Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur shouldered the blame for Jordan Love's struggles in the 13-7 defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Love made his first start for the Packers after reigning NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers was left on the sidelines having tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday.

The Rodgers-less Packers (7-2) fell short on Sunday with Love under centre in Kansas City, where Green Bay's seven-game winning streak came to an end.

Love – the 26th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft – was 19-of-34 passing for 190 yards, a touchdown and interception, while the 23-year-old rushed for another 23 yards on five carries.

"This one falls on me, squarely," LaFleur said when discussing Love's woes against the blitz. "Certainly, for us to be two for 12 on third down, obviously didn't have a good enough plan for some of the zero pressures that they brought on us.

"But I thought our guys battled. I thought Jordan, I was really proud of the way he played. He hung in there, he was taking hits and delivering the ball.

"I thought he did a really good job. But I think that, ultimately, I've got to be better and this one falls squarely on me."

Regarding his own performance, Love added: "Obviously not good enough. I think we started off a little slow, I started off a little slow personally.

"I think we got into a bit of a rhythm later. Obviously, it was too late. Just not good enough."

"I think we started having a better answer in the end, but yeah, they were bringing the all out, they were eating us up and we just weren't able to execute on those plays that we had against it," Love said.

"I think all it took was maybe one big play against it, and it wouldn't have been coming as much. Obviously, we weren't able to execute it, so that's why they kept bringing it."

Half a minute made all the difference as the Tennessee Titans' defence made two huge plays in quick succession to stun the Los Angeles Rams 28-16 in the NFL on Sunday.

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford threw two interceptions in a 26-second span early in the second quarter, leading to a pair of rapid-fire Titans touchdowns. 

The first was an ill-advised attempt to throw the ball away while being dragged down in the end zone that David Long intercepted at the Rams' eight-yard line.

After Geoff Swaim scored on a two-yard TD pass from Titans QB Ryan Tannehill on the ensuing play, Stafford's next pass was picked off and returned 24 yards for a TD by Kevin Byard. 

Tannehill would run the ball in for another score prior to half-time as the Titans built a 21-3 lead before handing the game over to their ferocious defence, which sacked Stafford five times after LA entered the game with only eight sacks allowed all season. 

Titans recruit Adrian Peterson scored his 125th career TD, joining 11 other players to score 125-plus career touchdowns.

The Rams (7-2) would not find the end zone until Stafford hit Sony Michel for a short TD with 24 seconds remaining in the game as they fell behind the victorious Arizona Cardinals (8-1) in the division race. 

Tennessee (7-2) now hold the best record in the AFC despite being out-gained 347-194 as star running back Derrick Henry remains sidelined with a foot injury.

Tannehill completed 19 of 27 passes for just 143 yards with a TD and an interception but his 79.7 passer rating was still better than Stafford's 71.0 after the Rams QB finished 31-of-48 passing for 294 yards. 

Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant hailed James Harden after his "special" performance in the 116-103 win over the Toronto Raptors.

Harden flirted with a triple-double, posting 28 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists as the Nets celebrated their fifth consecutive victory on Sunday.

Former NBA MVP Harden scored 16 of his points in the fourth quarter to lead the championship-chasing Nets (7-3) past the Raptors (6-5) in Toronto.

"James was special there in the fourth," Durant said post-game.

Brooklyn's Blake Griffin – who put up 14 points and 11 rebounds – added: "When he's at that level, he makes us go. We, as a team, can go to a different level."

"I thought in the first half, he didn't give himself enough credit. I thought he had opportunities to attack more. I tried to implore him to go and to be aggressive. In the second half, he was excellent," said Nets head coach Steve Nash.

"This game, the Atlanta game and games he gets to the paint, he can really cause a lot of problems for the defence."

Durant had 20 points for the 10th successive game, extending his career-best streak to begin a season and Brooklyn's record for 20-point games at the start of a campaign.

He finished with 31 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the field, making three of his six three-pointers.

"Like we said since day one, he's been unbelievable this season at both ends of the floor, rebounding, scoring, facilitating" Nash said.

Lamar Jackson revelled in another NFL record after leading the Baltimore Ravens to a 34-31 overtime win against the Minnesota Vikings.

Jackson posted his 12th career 100-yard rushing game (including playoffs) – a record for quarterbacks in the NFL – on Sunday.

The former MVP moved past four-time Pro Bowler Michael Vick, who achieved the feat in 11 games across his 13-year career.

Jackson, though, matched Vick in the regular season with his 10th 100-yard rushing game.

"Of course, I respect [Vick's] game. That's cool," Jackson said after rushing for 120 yards on 21 carries at home to the Vikings.

"I don't know what to say. That's pretty cool, though."

Jackson completed 27 of 41 passes for 266 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions in Baltimore.

"We just had to do what we had to do to get the victory," Jackson said. "We just ran for a lot today. That's just what it was."

Jackson also registered his 22nd career 75-yard rushing game, surpassing Vick, while he tied Cam Newton for the most games with at least 250 passing yards and 100 rushing yards (three) in league history.

With his ninth career performance with at least 200 passing yards and 75 rushing yards, Jackson tied Russell Wilson for the most in NFL history, while his 15th consecutive game with a touchdown pass matched a franchise record he set in 2019-20.

"There are no long-term sustainability observations. That's not even relevant," Ravens head coach John Harbaugh when asked whether Jackson's running game was sustainable.

"Would you rather not run 21 times and lose the game? It's crazy to even suggest that."

DeSean Jackson appears set to join the Las Vegas Raiders. 

The Los Angeles Rams waived veteran wide receiver on Tuesday after the team could not move him before the NFL's trade deadline. 

Jackson posted a photo illustration of himself in a Raiders uniform to his Instagram account on Sunday, not long after long-time NFL reporter Josina Anderson said the three-time Pro Bowler told her he was joining Las Vegas. 

The 34-year-old, who signed a one-year deal in the offseason, caught eight of 15 passes for 221 yards and one touchdown in seven games for the Rams.

"I understand that everything happens for a reason and I look forward to beginning the next chapter of my NFL career," Jackson said after his release by LA.

The Raiders immediately emerged as a likely destination when they cut ties with receiver Henry Ruggs III this week after he was charged by police following a fatal car crash. 

Various injuries limited Jackson to eight total games over the previous two seasons in his second career stint with the Philadelphia Eagles. 

All three of his Pro-Bowl selections came in his first spell with the Eagles, as he had at least 900 yards receiving in five of his first six seasons in the league. 

Lewis Hamilton was critical of Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas for leaving the "door open" to Max Verstappen at the start of the Mexican Grand Prix as the reigning Formula One champion's hopes took another hit.

Mercedes locked out the front row for Sunday's race after Bottas claimed pole position ahead of Hamilton, but F1 championship leader and Red Bull star Verstappen reigned supreme.

Verstappen went from third to first following the opening turn as he claimed a 19th career win and ninth of the season by more than 16 seconds ahead of second-placed Hamilton.

Hamilton now trails Verstappen by 19 points at the summit of the drivers' championship with four races remaining.

"I had envisaged it differently, naturally, in the sense that maybe Valtteri had got a better start and I would have tried to get into his tow," Hamilton said.

"But I was alongside him which was good, and then I was just covering my side of the track trying to make sure that no-one could come up the inside.

"So I was trying to keep whichever Red Bull I could see in my mirror behind, and I thought Valtteri would be doing the same.

"But obviously, he left the door open for Max, and Max was on the racing line so did a mega job braking into Turn 1. Because I was on the inside on the dirt, there was no hope for me."

Bottas told Sky F1: "The start was OK, not too bad, but Verstappen got a bit of a tow and he braked really late.

"But then suddenly at the apex at Turn 1 I think Daniel [Ricciardo] hit me in the rear and right there I spun I couldn't do anything and then after that the race was tricky to make progress.

"I was too close to cars and managing engine and brakes so I could manage it until I was getting too close then it was not easy."

Despite Red Bull's pace and losing ground in the race to defend his crown, Hamilton insisted he is not giving up.

"I feel like I maximised what I had," Hamilton told Sky F1. "But jeez... their pace was just unbelievable today. There was nothing I could do to battle that."

"If they carry that pace into the next races then we might be in trouble," said Hamilton. "We've got four races to go and we just have to keep pushing.

"I don't know where this performance has come from today but they were half a second quicker than us a lap, which is what we saw earlier on in the weekend.

"All I can do is just squeeze everything out of this car. They clearly have a stronger car so I think all I can do is just make sure we don't leave any stone unturned and we just maximise all we have, and give it my all."

The Dallas Cowboys managed to hold down the fort while Dak Prescott was sidelined with a calf strain, but everything fell apart as their quarterback returned to the line-up in Sunday's 30-16 loss to the Denver Broncos.

Prescott completed fewer than half of his pass attempts and could not lead Dallas to any points until the game was well out of reach in an emphatic home defeat against the Broncos that ended their six-game winning streak in the NFL.

Dallas turned the ball over on downs on their first two possessions and four times overall in the game, failing on all four of their fourth-down conversion attempts as they compiled a season-low 290 yards after averaging 454.9 entering the game.

"Frankly we were outcoached, we were outplayed all the way through," Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters. "This is the first time I've felt clearly our energy didn't exceed our opponent. That's disappointing."

The Cowboys had not trailed by double digits all season but found themselves down 30-0 by the time Prescott threw the first of two touchdown passes late in the fourth quarter.

Prescott entered the game leading the NFL with a 73.1 completion percentage but connected on just 19 of 39 attempts (48.7 per cent), matching the second-worst showing of his six-year NFL career. 

The Cowboys QB insisted he felt "fine" and there were no residual effects from the leg he injured on the game-winning touchdown pass three weeks earlier against the New England Patriots, but acknowledged he did not perform to his standards.

"I mean obviously I wasn't as clean as I normally am or as I have been. It's tough to say and blame that [injury]," Prescott said. "I'm not going to sit there and blame two weeks [off] when I had a great week of practice under my belt coming into this one.

"I just missed some throws and we weren't our normal selves in the passing game when we needed to be. We didn't execute…

"We got beat. We got thumped in every aspect of the game, especially on offence."

McCarthy could have been forgiven for pulling Prescott with the game out of reach in the fourth quarter, especially coming off an injury, but the quarterback said he never considered remaining on the sidelines no matter the margin. 

"There was game left out there to be played," Prescott said. "It never crossed my mind that I was coming out of the game. I think if somebody would have tried to make that decision, I would have told them I wasn't.

"We needed to get something going. We needed to get some energy, some momentum. We needed to show our fight, our resiliency, something that's won us a lot of games. When you're getting beat like that, you've got to show your character.

"I think that's where the path starts with all of us staying in the game and fighting to the end and trying to get some momentum or something going just to take from this game."

Genoa appointed former Ukraine boss Andriy Shevchenko as their head coach, the Serie A strugglers announced on Sunday.

Shevchenko was available after stepping down following a five-year spell in charge of his native Ukraine, who reached the quarter-finals for the first time at Euro 2020.

Milan great Shevchenko – contracted until June 2024 – takes over a Genoa side only above the relegation zone on goal difference ahead of Sampdoria after 12 rounds after Davide Ballardini was sacked following a 2-2 draw with Empoli on Friday.

Shevchenko's first task will be a showdown with under-fire Jose Mourinho and his out-of-form Roma following the international break on November 21.

A 111-cap Ukraine international, Shevchenko won the Scudetto and Champions League during his initial seven-year stint at San Siro, where the 45-year-old scored 173 goals after arriving from Dynamo Kiev in 1999.

Shevchenko joined Premier League giants Chelsea in 2006 and was part of the team that won the FA Cup and EFL Cup in his debut campaign before returning to Milan on loan in 2008.

Appointed by Ukraine in 2016, Shevchenko finished with a 48.1 winning percentage having won 25 of his 52 international fixtures.

The Green Bay Packers' first look at life without Aaron Rodgers was not a pleasant one, as their offence sputtered with backup quarterback Jordan Love at the helm and the Kansas City Chiefs held on for a 13-7 victory. 

The Packers (7-2) had averaged 27 points during the seven-game winning streak that ended on Sunday after reigning MVP Rodgers missed the game following a positive coronavirus test during the week. 

The visitors did not get on the scoreboard until Love hit Allen Lazard for a 20-yard touchdown pass with five minutes remaining for his first career NFL TD.

That gave Green Bay some hope after their previous drive had ended with L'Jarius Sneed picking off a Love pass on Kansas City's five-yard line, but the Packers ran out of time. 

While the Chiefs (5-4) were not about to complain about the victory that got them back over .500, their season-long concerns about their offence continued as Patrick Mahomes had another unimpressive game. 

Former league MVP Mahomes completed 20 of 37 passes for just 166 yards but avoided throwing an interception for the first time since the season opener. His 54.1 completion percentage was his worst in a regular-season game since completing 51.2 per cent in a loss to the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 5 last season. 

Cardinals cruise past 49ers without Murray

The other red-hot team playing without their star quarterback fared better, as the Arizona Cardinals rolled to a 31-17 defeat of the San Francisco 49ers despite Kyler Murray's absence through an ankle injury. 

Veteran Colt McCoy stepped in for the Cardinals and completed 22 of 26 passes for 249 yards, while James Conner rushed for 93 yards and a pair of scores as Arizona improved to 8-1. 

Three turnovers proved critical for San Francisco (3-5) as the 49ers lost two fumbles in the first half and had trouble sustaining drives throughout the game, with only 23:13 of possession compared to 36:47 for Arizona. 

Jimmy Garoppolo completed 28 of 40 passes for 326 yards with two touchdowns and an interception for San Francisco. 

In Philadelphia, Dustin Hopkins' 29-yard field goal with two seconds to play gave the Los Angeles Chargers (5-3) a 27-24 victory over the Eagles (3-6). 

The Los Angeles Dodgers declined to extend a qualifying offer to Clayton Kershaw as the veteran ace prepares to enter free agency amid uncertainty over his MLB future.

Kershaw, who did not pitch in the MLB playoffs as the Dodgers lost to the Atlanta Braves in the National League Championship Series (NLCS) due to the recurrence of a forearm problem, has spent his entire 14-year career in Los Angeles.

The World Series champion and three-time Cy Young Award winner is a free agent following the conclusion of his three-year, $93million contract with the Dodgers.

While the Dodgers lodged offers to free agent All-Stars Corey Seager and Chris Taylor prior to Sunday's deadline – worth $18.4m for one year – there was none forthcoming for future Hall of Famer Kershaw.

However, the Dodgers are reportedly still keen on bringing Kershaw back to LA for at least one more season as both parties take time to determine the 33-year-old's health.

Kershaw – an eight-time All-Star and 2014 NL MVP – made his debut for the Dodgers in 2008.

In 2021, Kershaw finished with a 3.55 ERA, the worst of his illustrious career since his rookie year (4.26) with the Dodgers.

Kershaw had a 10-8 record this season with 144 strikeouts in 121.2 innings pitched.

Overall, Kershaw has a 185-84 win-loss record with 2,670 strikeouts and a career 2.49 ERA.

Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield said he wishes "good friend" Odell Beckham Jr. well after the NFL franchise won for the first time since the split.

The Browns released star wide receiver Beckham Jr. on Friday, having been excused from practice on Wednesday and Thursday.

That came after both his father, Odell Beckham Sr., and four-time NBA MVP LeBron James complained on social media about Beckham Jr.'s lack of involvement in the Browns' offense.

Beckham Sr. posted a lengthy video on Instagram showing a number of occasions on which Mayfield failed to find his team-mate.

On Sunday, without three-time Pro Bowler Beckham Jr., the Browns routed the Cincinnati Bengals 41-16.

"I wish him well, I really do. My feelings haven't changed," Mayfield said of Beckham Jr.

"From a personal standpoint, he's a good friend of mine. ... But I'm worried about the guys in our locker room.

"I'm proud of these guys, how they were able to focus up despite all the bulls*** that was going on this week and how they were able to do their job. We're going to see if we can build on it and continue to get better."

Beckham Jr. is set to go on waivers on Monday and Mayfield added: "We still haven't talked. But that doesn't change things. I wish him well. I wish him the best in his career."

Mayfield completed 14 of his 21 passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns without an interception as the Browns improved to 5-4.

"We needed that win. Our whole locker room needed it. And they knew that. Played for each other," Mayfield said. "I trust the guys in this locker room.

"When adversity hit, nobody flinched. It was a long week. I'd be lying if I said otherwise. But proud of these guys."

Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City have never dominated a team like they did against embattled neighbours Manchester United in Saturday's Premier League derby.

City completely outplayed United in a 2-0 victory at Old Trafford, where the Premier League champions humbled their bitter rivals thanks to Eric Bailly's own goal and a Bernardo Silva effort.

Guardiola's City have won more away Premier League games at Old Trafford than any other team (eight).

The all-round display against United delighted Guardiola, whose City enjoyed 67.4 per cent possession and had five shots on target compared to just one for the Red Devils.

"Maybe this was the game that we dominated for the most time," Guardiola said.

"Except for 10 minutes of the second half, the other 80 minutes were absolutely under control. There were other games, like the game when we could be champions at the Etihad [in 2018] when we were 2-0 up at half-time and after we lost 3-2.

"In the first half it could have been four or five but we lost 3-2. So, the second half we were not good.

"In some games we are good but not for as long as today, it is a game we controlled more specifically. We know each other better, we know the opponent better.

"We need the ball to play good and desire when we don't have it, to recover it and play and play and play and play and play and play. It's not that you attack quicker and you will score more goals, you have to arrive in the right tempo. I love us arriving to the boxes, not being in the boxes.

"The way we play a lot of passes we are still able for Phil [Foden] to arrive and [Ilkay] Gundogan and Kevin [De Bruyne] and Gaby [Gabriel Jesus] and Bernardo [Silva]. Arriving from behind is the best way to surprise the opponent and today we did it."

Simone Inzaghi believes Inter deserved all three points in their 1-1 derby draw with Milan on Sunday.

Hakan Calhanoglu – who joined the blue half of Milan from the red side on a free transfer in July – won and then converted an early spot-kick to put the Rossoneri ahead.

The Turkey international became the fourth player to score in his first Milan derby in Serie A after having played the previous encounter with the opposing team (since 1994-95), after Hernan Crespo (2006), Ronaldo (2007) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (2010).

Inter were pegged back soon after as Stefan de Vrij scored an own goal – the first in a Milan derby since Samir Handanovic's in December 2017.

The Nerazzurri were handed a second penalty in the first half, but Ciprian Tatarusanu saved Lautaro Martinez's strike from 12 yards to keep his side level. 

Martinez has now missed three of the last six penalties he has taken in all competitions for Inter.

"The glass is half-empty because we had so many chances and missed a penalty, so in my view we deserved far more," Inzaghi told DAZN.

"We were up against a great team who are deservedly [joint-] top of the table. We're behind them in terms of progress, but there is time to get back on track and performances like this will give us confidence.

"Over the past six games we drew with Juventus and Milan when we probably deserved to win. Milan and Napoli are keeping up a remarkable tempo, but there's a long way to go and we are up there.

"We wanted to give our fans a victory and I feel we did enough to deserve it. The tempo was very high and both teams probably could have done a lot better on a technical level, but it was intense.

"Milan are a very technical side, so you have to tire them out, make them move. We did well in the opening 20 minutes and generally I think we deserved more, we only struggled a little in the final 15 minutes."

Despite Calhanoglu having already scored from the spot, Inzaghi said he had no issues with Martinez stepping up to – unsuccessfully – take Inter's second penalty of the game.

"Our penalty takers are Martinez and Calhanoglu, while Ivan Perisic can take them too," the head coach added. "Hakan asked to take the first, Lautaro took the second.

"It's between them to decide, we know how those moments work."

Inzaghi also provided an update on Nicolo Barella, Edin Dzeko and Alessandro Bastoni, who were substituted with apparent injuries in the second half.

"Barella felt a twinge and asked for the substitution," he explained. "I had a few issues with Dzeko and Bastoni in the first half, so naturally playing with this tempo and so often, the muscles are under strain. Hopefully they are nothing serious."