Hugo Lloris and Theo Hernandez have withdrawn from the France squad for this week's Nations League matches with Austria and Denmark.

France are already without a number of key players for the double-header, with Paul Pogba, N'Golo Kante, Karim Benzema, Lucas Hernandez and Kingsley Coman all sidelined.

Adrien Rabiot withdrew from the squad last week and Didier Deschamps is now without two more players for the visit of Austria on Thursday and trip to Denmark three days later.

France confirmed on Monday that Tottenham goalkeeper Lloris and Milan defender Theo Hernandez are nursing thigh and groin injuries respectively.

Nantes keeper Alban Lafont has earned a first call-up to provide cover for captain Lloris, while Aston Villa's Lucas Digne has been summoned as Theo Hernandez's replacement.

France have posted two draws and two defeats in their opening four Group A1 matches and are battling relegation from the top tier.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones believes their surprise victory over the Cincinnati Bengals served as a tonic for the disappointment of a season opener in which they lost Dak Prescott to injury.

The Cowboys suffered a chastening home loss in Week 1 as they slumped to a 19-3 defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in which quarterback Prescott sustained a fractured thumb that required surgery.

While Prescott's initial recovery timeline was deemed to be six to eight weeks, there is optimism he could return sooner.

Rush significantly boosted Dallas' hopes of still being in a position to contend when Prescott does return, helping to drop the defending AFC champion Bengals to 0-2 on Sunday.

He threw for 235 yards and a touchdown in the Cowboys' 20-17 win, going three of four on the Cowboys' final drive to set up Brett Maher for a 50-yard field goal as time expired to seal victory.

"Anybody knows how disappointing our first loss was last week," Jones said after the game.

"We could point to the reasons why, but that's not enough. But to come out here with our same home crowd and beat a really fine young quarterback and beat a team that was playing in the Super Bowl just a few months ago, that's a big tonic for the disappointment we had.

"And we all know how tough these games are that we've got coming up, but the main thing is kudos to Cooper Rush.

"That shows me so much about him and the principle of he kept a workmanlike basis. He's done that. He's gotten better. He knows this offense as well as anybody breathing, and he stepped out there and did some great execution."

Rush's performance helped calm some nerves about the prospect of playing without Prescott for any extended period.

"When [Prescott] has strength, which I have no idea when that will be, but it will be not an issue of being concerned about re-injuring the thumb. It will be an issue of his ability to grip the ball, and you know Dak, he's beat every timeline I've ever seen or looked at," added Jones.

"So he's got a good chance to do it, but there's no question that we didn't put him on injured reserve. I want to be real clear about that – we did not put him on [IR], so he could be working during these weeks.

"He could be out there, throwing, [and] certainly involved in everything else. He couldn't have done that had we put him there.

"I certainly would look to hope that he just might be available, but I'm telling you, this performance out here today by Rush sure takes a lot of the angst out of that."

RB Leipzig have appointed the highly rated Max Eberl as their new sporting director well over a year after Markus Krosche left the position.

Eberl has been out of work since resigning from a similar role at Borussia Monchengladbach in January due to feeling "drained and tired" and no longer having "the strength to carry out the job in the way the club deserves".

That brought to an end a 23-year association with Borussia, having initially joined them as a player in 1999 before moving into directorial positions from 2005.

Leipzig had operated without a permanent sporting director since the club and Krosche mutually terminated their agreement in April 2021 following "intensive discussions regarding the club's future".

Christopher Vivell, Florian Scholz and Frank Aehlig had been filling the void in the interim, but in Eberl, club chairman Oliver Mintzlaff believes Leipzig have the perfect candidate to take them forward when he assumes office on December 15 after signing a "long-term" contract.

"With Max Eberl, we were able to fill the position of managing director for sport with our absolute dream candidate," Mintzlaff said.

"We have been dealing with Max for a long time but have always respected his difficult situation and are now very happy to be able to start working together in December.  

"After his press conference in January this year, I got in touch with Max and wished him all the best. After that, I kept trying to get in touch, but Max told me that he needed peace and quiet and wasn't interested in football, but that we could meet up in the summer. That's why I never let go of contact and met him in the summer.

"Here, Max confirmed to me that he finds the perspective with us very interesting, but he did not want to come back before July 1, 2023. But that opened the door a bit for us, and we are now very happy that together with Max we found the starting point of our cooperation for mid-December.

"Max is an absolute football expert and has a large network and an excellent name in the industry both nationally and internationally. For many years in Monchengladbach he showed how you can build something up and find the right solution even for difficult situations.

"He has proven himself both as a transfer expert and as a promoter of talent, achieved a great deal and delivered a successful job."

Eberl took over football operations at Gladbach in October 2009 – at that point, they had not ended a top-flight season higher than 10th since 1996.

During his time in charge, the club finished higher than 10th in 10 successive seasons and even managed four top-four finishes in the Bundesliga.

One of those came with Marco Rose as head coach, and the pair will link up again in Leipzig after the 46-year-old replaced Domenico Tedesco at the helm earlier this month.

Eberl was still technically contracted to Borussia, but the club agreed to dissolve their partnership, thus allowing him to join Leipzig.

Zac Taylor is confident the Cincinnati Bengals will still be a "really good football team" once they "settle down" following another shock defeat for the reigning AFC champions.

The Bengals fell to 0-2 on Sunday as they suffered a 20-17 defeat to a Dallas Cowboys team led by quarterback Cooper Rush in the absence of the injured Dak Prescott.

After being sacked seven times by the Pittsburgh Steelers in an overtime loss in Week 1, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was brought down for six more sacks by the Dallas defense.

It is a worrying start for a Bengals team who spent significant resources remodelling an offensive line that allowed Burrow to be sacked 51 times last season.

"It's all frustrating," head coach Taylor said of the Bengals' pass protection issues. 

"We've given ourselves an opportunity to win these games against good teams, so once things settle down, I know that we're going to be a really good football team."

Praising Micah Parsons, who registered his second successive two-sack game, Taylor added of the Cowboys: "Maybe they haven't gotten the sacks against everybody you watch, but quarterbacks are just springing out of the pocket when you watch all of the tape from last season against these guys.

"They have a really stellar pass rush. They use these guys really well.

"Micah Parsons is going to be in the conversation for one of the best, if not the best pass rushers, just the way they can move him around. The way he can take advantage and bend.

"He's a real problem, and they've got real good players behind him, too. We put ourselves in some positions where they could really tee off and maximise what they're really good at. And that was frustrating early on.

"I thought we settled in better later in the game and were a lot more efficient."

Following defeats for the rest of their AFC North rivals on Sunday, the Bengals are only a game back in their division despite their winless start, which they have the chance to end next week on the road against the New York Jets.

"Every team's going to go through this, where you face a two game losing streak at some point," said Taylor. "Unfortunately for us, it's the first two games of the season. It's a long season.

"We've just got to hit the reset button, not in a negative way, but just regroup for Tuesday to get ready for the Jets this Sunday. I know our guys are going to be focused the right way. We have great leadership.

"So again, that's just what we're relaying on right now, is those guys to get focused, have a great week of practice and go to New York and find a way to win.

"I think we're going to be in great position going forward. Any time you lose, it's going to feel like, from everybody that's watching, that's the story. I get it. That's how it should be. We're going to work hard, just as we have, to go on the road and find a way to win against a good team."

Burrow, meanwhile, hailed the second-half improvement in pass protection but recognised the need for a complete game for the Bengals to get back on track.

"Second half, I thought the protections was great. They have a great rush, I would say top two or three best rushes in the league," Burrow explained. 

"They've got DeMarcus Lawrence, Micah, they do a really good job with their picks in game, too. And so, early in the game, you're going to have those, and I can do a better job of getting the ball out quickly.

"I thought, for the most part, we protected the ball well in those situations, and that was my goal this week. And then in the second half, I thought the offensive line protected great.

"We kind of warmed up in the run game, and then we're able to have some more time in the pass game, and that's what comes off of that.

"When we're able to run the ball well, they might be thinking 'run', and so then they're not so quick to get into their pass rush. So, the second half was more efficient, better for us, but just need to prolong that for the entire game."

Frank Reich acknowledged the Indianapolis Colts were "pathetic" in defeat to the Jacksonville Jaguars, but he still believes they are "not that far" from "where we need to be".

The Colts required a 17-point fourth-quarter comeback in Week 1 to tie with the Houston Texans, yet they made another woeful start on Sunday.

This time, there was no recovery, as Indianapolis lost 24-0 in an alarming start to the season.

"That s*** was embarrassing," said defensive tackle DeForest Buckner. "We got our a** whooped."

Buckner added the Colts must "grow from this", and head coach Reich still sees a positive path forward.

"As pathetic as that was today, where this is and where we need to be, the distance is not that far," he said. "We have the players and coaches to do it.

"I know that doesn't play in the outside world, and I'm fine with that. We'll take our medicine and I'll take my medicine, and we'll just keep doing what we do."

This is the first time the Colts have failed to win their first two meetings with fellow AFC South opponents since the 2017 season.

That was the last season before Reich was hired as head coach, with Indianapolis finishing with a 4-12 record.

Mike Evans is not concerned about potentially receiving a suspension from the NFL following his ejection in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' win over the New Orleans Saints for his confrontation with Marshon Lattimore.

The Buccaneers capitalised on three interceptions from former Tampa Bay quarterback Jameis Winston to emerge from the Superdome with a 20-10 win.

It snapped a seven-game regular-season losing streak for the Buccaneers against their NFC South rivals.

Wide receiver Evans and Saints cornerback Lattimore were engaged in a physical battle throughout and it boiled over in the fourth quarter when the latter got in the face of Tom Brady as the Buccaneers' quarterback appealed for a penalty flag on an unsuccessful third-down play.

Evans came in and knocked Lattimore to the turf, prompting a melee that resulted in both players being disqualified. The pair have history, with Evans previously being suspended for one game for a cheap shot on Lattimore in 2017. Despite that previous episode, Evans does not expect to receive similar discipline this time around.

"It gets spicy when you come to New Orleans, they're a good team, physical team, we matched that today," Evans said

"All I seen was, I know we were trying to get a flag called and it wasn't called, all I see was Lattimore punch Lenny [Fournette] in the face or something like that and then like push Tom, that's all I saw. I just pushed him."

Asked about the potential for a ban, he replied: "Nah, that was 2017, I didn't even get ejected in that. That was really a cheap shot, this wasn't."

Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan had a very different view of events.

"It hurts to lose your best corner," Jordan said. "Guys gun at him because they know he is one of the best corners in the league.

"When I saw the replay, [Lattimore] didn't go after anybody. Somebody came after him. What do you want him to do in that situation?"

Brady was visibly annoyed for much of the game as the Bucs laboured before pulling away with 17 fourth-quarter points, at one point taking out his frustration on a tablet after a disappointing end to an offensive series.

"It's an emotional game," Brady said. "A little bit of execution helps all the way around. I thought the defense played well again and the offensive line fought hard.

"Tough game all around. That is a really good team, really well coached — a team we really struggle with. So, it feels good to win."

Alison Riske-Amritraj suffered another early exit as the Pan Pacific Open began in Tokyo on Monday.

Riske-Amritraj reached the last 16 at the US Open earlier this month but has struggled in Asia since then.

She was the top seed at the Chennai Open last week, only to lose in straight sets in the first round to Anastasia Gasanova.

And the American fell at the first hurdle again in Japan.

Riske-Amritraj was drawn against compatriot Claire Liu, who was coming off back-to-back defeats to Anastasia Potapova and without a win since qualifying for the Canadian Open last month.

But Liu brushed aside the seventh seed 6-2 6-3 to set up a meeting with Elise Mertens in the second round.

Mertens eased through with a 6-0 6-3 win over Wang Qiang, while Petra Martic was similarly comfortable in a 6-1 6-1 defeat of Rina Saigo.

Saigo was one of two home hopefuls to depart on Monday as Qinwen Zheng won 19 points in a row en route to beating Misaki Doi 6-2 6-4.

At the Korean Open, Zhu Lin was the only seed in action and got the better of Jang Su-jeong in straight sets.

Eric Dier has thanked Antonio Conte and his Tottenham team-mates for helping him earn a recall to the England squad, which he hopes is "just a starting point".

Spurs defender Dier has been called up by Gareth Southgate for the upcoming Nations League matches with Italy and Germany.

The most recent of his 45 caps came in November 2020, but an upturn in form at club level has Dier in contention for a World Cup spot.

Dier's improved performances have coincided with the appointment of Conte last November, and the 28-year-old is confident he can continue his upward trajectory. 

"I am just looking forward to going and I think as my manager [Conte] said during the week, for me it is my ambition for this just to be a starting point for me," he said. 

"I think I can still do a lot more. Honestly, [a recall] wasn't what I was thinking about. 

"I was just thinking about being as good a player as I can be for Tottenham and everything else that happens is a consequence of that.

"I think that's the only thing I had to focus on and the only thing that was in my control. Everything else that happens, happens.

"I'm just thankful for the way my team-mates, coaching staff and everyone at Tottenham has supported me, pushed me and tried to help me get back to the national team."

Dier started all four of England's matches at Euro 2016 and was used six times at the 2018 World Cup, but he was not part of Southgate's squad for Euro 2020.

He is back involved with the Three Lions after performing at a consistent level across Tottenham's nine games this season, during which he has scored twice.

The most recent of those goals came in Saturday's 6-2 win against Leicester City, with Son Heung-min grabbing the headlines after scoring a 13-minute hat-trick.

And Dier joked Son, who was dropped for the first time this season after failing to score in his first eight outings, should start on the substitutes' bench regularly.

"We told him the manager should drop him more often if he scores a hat-trick every half an hour," Dier said.

"Everyone is delighted for him. Obviously for someone who lives for scoring goals it has been a difficult start to the season.

"I think that's no secret. But he's come back in an emphatic way today – the floodgates have opened."

Becky Hammon was rewarded for leaving Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs as she led the Las Vegas Aces to the WNBA title on Sunday.

Hammon was Popovich's long-time assistant before being hired by the Aces last year, having been passed over for senior NBA roles.

But the six-time WNBA All-Star responded by delivering the Aces their first championship courtesy of a 3-1 Finals win over the Connecticut Sun.

In doing so, Hammon became the first first-time head coach to win the WNBA title since the league's debut season in 1997.

This success came as no surprise to Popovich, however, who said: "We are all thrilled for coach Hammon.

"Winning a championship is a remarkable achievement for a first-time head coach in her first year with a team, yet I'm not at all surprised by her success.

"Becky has proven over and over that she has a unique understanding and passion for the game of basketball.

"Congratulations to Becky, her players and the entire Aces organisation. They played the right way the entire season and were a true joy to watch."

Aces owner Mark Davis added: "She's been absolutely unbelievable, and I guess this legitimises the way we went after her."

But Hammon sought to direct the praise back onto her players, telling ESPN: "Just getting to know them on a day-to-day basis, who they were as people, they're unbelievable on the court, but they're unbelievable humans, first and foremost.

"They care about each other, they invest into each other. It's been an absolute honour to be their coach.

"I saw excellence and I wanted to be a part of it. I'm just super thankful – one through 12, I love you all. It's been so much fun, so much fun."

Aaron Judge claimed a piece of history with two more home runs on Sunday to leave New York Yankees team-mate Gerrit Cole running out of adjectives for his brilliance.

Judge homered twice in the Yankees 12-8 win over the Milwaukee Brewers to move to 59 for the year.

The outfielder, who moved past his 2017 career best of 52 at the start of September, still has work to do to close the gap to MLB record-holder Barry Bonds' 73 in 2001.

But Judge is now just two shy of Roger Maris' American League record, set for the Yankees in 1961.

In fact, only three Yankees players have ever reached 59 home runs in an AL season, with Maris (61) and Judge (59) joined by Babe Ruth twice (60 in 1927 and 59 in 1921).

Given both Maris and Ruth were left-handed batters, Judge now owns the outright AL record for right-handers, passing Jimmie Foxx and Hank Greenberg (both 58).

With two or more homers in an 11th different game this season, Judge tied an MLB record that belonged to Greenberg (1938) and Sammy Sosa (1998).

Yankees starter Cole may have grown tired of finding ways to describe his team-mate's achievements, but he is relishing being able to witness true greatness first hand.

"Sorry to repeat the same line, but it's historical," Cole said. "I've got nothing else for you.

"It's the greatest offensive season that I've personally ever witnessed. I don't know what else to say. It's wonderful. I'm riding it, dude. It's amazing."

As further records near, Yankees manager Aaron Boone only anticipates the excitement ramping up.

"Obviously we're in a pennant chase, and Judge is sitting where he is, so there's going to be that added buzz every time he comes up," Boone said.

"I experienced that playing in the NL Central playing against Sammy and [Mark] McGwire in '98 where it's like every time, it's an event.

"And I think the fact that we're where we are in the pennant race and what he's doing hopefully should create an awesome environment at the stadium."

Jimmy Garoppolo is back as the San Francisco 49ers' starter but only after an awful injury to his successor Trey Lance.

Garoppolo looked to be on the way out of the Niners in the offseason as Lance, selected with the third overall pick in last year's draft, was installed as the starter in San Francisco.

Eventually, however, the team agreed to a reworked contract with Garoppolo that would see him stay on as Lance's backup.

And the 30-year-old, who led the 49ers to the Super Bowl in 2019 and the NFC Championship Game last year, did not have to wait long for his chance.

Lance fractured his right ankle in a tackle on the 49ers' second drive of their Week 2 win over the Seattle Seahawks.

He left the field on a cart and was quickly ruled out of the rest of the game, with coach Kyle Shanahan later confirming the quarterback was set for season-ending surgery.

Garoppolo came in for his first snaps of the year, throwing for 154 yards and a touchdown and rushing for a further score as San Francisco eased to a 27-7 win.

After the game, he said: "It felt good to be back out there.

"I felt terrible for Trey. I've been on that side in this league. It's tough. Every person has their share of injuries, but that sucks for him and I feel bad for him.

"But he's our brother, and we'll pick him up."

Garoppolo has himself been working his way back from shoulder surgery, but he quickly settled back in.

"It was more just about getting the shoulder ready," he said. "Mentally, I knew the scheme.

"Some of the new plays took a little while to learn, there's always some new wrinkles in the offense, but for the most part it was just once my shoulder was good, I was ready to roll."

Nathaniel Hackett got his first win as Denver Broncos head coach on Sunday, but he did not enjoy a happy home opener as his team were jeered against the Houston Texans.

Much was expected of the Broncos this year after trading for quarterback Russell Wilson and handing him a huge new contract.

The calendar looked kind through two weeks, starting against Wilson's former team the Seattle Seahawks and then welcoming the Texans.

But Denver, under first-time coach Hackett, lost in farcical fashion in Seattle and only scraped past the Texans 16-9 to recover to 1-1.

The crowd were far from happy with what they saw from their team in Week 2, and those sentiments were echoed by Hackett, the subject of boos.

"I would be booing myself," Hackett said. "I was getting very frustrated.

"We get down to the red zone two times, don't get another touchdown, which is unbelievably frustrating. I don't think we have scored in there yet.

"That's something where all of our guys have to step it up. Whether we run the ball more, whatever we're doing, we just have to execute at a higher level."

The Broncos inexplicably ran down the clock against the Seahawks before sending on kicker Brandon McManus to miss a vital field goal rather than putting the ball in Wilson's hands on fourth and five.

And timekeeping was again an issue against the Texans, with slow play-calling prompting the Denver fans to count down the play clock in a loud chant.

"I think I just need to be sure I clean up exactly what I'm hearing, where I'm going with it, and make sure I'm on the same page for Russ," Hackett explained. "I think that will make us more efficient."

Wilson, who completed just 14 of 31 passes for 219 yards with one touchdown and one interception, was reticent to criticise the crowd as he skirted around the issue.

"I guess [the countdown] was helpful if needed," he said. "I guess they do that in basketball sometimes.

"This crowd was amazing tonight. Once again, how they were especially when the defense was out there with the game on the line... I know how hard that is as a quarterback hearing all of that noise and all that tenacity.

"That was great that our fans were really into it and just a great football crowd, for sure."

Kyler Murray decided to take responsibility for the Arizona Cardinals after a woeful first half left them 20-0 down at the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.

And Murray and the Cardinals were rewarded for his bravery as they rallied to a sensational 29-23 win in overtime.

Cornerback Byron Murphy's fumble return decided the game, but quarterback Murray had brought Arizona to that point.

Under increased scrutiny this season after signing a five-year, $230.5million contract extension – which initially contained a controversial 'homework' clause – Murray threw for 193 yards and two touchdowns against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1 but saw the Cardinals beaten 44-21.

Through two quarters in Week 2, Murray had completed only six passes for 53 yards, thrown an interception and not carried the ball once.

It looked like being another miserable day for the former first overall pick and his team-mates, yet he turned the game on its head.

"I had to take over, had to do whatever it took to win," Murray explained. "That was my mindset."

The fourth-year star threw for 224 yards and a TD, rushing for a further score to put Murphy in a position to win the game.

"That feeling, going into the half where nothing is going right, we've felt that plenty of times since I've been here," Murray said afterwards. "It's an ugly feeling.

"But the grit, the resiliency of this group... the issue with this group is never about playing hard. It's about executing."

The pick of Murray's plays was a two-point conversion when the Cardinals trailed the Raiders 23-13, as the QB scrambled for 20 seconds and 85 yards before reaching the end zone.

"There's so many do-or-die plays, I lost count, where we had to have this stop, had to have this two-point conversion, had to score, had to have the fourth down," coach Kliff Kingsbury said.

"And guys just kept fighting. I mean nobody blinked. At half-time, it was just, 'hey, we got to settle in and do what we do'.

"We played about as bad as you could the first half and didn't play great the second half, but the effort was incredible."

Of Murray, he added: "He's a special talent. You can see when he's able to do his thing, that's what he does, and he had some tremendous plays.

"The numbers may not be great, [but] we don't care about numbers."