passes in each of the team's first three games of a season.

Limiting his efficiency on the ground will be critical for the Bills' hopes of outscoring a potent Ravens offense. On designed runs, Jackson is averaging a remarkable 13.47 yards per carry, with his threat as a runner naturally helping fuel the Ravens' play-action game. Baltimore's average of 10.85 yards per play on play-action is well above the league average of 9.15.

In Matt Milano and Tremaine Edmunds, the Bills possess two athletic and intelligent linebackers. They will need to display their physical gifts and their awareness to help limit Jackson's impact with ball in hand and ensure they do not bite too hard against play-action and open large throwing windows for him to attack. An evenly matched clash between two AFC heavyweights promises to be a classic, and Milano and Edmunds may have a crucial say in it tilting in the favour of Buffalo.

Kansas City Chiefs @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

SmartRating: 75

Win Probability: Kansas City Chiefs (54.7%)

Key Matchup: Travis Kelce vs. Antoine Winfield Jr.

The Chiefs are unlikely to find much joy targeting the Buccaneers outside corners, Jamel Dean and Carlton Davis, who have each enjoyed excellent starts to the season as they look to gain a measure of revenge for their blowout loss to Tampa Bay in Super Bowl LV.

Instead, Patrick Mahomes will probably look to his most trusted weapon, All-Pro tight end Kelce, to help him get the Chiefs back on track following their shock loss to the Indianapolis Colts last weekend.

Kelce has run 24 routes from the slot this season compared to nine from his in-line tight end spot. Having consistently thrived in the 'power slot' role throughout his career, Kelce will hope to do significant damage from that position while going against one the premier young safeties in the league.

Winfield has spent 63 percent of his snaps this season in the slot but has conceded a burn, which is when a receiver wins his matchup on a play where he is targeted, on seven of his 11 targets. He has given up a big play on four of those targets.

With Kelce registering a burn on 18 of his 24 targets, the matchup looks to be in his favour. Winfield must find a way to ensure it isn't if the Bucs' defense is to provide yet more critical support to an offense that continues to struggle.

Los Angeles Rams @ San Francisco 49ers

SmartRating: 85

Win Probability: Los Angeles Rams 53.0%

Key Matchup: Aaron Donald vs. 49ers' Offensive Line

Even after losing their starting quarterback and All-Pro left tackle to injury, the 49ers are still only seen as slight underdogs in Monday's rematch of last year's NFC Championship Game.

But it is how the 49ers perform up front in the absence of Trent Williams that will likely determine if the Niners can continue their regular-season hoodoo over the Rams.

The Niners have won the last six regular-season meetings with Los Angeles, but the Rams – who finally knocked off their rivals in the game that mattered most – will be confident of ending that streak if Donald and Co. can take advantage of San Francisco sliding Colton McKivitz in at left tackle as Williams' replacement.

Much of that confidence will be based on how Jimmy Garoppolo performs when he is pressured. Among quarterbacks with at least 10 throws under pressure, Garoppolo's well-thrown percentage of 54.5 is the second worst in the NFL.

Donald has already racked up 13 pressures on 40 pass rush snaps and is known for his ability to create pressure from anywhere on the defensive line. McKivitz, right tackle Mike McGlinchey and an extremely inexperienced interior offensive line must deliver their best for San Francisco to avoid falling to 1-3.

Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed Karim Benzema will start against Osasuna on Sunday and backed the Real Madrid captain to get back to his "spectacular" best.

Benzema has been sidelined for three weeks due to a knee injury but will be in action in the champions' first LaLiga game after the international break at Santiago Bernabeu this weekend.

The France striker has scored four goals in six appearances for Los Blanco this season after an outstanding 2021-22 campaign.

Benzema found the back of the net a staggering 44 times last season as Madrid secured a famous Champions League and LaLiga double. 

Head coach Ancelotti expects the Ballon d'Or favourite to hit those heights again after recovering from an early-season injury setback.

"Benzema is doing very well, he is going to start the game," he said. "He's been with the team all week. His physical condition is good because he was able to recover well and then work well."

When it was put to Ancelotti that Benzema has not looked the same player he was last season, the Italian replied: "Well it's true he didn't score in the last few games – he didn't score because he didn't play.

"There is nothing different with Karim, he's been training very well. Maybe if he didn't have a problem in pre-season, he would not perform this way, but after this injury and time, he didn't play. I'm absolutely sure we are going to see the same Karim Benzema we saw last season, a spectacular player."

Ancelotti revealed midfielder Luka Modric will not face Osasuna and could also miss the Champions League match against Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday.

He said: "Modric has a minor injury, not a very serious one. I'm not sure he will make it for Wednesday. He will train on Monday, let's see how he feels. If not fit for Wednesday, he will play next weekend [at Getafe]."

Ancelotti plans to make full use of the options at his disposal with such a hectic schedule to come ahead of the World Cup.

"It's an important moment, with many games in a short time," he said. "League, Champions [League]... We have to think that rotating would be important, because we play every three days. Everyone will give and put in their quality and commitment."

Yoshihito Nishioka followed up a claiming a series of scalps by avoiding a shock of his own as he defeated ATP Tour main-draw debutant Aleksandar Kovacevic to reach the Korea Open final.

Nishioka, who will return to the ATP's top 50, eliminated fifth seed Dan Evans in the first round and later top seed Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals.

Meanwhile, Kovacevic made his main-draw bow on Monday, beating seventh seed Miomir Kecmanovic, and continued a sensational run all the way to the last four.

The American threatened another upset on Saturday, but Nishioka held his nerve to advance 6-3 4-6 6-3 in Seoul.

And now the Japanese will revert to the role of underdog on Sunday, with fourth seed Denis Shapovalov his opponent in the championship match.

Nishioka has only one ATP Tour title to his name, and he will have his work cut out if he is to add to that against Shapovalov, who is yet to drop a set this week.

The Canadian continued that sequence with a 7-5 6-4 success against Jenson Brooksby in the first semi-final.

Jurgen Klopp does not understand why anybody would focus only on Trent Alexander-Arnold's defending when he has "world-class talent" on the ball.

Liverpool right-back Alexander-Arnold has been the subject of much debate this week after being left out of England's matchday squad to face Germany on Monday.

Reece James started the match and Kyle Walker came off the bench, while Kieran Trippier was among the substitutes.

James appears to be Gareth Southgate's preferred option in that position, but Walker has made 50 appearances under the Three Lions manager. Trippier has turned out 37 times for Southgate, starting in both the 2018 World Cup semi-final and Euro 2020 final.

That leaves Alexander-Arnold – often outstanding for Liverpool – as fourth-choice and looking highly unlikely to feature at the World Cup, even if selected in the 26-man squad.

Southgate handed Alexander-Arnold his international debut in 2018, but he has since earned just 17 caps for his country.

While the 23-year-old's creative abilities are unquestioned – he leads the England quartet in chances created (2.4) and expected assists (0.32) per 90 minutes in the Premier League in 2022 – there are doubts around his defending.

Klopp has accepted Alexander-Arnold has room for improvement, but ahead of Saturday's game against Brighton and Hove Albion, he also suggested "nobody mentions" when the Liverpool man defends well.

"It's like you have a list, bad defending and good defending, and bad defending [is] massive, and the good defending [list] is like you can't even see," he said.

"That's what I see, because I'm not dumb."

Klopp was also keen to point out some of Alexander-Arnold's shortcomings are due to Liverpool's approach, as they are "extremely brave" in their pressing and "the pitch is too big to be everywhere".

Yet even when Alexander-Arnold is directly at fault, his club manager believes there is too much focus on those shortcomings.

"There are other situations where he was not aware of the situation, where they pass the ball through him, where it was a challenge he should've won – true," Klopp said. "Every player in the league has these challenges.

"With him, you pick it out, analyse so easy. All the experts sitting there, 'in this situation, you see it's a weakness'.

"Honestly, I just don't get it, I just don't get that part of it – that we just accept that a world-class talent gets judged by the one thing he's not as world-class as in other things."

And Klopp added: "If he would not be a good defender, he wouldn't play."

Luis Suarez wants Ronald Koeman to tell him to his face why he showed him the door at Barcelona just over two years ago.

Suarez joined LaLiga rivals Atletico Madrid on a free transfer in September 2020 after being deemed surplus to requirements by Koeman.

The Uruguay striker, now playing for his boyhood club Nacional, scored 198 goals in a trophy-laden six-year spell with Barca.

Suarez hopes Koeman, who was sacked by the Blaugrana in October 2021 after just 14 months as head coach, will explain why he decided to get rid of him.

He told Marca: "Time goes by, and yes, out of politeness and respect, I would greet him.

"If I met him, I hope that Ronald would have the greatness, which he had as a player at the club, to tell me the truth to my face about why I left and that I didn't leave for footballing or technical reasons."

Xavi replaced Koeman and has been given significant backing in the transfer market, bringing in the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha.

Suarez feels Barca legend Xavi has everything in place to be a success.

Asked if Xavi will produce the style of football fans of the Catalan giants expect, he said: "I think so. He is showing it, without being perfect. He is a coach who grew up there and knows what the club and the fans need.

"I see many conditions for him to go far as a coach, and, in addition, they gave him good tools for it, they gave him the players that he needed and wanted. It's up to him to prove it."

Suarez believes Barca have a good blend of youth and experience as they strive to dethrone LaLiga champions and fierce rivals Real Madrid.

Quizzed how he thinks his former club will do, he replied: "Very well. They made good signings and the young players have two more years of experience: Pedri, Gavi, Ansu [Fati], who is coming back, plus the experience of Jordi [Alba], Busi [Sergio Busquets], [Marc-Andre] ter Stegen... It's a team that can compete for everything."

Mikel Arteta expects Arsenal to benefit from Gabriel Jesus' absence from the Brazil squad as he hopes to show Tite what he is missing before the World Cup.

Arsenal are top of the Premier League ahead of the north London derby against Tottenham on Saturday, but none of their three senior Brazilian stars were called up by the Selecao last month.

Gabriel, Gabriel Martinelli and Jesus had all been part of Tite's squad during the previous international window in June.

Yet they now face a race against time to prove themselves before Qatar 2022, which kicks off next month.

Jesus was a particularly surprising omission, having scored four goals and assisted another three in seven league appearances since joining Arsenal in July.

But Arteta revealed a determined response from his number nine, telling reporters of Jesus: "He's incredibly humble.

"He accepted the decision and the way he trained, it was just: 'Okay, I need to improve. I need to get better. I need to do more. I really want to be there [at the World Cup], it's a big aspiration for me, it's an incredible opportunity. And I'm in the right place to do that.'

"So, I think we will see that on the pitch again."

At international level, Jesus appears to be in direct competition with Spurs striker Richarlison, who has hit form at the right time with seven goals in his past six outings for Brazil.

Jesus is set to come up against him this weekend, but Arteta says his striker cannot be concerned by how others fare.

"He can only control what he can do. He cannot control what other players do," the Arsenal manager said. "And he's only focusing on that.

"So, he has ambition. We know that he plays with incredible commitment. And [on Saturday] he will play that way."

Cal Raleigh made MLB history to end the Seattle Mariners' 21-year playoff drought in fitting fashion – circumstances scarcely believable to manager Scott Servais.

The Mariners entered Friday knowing either defeat for the Baltimore Orioles or a victory of their own at home to the Oakland Athletics would clinch a Wild Card place.

Seattle were enduring the longest active postseason absence in any of the four major American sports.

And a surprise win for the Orioles at the New York Yankees kept Mariners fans waiting just a little longer, with their team very rarely doing things the easy way even in this hugely successful season.

But Raleigh, pinch-hitting for Luis Torrens, homered on a 3-2 pitch from Domingo Acevedo at the bottom of the ninth to clinch a sensational 2-1 walk-off win and a playoff series next weekend.

Raleigh became the first player in MLB history to secure a postseason berth with a pinch-hit, walk-off home run.

After only two as a rookie in 2021, this was also Raleigh's 26th homer of the year – a new single-season record for Mariners catchers.

That it happened at T-Mobile Park put the icing on the cake for Servais, who had already been talking up his team's World Series chances after beating the Texas Rangers the previous night. 

"The fact that we're in our ballpark and there's 40,000 people here tonight, it's better than maybe what you can even dream it could be," Servais said.

"We have a lot of baseball yet ahead of us. We did end the drought tonight, which is a very special feeling.

"There's so many kids that grew up in the Pacific Northwest that don't know anything about the Mariners being in the playoffs, and now we get to show them."

Servais is not alone in outlining title ambitions in Seattle, where the Mariners remain the only MLB team never to have been to a World Series, let alone won one.

But president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto believes the adversity has only made the franchise stronger.

"It wasn’t fluid. It wasn't a linear road for us," he said. "We stumbled, and we fell, and I think that made us stronger.

"And along the way, we found stars, we found leaders, and we found we found a team that came together.

"I think what you see out there right now is a group of guys who believe that they can beat anybody."

Manchester City and Manchester United face off for the 188th time this weekend, yet for respective managers Pep Guardiola and Erik ten Hag the contest at the Etihad Stadium will be their first ever meeting.

That is not to say the pair are unacquainted with one another, though. In fact, that could not be further from the truth, with the two men sharing very similar philosophies and having previously worked closely at Bayern Munich.

While Ten Hag may be a year older than his counterpart at 52, the Dutchman was the apprentice and Guardiola the master during that overlapping period in Bavaria between 2013 and 2015.

"That time was enormously valuable for me. I remember it well," Ten Hag told Bild in 2018. "Many people in Holland shook their heads when I left the Eredivisie for the Regionalliga."

No wonder. Ten Hag was a burgeoning head coach after guiding Go Ahead Eagles to their first promotion in 17 years in his only season at the club.

The decision to then take charge of Bayern Munich II, the reserve side of a Bayern team that were enjoying a period of sustained success under Guardiola at the time, was a big surprise.

For Ten Hag, the sideways move – at best – was considered an opportunity to learn from Guardiola and a better path for his long-term career. The past decade suggests that was the correct call.

Ten Hag went on to manage Ajax for four-and-a-half years following success with fellow Eredivisie club Utrecht, before being handpicked by United as the man to bring trophies back to Old Trafford – or so they hope.

"I never regretted the decision," Ten Hag recalled in that interview with the German outlet. "Working for a club as big as Bayern with such formative personalities as Pep Guardiola and also Matthias Sammer was like winning the lottery."

Ten Hag's possession-based style – though adaptable as we have come to see in his first two months at United – has drawn natural comparisons to compatriot Johan Cruyff, a man Guardiola himself took a great deal of inspiration from.

Rather than the 'Total Football' that was developed and famed by Cruyff, though, Ten Hag looked to do things the 'Guardiola Way' across his four full seasons with Ajax, during which time he won three Eredivisie titles and took the Dutch giants within seconds of a Champions League final.

"His philosophy is sensational," Ten Hag said of Guardiola in 2019. "What he did in Barcelona, Bayern and now with Manchester City, that attacking and attractive style sees him win a lot. It's this structure I've tried to implement with Ajax."

Implement it he did, and so impressed were United they not only went all out to land the Dutchman, despite it being apparent that Mauricio Pochettino would be available, they allowed him to also have a huge say in transfer activity ahead of his first season at the helm.

Of the five senior players signed, two joined directly from Ajax (Lisandro Martinez and Antony), one had previously played for the Eredivisie side and came through their youth ranks (Christian Eriksen), and another had spent his entire career to date playing in the Dutch top flight (Tyrell Malacia).

With that level of turnover both on the field and in the dugout, patience was always likely to be required among United fans. Two games in, the Red Devils found themselves bottom of the division after losing by an aggregate 6-1 scoreline against Brighton and Hove Albion and Brentford.

Not so much 'Total Football', but 'Total Rubbish' in the view of many. While not as extreme, Ten Hag also made slow starts at previous clubs, including first side Go Ahead Eagles when drawing two and losing one of his first three games, and also at Utrecht with a record of two wins, two draws and two defeats.

With four wins from four since the Brentford debacle, it is fair to say Ten Hag has slowly won supporters over ahead of his first taste of the Manchester derby. Not that it has come as any surprise to Guardiola, the man seeking a fifth Premier League title in the past six seasons with City.

"He is a top-class manager and his teams are a joy to watch. Watch his Ajax team and you see his qualities," Guardiola said upon confirmation of Ten Hag's appointment at United in April. 

"To define a manager you just have to take a look at his teams for a long time and this is a team where their manager makes them play. There's no doubt about that. But the relationship we had was incredibly good."

In an alternate universe, Ten Hag would have spent another season or two in the Dutch capital before succeeding Guardiola in the Etihad Stadium dugout. Indeed, Guardiola said as much earlier this year.

"Are you asking me if Erik ten Hag could be here? Definitely," Guardiola said at a news conference when asked if the then-Ajax coach was the right sort of candidate to replace him one day.

Instead, it will be Guardiola versus Ten Hag, City against United this weekend on a day when any sort of friendship or respect will take a back seat.

For Guardiola, it is another opportunity to prove why he remains a true master; for Ten Hag, a chance to show that his apprenticeship has been put to good use.

The wait is finally over: the Seattle Mariners are returning to the MLB playoffs after 21 years in the wilderness.

The Mariners had been enduring the worst active postseason drought not just in baseball, but in any of the four major sports in the United States.

So desperate had this sequence of failure been, all but one of Seattle's MLB rivals – the Cincinnati Reds – had also won a playoff series since the Mariners' 2001 run.

It would have been difficult to imagine at the end of that 2001 season the Mariners would not be back in the postseason until 2022; Seattle finished with a 116-46 record, setting a new American League benchmark for wins in a single season and matching the all-time MLB high.

But now, after a late-season wobble prompted fears of a repeat of last year's agony when the M's finished two games back in the Wild Card race, the drought is over.

Seattle had lost eight of their previous 11 games before beating the Texas Rangers on both Wednesday and Thursday – results that, combined with back-to-back defeats for the Baltimore Orioles, left the Mariners only one game away heading into Friday.

Either defeat for the Orioles at the New York Yankees or victory for the Mariners over the Oakland Athletics would do, and after the Orioles briefly kept their season alive, the Mariners got the job done in the most storybook fashion imaginable.

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Cal Raleigh hit a walk-off home run to win 2-1 and send the Seattle fans into raptures as a 21-year weight was lifted off their shoulders.

Seattle happily fell well short of the all-time record for most consecutive seasons missing the playoffs, held by the St Louis Browns between 1903 and 1943 – but there are still several miserable streaks for the Mariners to snap.

They remain the only team in the major leagues never to have been to a World Series, with this their 45th season, while the Houston Astros' dominance in the AL West means Seattle's wait for a first division title since 2001 will go on.

That is the worst run in the AL, but three NL teams – the Colorado Rockies, Miami Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates – will this year see their division droughts reach 29 years.

Jacob deGrom's 11 strikeouts were not enough to deliver a result for the New York Mets, going down 5-2 on the road to the Atlanta Braves on Friday.

DeGrom, arguably the best pitcher in all of baseball, made it through six full innings while allowing five hits and no walks. Unfortunately for him, three of those hits travelled at least 422 feet each for a trio of monster home runs.

After Luis Guillorme gave the Mets a 1-0 lead in the second inning, the Braves' top power bat responded instantly, with Austin Riley sending a solo home run 422 feet to center-field later in the frame. The Braves then took the lead before the second inning ended with a 430-foot bomb from Matt Olson to center-field.

Atlanta's pitching dominated the middle portion of the game, holding the Mets scoreless between the second and eighth innings, and Dansby Swanson took the opportunity to give his side a couple of runs of breathing room when he smoked a ball 441 feet to make it 3-1 in the sixth frame.

An eighth-inning Tomas Nido home run proved to be just a consolation as the Braves closed things out with Kenley Jansen's 38th save of the season.

After this result, the Braves and the Mets are now tied for the second-best record in the National League at 98-59, and they have two games remaining in the series.

Pujols hits number 701

The baseball world stopped and applauded Albert Pujols for his 700th home run earlier this week, and he added one more to his tally in the St Louis Cardinals' 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Pujols' big swing came in the fourth inning with his side trailing 1-0, hooking a ball 398 feet over the left-field wall to tie the game. Nolan Arenado then delivered what ended up being the winning run with an RBI single in the fifth.

The 42-year-old future Hall-of-Famer trails only Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714) for the most home runs in history.

Guerrero, Springer homer in Blue Jays win

Vladimir Guerrero Jr and George Springer treated the Toronto Blue Jays fans to some big hitting in their 9-0 home win against the Boston Red Sox.

With the Red Sox eliminated from the playoff hunt and the Blue Jays marching towards a big October, the two sides played to their records as Alek Manoah and Yusei Kikuchi combined to pitch a shutout.

Guerrero hit one of the longest home runs of the week with his 447-foot nuke to left-field, and Springer was not much shorter, launching his shot 431 feet.

Inter Miami are now occupying the seventh and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference after their 1-0 victory against Toronto FC on Friday.

In front of their home fans, it was almost Toronto who took the lead in the 38th minute when Federico Bernadeschi's shot from outside the box took a heavy deflection, but Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender was able to adjust and make the save.

Toronto created more chances in the first half, but only had 38 per cent of the possession, and Miami's control of the ball began to pay dividends after the break.

Miami held Toronto without a shot on target in the second 45, and with time running down, they were able to find the decisive breakthrough.

A move from the right wing found its way to Robert Taylor on the edge of the box, and his slick little flick found its way through a maze of legs and into the path of Higuain, who made no mistake from right on the penalty spot.

The win means Miami will spend the night in the playoff positions, although the eighth-placed Columbus Crew have a superior goal difference and a game in-hand.

The Atlanta Braves are bringing back Charlie Morton for 2023, reaching a one-year, $20million contract extension with the veteran right-hander.

The deal was announced Friday and includes a $20million club option for 2024 and does not include a buyout.

One of the most reliable starters in the Braves’ rotation this season, the 38-year-old Morton has made a team-high 30 starts while going 9-6 with a 4.29 ERA and 200 strikeouts – fifth most in the NL.

A two-time All-Star, Morton helped the Braves to last year’s World Series championship, going 14-6 with a 3.34 ERA and 216 strikeouts. In four starts in the playoffs, he posted a 3.24 ERA with 22 strikeouts over 16 2/3 innings.

Drafted by Atlanta in 2002, Morton made his major league debut for the Braves in 2008 before being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates prior to the 2009 season.

After seven seasons with the Pirates, he was with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2016 before spending the next two with Houston, where he was a member of the 2017 World Series champion Astros.

The next two seasons were spent with the Tampa Bay Rays, before he re-joined the Braves prior to last season.

Mackenzie Hughes and Thomas Detry share the lead through two rounds at the Sanderson Farm Championships, making their way to 10 under in two very different ways.

Canada's Hughes got off to a disappointing start when he opened his tournament with a one-under 71 on Thursday, but followed it up with Friday's round of the day, shooting a nine-under 63 on his second trip around The Country Club of Jackson.

He birdied his first three holes of the day on his way to a bogey-free round, finishing up with birdies on 15, 17 and 18.

Meanwhile, while Hughes has been up and down, Belgium's Detry has been remarkably consistent through 36 holes, posting back-to-back 67s.

Detry was even par through his first five holes on Friday before rattling off five birdies from his next seven.

Alone in third place at nine under is Sepp Straka, who took advantage of a hot run where he birdied five out of six holes to follow up his opening 69 with a strong 66.

Scott Stallings, Garrick Higgo and Mark Hubbard are tied for fourth at eight under, with Davis Riley, Nick Hardy and Stephan Jaeger rounding out the top-10 in a tie for seventh at seven under.

The only two players to shoot better than 66 in their second round were Hughes, and Argentina's Emiliano Grillo, who posted a six-under 65 to salvage a one-over Thursday and jump up to a tie for 10th heading into the weekend.

Fresh off his debut Presidents Cup appearance, defending champion Sam Burns is five strokes off the pace at five under.