Los Angeles Rams

Beckham Jr.'s future has been the subject of speculation, with the wide receiver still without a franchise after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the Los Angeles Rams' victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.

The 29-year-old looks unlikely to sign for the Rams after he hit out at the franchise for offering him the "lowest of low" contracts last month, and Buffalo has been touted as an alternative destination.

Beane believes the opportunity to sign the three-time Pro Bowler upon his return to fitness would certainly be worthy of closer examination.

"OBJ's a heck of a talent," Beane told reporters on Wednesday. "You know where he was drafted, obviously he had the great catch and he might have been the MVP of that Super Bowl, does he not tear the ACL. 

"He's a heck of a player, everyone in this room knows who OBJ is. You know me, if we think he can help this team, we'd be crazy not to at least look into it."

The Bills moved to 6-1 for the season with an impressive 27-17 win against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

Beckham Jr. was clearly impressed by Buffalo's performance in that game, tweeting "damn Buffalo" alongside a saluting emoji after they raced to a 24-7 half-time advantage, adding further fuel to speculation he could join the AFC East leaders.

Ideally, all teams will hope they sit in a better position to challenge than they did a few months back, but the reality is some are just starting from further back than others.

When it comes to Super Bowl challengers, undoubtedly the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs remain strong favourites to get back to the big game. The Bucs have got the band back together after hoisting aloft the Vince Lombardi Trophy on home turf, while the Chiefs have responded to a harrowing loss by rebuilding the offensive line in front of Patrick Mahomes.

But what about the chasing pack? Stats Perform picks out some of the leading contenders for glory while reflecting on what has happened since they last played.

Buffalo Bills

An appearance in the AFC Championship Game inspired by the improved play of quarterback Josh Allen left Buffalo rightly believing they needed minor tweaks, rather than dramatic alterations, to challenge once again in 2021. They kept the offensive line together, then added depth at a key area in the draft when selecting Spencer Brown in round three.

However, the Bills – who ranked 15th in opponent yards per play allowed (5.5) last term but were a lowly 26th versus the run (4.62) – used first and second-round selections to help their defense, with Greg Rousseau and Carlos Basham Jr firming up a pass rush that tied 15th for sacks. Add in Emmanuel Sanders to the receiving group and Buffalo appears to be in rude health as they aim to go one better than last season.

Los Angeles Rams

The Rams are swinging for the fences as they bid to get back to the Super Bowl. Jared Goff was the starter when they lost to the New England Patriots in February 2019, but his time with the franchise is over. The blockbuster deal to get Matthew Stafford from Detroit has ramped up the pressure to get results on the field – and not just in the regular season either.

Leonard Floyd remained thanks to a bumper contract, but John Johnson and Troy Hill are gone from the secondary. They will continue to lean heavily on Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey to lead a defense that allowed the fewest passing yards per play (5.08) and the third-least rushing yards per play (3.76). While trades have seen the Rams become accustomed to watching on as teams are on the clock in round one, it was notable they added three wide receivers with their picks as they aim for a fifth successive winning season under head coach Sean McVay.

San Francisco 49ers

Yes, a team who finished the 2020 regular season with a 6-10 record should be considered as genuine contenders. The 49ers went so close to Super Bowl glory 15 months ago, while a roster ravaged by injuries last season will hope for better fortune when it comes to keeping key personnel healthy. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh has jetted off to New York, but Nick Bosa should be back.

In truth, it will be the offense that defines San Francisco's chances. Jimmy Garoppolo failed to inspire in his limited appearances, throwing seven touchdowns to five interceptions, so getting a quarterback in the draft – even if trading up to number three came at a high cost – made sense. Trey Lance was their choice, a high-upside selection who showed plenty of promise in 19 games for North Dakota State. The run game remains pivotal, though, which explains why they splashed out to make sure Trent Williams and Kyle Juszczyk stuck around.

Cleveland Browns

Having made the playoffs for the first time since 2002, the Browns knocked out divisional rivals Pittsburgh and then came close to upsetting Kansas City on the road. The defense was bolstered up front with the signings of Jadeveon Clowney and Malik Jackson. However, having given up 31 passing touchdowns, the secondary has rightly been the focus. After snapping up former Rams duo Johnson and Hill, Cleveland selected cornerback Greg Newsome II and linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah in the first two rounds of the draft.

Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski built the offense around the rushing tandem of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt – the team averaged 4.8 yards per rush – easing the pressure on Baker Mayfield to move the sticks. Still, he ranked sixth in passer rating (118.4) on throws of 21 air yards or more among quarterbacks with at least 25 such attempts, showing teams cannot fill the box and focus solely on stopping the run. If they can get out of a highly competitive AFC North again, the Browns will believe they can build on a Divisional Round appearance.

Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens' hopes will once again rest with Lamar Jackson, their dual-threat quarterback who is on course for a significant pay rise when an agreement is reached over a long-term extension. His ability to run helped Baltimore finish first in rushing yards per play with 5.53, while the passing game has a little extra help now after receiver Rashod Bateman was taken with the 27th pick. Still, there was no flashy free-agency signing at the position, despite links with JuJu Smith-Schuster and T.Y. Hilton. Kevin Zeitler did pen a deal, securing an experienced guard to bolster the offensive line.

Defensively, Matt Judon and Yannick Ngakoue have moved on to the Patriots and Raiders respectively, though the Ravens have a reputation for building a pass rush no matter who is on the roster. Tyus Bowser can expect an increased role, plus outside linebacker Odafe Oweh was chosen with the late first-round pick acquired in the trade that sent offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr to the Chiefs.

Honourable mentions

The Green Bay Packers would have made the list were it not for the uncertainty surrounding the future of reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers. For all their quarterback's undoubted qualities on the field, they have not made a Super Bowl in 11 years. And what is going on in Seattle too? Rumours relating to Russell Wilson's future have dominated the offseason for the Seahawks.

The Indianapolis Colts will hope they can get the best out of signal-caller Carson Wentz and the Pittsburgh Steelers seem set for one last ride with Ben Roethlisberger. As for a trendy pick who missed out on the playoffs last season, look no further than the Los Angeles Chargers, complete with a revamped offensive line to help keep QB Justin Herbert safe.

Reports revealed Wagner had come to an agreement with the Rams on Thursday, meaning he will return to free agency ahead of the 2023 season.

The linebacker spent the first 10 years of his career with the Seattle Seahawks, winning Super Bowl XLVIII and earning six First-team All-Pro selections.

Wagner then entered free agency for the first time last year and joined the Rams, then the defending Super Bowl champions.

A dismal season saw the Rams finish with a 5-12 record and miss the playoffs, although Wagner – having signed a five-year, $50million deal with $20m in guarantees – was a Second-team All-Pro for the third time.

With the Rams $13.7m above the salary cap approaching the new league year, they have saved $5m in space by releasing Wagner.

He will be free to join a new team as soon as the agreement is made official.

Holmes, 41, also assumes the position of executive vice president after leaving the Rams, where he served as director of college scouting.

He takes over the role that had stood vacant since Bob Quinn was fired on November 28, when head coach Matt Patricia was also dismissed.

A full-time successor to Patricia has yet to be appointed, but the key front office role is now filled as Holmes takes up his most senior post yet, reportedly on a five-year deal.

The Lions (5-11) finished bottom of the NFC North in 2020, as they now have for three consecutive seasons, and principal owner and chairman Sheila Ford Hamp said Holmes had made an immediately positive impression.

"On behalf of the entire Lions organisation, I am thrilled to welcome Brad Holmes to Detroit," she said.

"Several weeks ago, when we embarked on this process, it was critical that we find the right person to fit our vision for this team. It was evident early on that Brad is a proven leader who is ready for this opportunity. We are thrilled to introduce him to our fans as a member of our football family."

The Lions were reported to have considered an array of candidates, some of whom had GM experience in the NFL, including Thomas Dimitroff and Scott Pioli.

Rod Wood, the CEO and team president, said Holmes "stood out immediately" because of his commitment to using data to identify emerging talent.

"His abilities as a critical thinker, along with his extensive experience implementing technology and analytics into his approach to scouting, were among the many decisive qualities Brad displayed in our time getting to know him during the interview process," Wood said.

"We look forward to him helping lead our organisation as we take the next steps as a team."

Holmes had been with the Rams since joining as a public relations intern in 2003. He soon joined the scouting staff and was appointed in 2013 to the role he has vacated to switch allegiance.

The Rams will pick up a third-round draft pick for each of the next two years as compensation for losing Holmes, NFL.com said.

Both teams went into Week 3 of the NFL unbeaten this season and all eyes were on quarterbacks Brady and Matthew Stafford.

But unfortunately for Brady, it was Stafford who stole the show as he inspired a fine victory for the Rams over the Super Bowl champions.

Stafford threw four touchdowns to lead the Rams to a 3-0 start to the campaign, with the 2014 Pro Bowler also recording 27-of-38 for 343 yards and just one sack.

That haul of four TDs improved Stafford's season tally to nine, matching Hall of Famer Kurt Warner (1999) for the most by a Rams quarterback in the first three games of a season. Warner won the NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP that season.

Brady was coming off a five-touchdown performance, making him the fifth player all time to throw four or more touchdowns in each of his first two games of a season, but the 44-year-old was limited to just one against the Rams.

Although he did rush for a score, Brady finished with 41 of 55 for 432 yards and three sacks. While those passing yards were the most he has racked up in a game for Tampa, it only served to further highlight how he struggled to get the Bucs into the end zone.

Brady touched on that, accepting he threw more than should be necessary, but his struggles were seemingly indicative of collective issues.

"They [the Rams] played the kind of game they wanted to play," Brady said. "If we're going to beat a team like that, we have to play well in all phases.

"We've got to get some turnovers and we've got to keep protecting the football. We've got to start fast and get a lead, run the ball well, throw the ball well, play good defense, play good special teams. It all fits together when you play good teams.

"The throwing needs to be better, the all-around offense, the red area, [we must be] better on third down. We definitely had some opportunities to help the team win, but we didn't get it done.

"Those guys up front are trying to create space, and our backs are trying to run hard. But again, when you're losing all day, you're going to get into more throwing than we probably want.

"It's just not a great complementary game by us. We've got to learn from it, but anytime you come up short it's not a great feeling.

"It's a tough loss. I'll just get through the plane trip and evaluate what we need to do. I want to win every time we take the field."

Head coach Bruce Arians struck a similar chord to Brady, adamant the Bucs fell short of their potential, but he has no concerns when it comes to learning from mistakes.

"Our locker room, they know we didn't play up to our ability," he added. "When we play up to our ability, we're a better team than this one.

"We'll make sure that we make the corrections. Everybody's eyes and ears will be open to the coaching, and our guys do a great job with it."

With a nine-yard strike to Mike Evans in the closing seconds of the first quarter, Brady became the first NFL quarterback to throw 600 touchdown passes.

The 44-year-old – 20-of-36 passing for 211 yards – would finish the game with 602 for his career, all four of his TD tosses going for fewer than 10 yards and three of them landing in Evans' hands. 

Blaine Gabbert took over at quarterback for Brady midway through the fourth quarter with the game well in hand as the Buccaneers improved to 6-1. 

Brady's opposite number, Bears rookie QB Justin Fields, had a brutal day as he was sacked four times and threw three interceptions as Chicago failed to find the end zone. 

Stafford, Rams survive Lions scare

The matchup between Super Bowl contenders the Los Angeles Rams and the winless Detroit Lions finished with the expected result, but the Rams' 28-19 win was much closer than anticipated. 

The Rams (6-1) trailed 19-17 entering the fourth quarter and needed a five-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford to Cooper Kupp early in the period to take the lead and a 47-yard Matt Gay field goal with just over a minute to play to seal the win. 

Stafford completed 28 of 41 passes for 334 yards and three TDs against the team he played for in the first 12 years of his career, while former Rams QB Jared Goff threw a pair of costly interceptions for the Lions (0-7).

Kupp became the first player in the Super Bowl era to have 800-plus receiving yards and nine-plus receiving touchdowns in his team's first seven games of a season.

While the Lions remained the only winless team in the league after Week 7, the Arizona Cardinals (7-0) maintained their status as the lone team with a perfect record, routing the Houston Texans 31-5 behind three TD passes by Kyler Murray. 

So much drama, so many late twists, and it's almost time to do it all over again as Week 2 looms on the horizon.

Sunday sees Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers looking to follow up their opening win against the Dallas Cowboys when they head to New Orleans, the Los Angeles Rams will aim to get on the board when they host the Atlanta Falcons, while Russell Wilson's first home game for the Denver Broncos sees them welcome the Houston Texans.

With all that and more, Stats Perform has used Opta data to preview the weekend's action in the NFL.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0) @ New Orleans Saints (1-0)

The Saints have won their last seven regular-season games against the Buccaneers, matching the longest previous winning streak by either team in this rivalry, a run of seven consecutive wins by New Orleans from 2011 to 2014. Tampa Bay did beat the Saints in a Divisional Playoff game following the 2020 season.

Tampa Bay had one interception (by Antoine Winfield Junior) in their season-opening win at Dallas. The Bucs were 11-0 last season in games in which they intercepted at least one pass. The Green Bay Packers (also 11-0) were the only other NFL team to go unbeaten last season in games in which they recorded one or more interceptions.

New Orleans won their season opener in Atlanta, 27-26, after trailing 26-10 in the fourth quarter. It was the first time in franchise history that the Saints won a game in which they trailed by 16 or more points in the fourth quarter, and only the third time they won a game in which they were behind by 16 or more points in the second half.

Tom Brady and the Bucs lost their last game against the Saints, 9-0 (Week 15 last season). That is one of only three times that Brady's team has been shut out in his 317 regular-season and 47 postseason starts in the NFL. The other shutouts were in 2003 (Patriots at Buffalo, 31-0 in Week 1) and 2014 (Patriots at Miami, 21-0 in Week 14).

Atlanta Falcons (0-1) @ Los Angeles Rams (0-1)

Including their original stint in California and time in St. Louis, the Rams are 28-8-2 (.778) at home against their former NFC West rival, Atlanta Falcons. That is the best home record of any franchise against a single opponent (minimum of 30 games) in NFL history.

Cordarrelle Patterson rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown in Atlanta's season opener. At 31 years old, Patterson is the second-oldest player in team history to have 100+ rushing yards and a touchdown run in a game, behind only Warrick Dunn, who had two such games.

The Rams started the season with a 31-10 loss to the Bills, the largest home loss in a season opener ever by a defending Super Bowl champion. The team has not started a season at 0-2 since 2011 when they were in St. Louis and have not lost their first two games as the Los Angeles Rams since 1987.

Cooper Kupp tied a career high with 13 catches in the opener against Buffalo. Including playoffs, Kupp has at least five receptions in each of the Rams' last 22 games. Only Antonio Brown has a longer such streak of team games with five or more catches in the Super Bowl era (37).

Houston Texans (0-0-1) @ Denver Broncos (0-1)

The Texans opened their season with a 20-20 tie against the Indianapolis Colts, despite being outgained by 218 yards in the game. Prior to Houston on Sunday, the last team to tie a game while having 200+ yards less than their opponent was the Packers against the Broncos in 1987.

In his first game with the Texans, O.J. Howard scored touchdowns on each of his two receptions. Howard joins Jaelen Strong as the only players to ever have two TD catches in their team debut for Houston.

Denver committed 12 penalties in their 17-16 loss to the Seahawks on Monday. It was the most penalties the Broncos have ever committed in a season opener, surpassing the 11 penalties they had to kick off the 1970 season against the Bills.

Russell Wilson threw for 340 yards against the Seahawks in his Denver debut. It was the most passing yards by a Broncos QB on their debut with the team and Wilson's 12th career game with 340+ passing yards (his teams are 5-7 in those games).

Elsewhere...

The New England Patriots travel to the Pittsburgh Steelers after suffering a 20-7 loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 1, and have not started a season with consecutive double-digit losses since losing three straight games by such a margin to begin the 1969 campaign.

Baltimore's Lamar Jackson threw for three touchdowns against the New York Jets after throwing three or more TDs just twice all of last season. Before they host the Dolphins, it is notable that, in his career, the Ravens are 13-1 when Jackson has three or more pass TDs, the second-best team record among active players behind Josh Allen at 14-1 (minimum 10 such games).

Starting with their 2013 NFC Championship game success over the 49ers, the Seattle Seahawks are 15-2 in their last 17 games against San Francisco, which includes season sweeps in 2020 and 2021. The 15 wins since January 2014 are tied with the Patriots (vs. Jets) for the most by an NFL team against a single opponent in that span (including playoffs).

The Arizona Cardinals will need to watch Davante Adams, who had 10 catches for 141 yards on 17 targets in his Las Vegas Raiders debut. That is the most targets for any player in their first career game with the Raiders in the past 30 seasons. The only other with player with 15+ targets in their Raiders debut over that span is Randy Moss in 2005 (15).

The Bucs trailed 27-3 but fought back to level the game in the final quarter before eventually losing 30-27 to the Los Angeles Rams in Sunday's Divisional playoff.

Brady threw a spectacular pass for Mike Evans for a 55-yard touchdown to make it 27-20 in the fourth quarter.

Tampa Bay's exit comes amid growing speculation about the 44-year-old quarterback's future, with one year remaining on his Bucs contract.

"I haven’t put a lot of thought into it. Just take it day-by-day and see where we’re at,” Brady told reporters after the game.

Brady added: "The truth of it is I'm only thinking about this game. I'm not thinking about anything past five minutes from now."

Tampa Bay head coach Bruce Arians offered no insight into the situation either, stating "that's up to Tom" when pressed on the issue.

Brady completed 30 of 54 attempts for 329 yards and one touchdown in Sunday's defeat. The seven-time Super Bowl champion had a 67.5 percent completion rate for a career-high 5,316 yards with 43 touchdowns and 12 interceptions this season.

The Bucs had entered the playoffs as the NFC's second seed but fell short after going all the way last season as fifth seeds.

"Always tough losing at the end of the year," Brady said.

"Obviously we showed a lot of fight but at the end of the day when you lose a game, you lose a game."

In one of the standout games of the Divisional Round, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers host NFC West winners the Rams on Sunday.

The defending Super Bowl champions were beaten by the Rams on the road in Week 3 of the regular season but have home advantage this time around after claiming the number two seed in the NFC.

Tampa Bay eased to a 31-15 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card Round, while the Rams also encountered few problems in beating the Arizona Cardinals 34-11.

A star Rams defense, which includes the likes of cornerback Jalen Ramsey and defensive tackle Aaron Donald, held Arizona to just 183 yards.

It was the second-fewest total yards allowed in a playoff game in franchise history, behind only their 1989 Championship Game win over Tampa Bay.

Brady does not need any reminders about how difficult it is to play the Rams, who have won seven of their last eight meetings against the Bucs.

"It's a very, very challenging team," Brady told reporters ahead of the game. "Really good offense, tremendous defense, really well-coached, great specialists, so it can be very, very difficult game for us.

"It's a very talented football team, obviously one of the great teams in the NFL.

"This team does a lot of good things well. Obviously they rush the passer well, they cover you really well in the secondary, get a lot of turnovers - they sack the quarterback, strip sacks. 

"They have a lot of dynamic players. Obviously, Jalen Ramsey is one of the great corners in the league. So between the guys that they have in the secondary as well as the front, you know that you have no place that you can take off. 

"These guys are they can turn you over. They can make big plays like they did the other night when David Long got the pick six [against Arizona]."

Brady and the Bucs will take lessons from the 34-24 regular season defeat, but the veteran quarterback does not believe it can be factored in too much due to both teams changing since then.

He added: "All these games are a little bit independent from one another. 

"Any time you know your opponent, that always gives you a little bit of understanding of kind of what they do well and things you wish you would have done. 

"But it doesn't really matter what happened in October when we played them last. It's really about this game and what we learned from last game.  

"We had a very different team and I think it was a little bit of a different team they had too. It is going to require its own individual performance."

Last season the Bucs put a strong run together to finish the regular season that continued into postseason glory.

Brady, who is now three wins away from winning an eighth Super Bowl, was asked how he always seems to find another gear once the NFL season gets to December and beyond.

"For all of us, it's repeating good process – that is the important part about getting this time of year," added the 44-year-old.

"You don't do much different, you just do more of which got you here. The things that work we do more of and you try to eliminate all the other distractions. 

"I won't do anything extra this week. I just want to do football. That's all I want to do to prepare and get ready. That is how we should all approach it. 

"This isn't the time for trips to the movie theatres, it is time to lock in on football because this is all we have - three days left [of the season] and we have got to earn more. 

"So you just look at it like that, everything you can kind of put off till the end of the year. We just certainly hope the end of the year is not on Sunday night."

The win over the Eagles was Brady's 18th career playoff win by double digits. 

He has more playoff wins by double digits (18) and by single digits (17) than any other QB has total playoff wins (second is Joe Montana with 16 wins).

Brady completed 26 of 48 passes for 216 yards and two touchdowns, but the Buccaneers quarterback also threw two interceptions and was sacked once at Raymond James Stadium.

The Rams improved to 7-3 and went top of the NFC West, while the Buccaneers are 7-4 and sit second to the New Orleans Saints (8-2) in the NFC South.

Rams quarterback Jared Goff was 39 of 51 for 376 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, while Cooper Kupp (145) and Robert Woods (130) both had more than 100 receiving yards.

In the end, Goff led a late drive that saw Matt Gay convert a field goal with less than three minutes left, before Brady was intercepted to end the Buccaneers' chances.

Goff picked out Woods to complete a 13-play, 80-yard drive and give the Rams a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

The Buccaneers responded early in the second quarter, Mike Evans showcasing his power to score after a pass from Brady.

Leonard Fournette rushed over from two yards for the Buccaneers before Van Jefferson scored his first career TD after a pass from Goff to bring the Rams level.

The Rams would go into half-time ahead, Goff and Woods combining for 35 yards to set up Gay's 38-yard field goal.

Since Sean McVay became head coach in 2017, the Rams were 31-0 (now 32-0) when leading at half-time. They are the only undefeated team in such games over that span, with every other having at least two losses, as per NFL Research.

After Ryan Succop's 38-yarder made it 17-17, Gay missed from 44 yards before Brady was easily intercepted by Jordan Fuller.

The Rams capitalised as Goff found Cam Akers for his first career NFL TD.

But Goff was intercepted by Jordan Whitehead to give the Buccaneers an opportunity they would not waste, Chris Godwin diving into the endzone after a 13-yard pass from Brady with less than four minutes remaining.

That score again saw Brady pass Drew Brees for the most passing touchdowns in NFL history, moving onto 566.

Goff led an eight-play, 53-yard drive to putt Gay in position for a 40-yard field goal with two minutes, 40 seconds remaining, and Brady was intercepted by Fuller again as the Rams saw out their win.

The first Pro Bowlers of the 2021 season were revealed on billboards in Las Vegas, which will host the annual NFL all-star game on 6 February at Allegiant Stadium.

The other confirmed players to feature are Aaron Donald (Los Angeles Rams), Cooper Kupp (Los Angeles Rams), Jonathan Taylor (Indianapolis Colts) and Travis Kelce (Kansas City Chiefs).

Brady will overtake Peyton Manning, Tony Gonzalez, Bruce Matthews and Merlin Olsen, who all featured in 14 Pro Bowls.

The legendary quarterback has guided the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 10-4 record and first place in the NFC South, with just one more victory needed to secure the division title. Brady currently boasts the best 2021 numbers in most major passing categories, including yards (4,348), attempts (602), completions (404) and touchdown passes (36).

The 44-year-old has won more Super Bowls than any other player in history (seven) and also holds the record for most Super Bowl MVP awards (five).

The full reveal of the AFC and NFC teams for this year's Pro Bowl will take place on Wednesday.

Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers went head-to-head, and the Buccaneers came out on top at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday.

In Florida, the Dolphins blew out the Jets, leaving New York 0-6 and putting further pressure on under-fire head coach Adam Gase.

In the last game of the day, the San Francisco 49ers bounced back from consecutive losses by beating the Los Angeles Rams.

DEAN SPARKS BUCCANEERS AGAINST PACKERS

With the Buccaneers trailing 10-0, Jamel Dean's pick-six of Rodgers sparked Tampa Bay on the way to a 38-10 victory.

The Buccaneers scored 38 consecutive points, with Brady throwing touchdown passes to Tyler Johnson and Rob Gronkowski in the second quarter.

Brady completed 17 of 27 passes for 166 yards and the two TDs.

The quarterback connected with former New England Patriots team-mate Gronkowski for their 79th TD. They are tied for the fourth most by a duo in NFL history, alongside Dan Marino and Mark Clayton, as per NFL Research. Only Peyton Manning-Marvin Harrison, Philip Rivers-Antonio Gates and Steve Young-Jerry Rice are ahead of them.

Packers star Rodgers threw two interceptions and was sacked four times, finishing with just 160 passing yards after completing 16 of 35.

MORE MISERY FOR JETS AS TUA DEBUTS

Tagovailoa, the fifth pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, came on for his debut in the Dolphins' 24-0 win over the struggling Jets.

He replaced Ryan Fitzpatrick, who had completed 18 of 27 passes for 191 yards, three TDs and two interceptions as the Dolphins improved to 3-3. Tagovailoa completed two passes for nine yards.

Under pressure at the helm of the Jets, Gase said his players were hurting.

"In this locker room, these guys are good guys that work extremely hard. It's frustrating when you talk to them on Monday and you can tell they're hurting," he said.

"They come in to work and do a good job and have high energy at practice. I feel the players are the ones who are trying to flip this thing, they're taking the lead on this. We've just got to keep grinding and find a way to fix these early mistakes to try and flip the game."

49ERS BOUNCE BACK

The 49ers improved to 3-3 courtesy of a 24-16 win over the Rams.

Jimmy Garoppolo threw three touchdown passes – to Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk – and completed 23 of 33 for 268 yards.

Kittle had 109 receiving yards for San Francisco, including a 44-yarder from Garoppolo for a TD in the second quarter.

Rams QB Jared Goff struggled, completing just 19 of 38 passes for 198 yards, to go with two TDs and an interception.

Week 6 scores:

Tennessee Titans 42-36 Houston Texans
Baltimore Ravens 30-28 Philadelphia Eagles
Atlanta Falcons 40-23 Minnesota Vikings
Pittsburgh Steelers 38-7 Cleveland Browns
Indianapolis Colts 31-27 Cincinnati Bengals 
Detroit Lions 34-16 Jacksonville Jaguars
Chicago Bears 23-16 Carolina Panthers
New York Giants 20-19 Washington Football Team
Denver Broncos 18-12 New England Patriots
Miami Dolphins 24-0 New York Jets
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 38-10 Green Bay Packers
San Francisco Giants 24-16 Los Angeles Rams

The defensive lineman’s agent Scott Casterline confirmed to NFL Media that a deal had been done with the Rams.

Brockers has reportedly agreed a three-year pact with a maximum value of around $31.5million, similar to what he would have got with the Ravens.

The 29-year-old was poised to join the Ravens in free agency until a high ankle sprain suffered against the Arizona Cardinals in the last game of the 2019 season was flagged up in a medical report.

The two parties could not agree on a reworked contract, and the Ravens officially announced on Friday they would not proceed with the deal, which had only been agreed "in principle" but was "yet to be finalised".

"Because of the COVID-19 epidemic and restricted travel, teams have had trouble finalising deals with a medical examination by their own doctors," read the Ravens' statement.

That led to Brockers promptly returning to the Rams, a development welcomed by his colleague Aaron Donald on social media.

Brockers was selected by the Rams in the first round of the 2012 draft and has spent his whole NFL career with the franchise. He was part of the team that reached Super Bowl LIII.

Brady became the first player in NFL history to throw more than 100,000 career yards on a 15-yard fourth-quarter completion to Leonard Fournette.

That was before Brady took over to win the game for the Bucs who were down 13-9 with 44 seconds remaining, going five-of-six for 60 yards on the game-winning drive, the record 55th of his career.

Not only did Brady achieve those new feats, but he notched his 43rd career fourth-quarter comeback, tying Peyton Manning for the most by an NFL starting quarterback.

Brady declared "that was awesome, that was f****** awesome" to open his post-game press conference, referring to the come-from-behind win, not the records.

"It's all about the win," Brady added. "It's all about the win, man. I never cared about the [records]. All about the win."

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles was full of praise for 45-year-old Brady who completed 36 of 58 passes for 280 yards and one TD.

"We always have a chance with [Brady]," Bowles said. "We're grateful to have him. He got over 100,000 yards - that's a long-playing career for anybody. He's still playing at a high level. We love the guy to death.

"You run out of things to say about him. I'm sure I can't say anything different than the 50 million people that [have] already commented things on him. He's a great player.

"He's one of the best, if not the best to ever play the game, and he continues to do that."

The win improved the Bucs' record to 4-5 to regain top spot in the NFC South after the Atlanta Falcons lost 20-17 to the Los Angeles Chargers.

Brady became the first player in NFL history to throw more than 100,000 career yards on a 15-yard fourth-quarter completion to Leonard Fournette.

That was before Brady took over to win the game for the Bucs who were down 13-9 with 44 seconds remaining, going five-of-six for 60 yards on the game-winning drive, the record 55th of his career.

Not only did Brady achieve those new feats, but he notched his 43rd career fourth-quarter comeback, tying Peyton Manning for the most by an NFL starting quarterback.

Brady declared "that was awesome, that was f****** awesome" to open his post-game press conference, referring to the come-from-behind win, not the records.

"It's all about the win," Brady added. "It's all about the win, man. I never cared about the [records]. All about the win."

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles was full of praise for 45-year-old Brady who completed 36 of 58 passes for 280 yards and one TD.

"We always have a chance with [Brady]," Bowles said. "We're grateful to have him. He got over 100,000 yards - that's a long-playing career for anybody. He's still playing at a high level. We love the guy to death.

"You run out of things to say about him. I'm sure I can't say anything different than the 50 million people that [have] already commented things on him. He's a great player.

"He's one of the best, if not the best to ever play the game, and he continues to do that."

The win improved the Bucs' record to 4-5 to regain top spot in the NFC South after the Atlanta Falcons lost 20-17 to the Los Angeles Chargers.

Tom Brady threw for four touchdowns and 211 yards in the Bucs' 38-3 thrashing of the Chicago Bears last week, though Tampa Bay's recent record against the Saints is poor.

The Los Angeles Rams are also 6-1, and are looking to extend their strong start when they take on the Houston Texans, who are out to avoid a franchise first.

Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase, meanwhile, have been linking up to superb effect for the Cincinnati Bengals, who are at the New York Jets on Sunday. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-1) @ New Orleans Saints (4-2)

Tampa Bay may have picked up from where they left off last season, but their recent run against New Orleans has not been at all profitable.

New Orleans have won five straight games against NFC South rivals Tampa Bay, which is the longest active losing streak for the Buccaneers against any single opponent.

However, the Bucs did set franchise records for points in a first quarter with 21, and points in a first half with 35, in their 38-3 win over the Bears. The 21 first-quarter and 35 first-half points are also the most scored by any NFL team this season.

Mike Evans caught three touchdowns against the Bears with all of them coming in the first half. He joined Marvin Harrison, Marvin Jones Jr, Jerry Rice, and Sterling Sharpe as the only players since the merger to have multiple games with three first-half touchdown catches.

The Saints beat the Seattle Seahawks in their last outing, and had 35 passing attempts in that win. Both teams have combined to win 76.9 per cent of their games this season, the highest combined winning percentage that the teams have ever had when facing each other.

Los Angeles Rams (6-1) @ Houston Texans (1-6)

This will be only the fifth all-time meeting between the Texans and the Rams, and just the second game since the latter moved back to Los Angeles.

The Rams have outscored the Texans by an aggregate of 71-20 over the last two meetings, and, at 6-1, Los Angeles are enjoying their equal second-best start to a season this century, behind the 7-0 run in 2018.

They are also looking to win each of their first four road games of a season for the fourth time since 2000, having also done this in 2001, 2017 and 2018.

Matthew Stafford has thrown for 2,172 yards this season, the most by any Rams player in the team's first seven games of the season since Kurt Warner threw for 2,445 yards in the first seven games of 2000.

Houston, meanwhile, have lost six straight, with each of the last two losses coming by over 25 points. The Texans have not lost three straight games by at least 25 points in franchise history – the only team to do so in a single season in the last 25 years were the Miami Dolphins in 2019.

Cincinnati Bengals (5-2) @ New York Jets (1-5)

The Bengals have won each of the last three meetings between these teams, matching their longest-ever win streak over the Jets (1973-81). Cincinnati's 23-22 win in New York in 2016 snapped a nine-game losing streak when visiting the Jets.

Cincinnati only managed four wins in 2020, but they surpassed that figure with a brilliant 41-17 victory in Baltimore last week, with quarterback Burrow and wide receiver Chase turning in stellar performances.

Burrow passed for a career-high 416 yards and tied a previous career high with three touchdown passes. It was his seventh consecutive game with multiple TD passes, tying a franchise record set twice before by Carson Palmer (2004-05 and 2010).

Chase, meanwhile, had 201 receiving yards, the most all-time by a Bengals rookie and the most by any rookie since Mike Evans had 209 in 2014. Chase's 754 receiving yards in 2021 ranks are the most by any player through seven career games in NFL history.

The Jets' 54-13 loss to the Patriots last week was their largest defeat since a 45-3 loss in Week 13 of the 2010 season, which also happened in New England. The 54 points are the fourth-most that New York have allowed in a single game and the most since 1980.

Elsewhere...

The Detroit Lions are still winless, going 0-7 so far, but could snap the losing streak against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Lions have won three straight against Philadelphia, with each of the last two games being decided by three points or fewer. 

Strugglers the Miami Dolphins travel to Buffalo. With two receiving yards on Sunday, Stefon Diggs will reach 2,000 as a Bill in just his 23rd game with the team. That would be tied for the second fewest games needed by any player with any single team in the Super Bowl era (Odell Beckham Jr. – 21 with the Giants, Vincent Jackson – 23 with Tampa Bay, Brandon Marshall – 23 with Chicago).

Fresh from their win over the Jets, the Patriots will aim to maintain the momentum against the Los Angeles Chargers, against whom they have five straight wins and are 16-3 in the last 19 meetings.

An AFC North clash sees the Browns (4-3) host the 3-3 Steelers. Pittsburgh have not won in Cleveland since 2017, as the teams tied in 2018 before the Browns won in 2019 and 2020.

The Bengals face the Los Angeles Rams in their first Super Bowl in 33 years following a dramatic AFC Championship Game win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Burrow completed 23 of 38 attempts for 250 yards and two touchdowns in that game as the Bengals rallied from 21-3 down to win 27-24 in overtime, equalling the biggest comeback win in a Championship Game.

Sunday's game at SoFi Stadium will be Burrow's first taste of the Super Bowl, yet Taylor thinks the 25-year-old will take it in his stride.

"He is built for this stage. He's played for state championships, he's played for national championships, now he's playing for the Super Bowl," the Bengals' head coach told a media conference.

"I think that's been his expectation all along. He's not surprised by it. He rises to these occasions, and we're certainly happy to have him.

"When you believe that your quarterback can take it the distance, it allows everybody just to play that one per cent better because they know on the other side that the trigger man's capable of doing some really special things.

"So I think he's helped us take us to these heights. We have a lot of confidence in him. He's got a lot of confidence in himself. It's fun to be a part of."

Burrow agreed with Taylor's assessment of his confident nature and does not think he will be overawed by the magnitude of Sunday's game.

"I have always been a confident player," Burrow said.

"More so now than I have ever been before, because I feel like I've proven to myself that I can play at a high level at this level of football.

"I think as a quarterback, it's really important to exude that confidence, not only in yourself but all of your team-mates.

"The quarterback sets the tone for the culture in the locker room, and so I try to be that kind of player and person for everybody here."

Running back Cam Akers, whom the Rams selected in the second round of the 2020 draft, will miss his second year in the league with a torn Achilles.

It was a case of extremely unfortunate timing for Akers, who sustained the injury a week before the Rams were due to start training camp.

"I just want to thank any and every person sending prayers my way and wishing me well," Akers posted on Twitter. 

"I hate this happened but I'm in great spirits and I understand God makes no mistakes. I'll be back better than ever in no time I'm a soldier. Again, thank you."

And it leaves the Rams without a player who came on extremely strong down the stretch in his rookie year.

Indeed, Akers racked up 424 of his 625 rushing yards from Week 12 to Week 17, with that tally the 10th-most among running backs in that period.

His efforts helped the Rams finish 10th in average rush yards per game with 126.1, while his four rushes of 10 yards or more in Los Angeles' two playoff games trailed only Nick Chubb, Leonard Fournette and Darrel Williams (all five).

Akers was tied for 19th in yards after contact per attempt, according to Stats Perform data, gaining an average of 2.05 yards following first contact by a defender. The league-wide average for running backs was 1.91.

In other words, Akers was a difficult back to bring down quickly and was very much finding his feet in the league before the Rams' 2020 season was brought to an end by the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Round.

He had been expected to form a one-two punch with Darrell Henderson, who may now instead have to take on the burden of being the lead back.

Henderson produced a mediocre yards after contact average of 1.94 in 2020, though his yards per carry average of 4.52 was superior to that of Akers (4.31).

Selected in the third round in 2019 after amassing 4,303 yards and 44 touchdowns from scrimmage in his college career at Memphis, where Henderson has a significant edge over Akers is as a receiver.

In the passing game, Henderson produced a big play, defined as plays where the receiver wins his matchup for a gain of 20 yards or for a touchdown, on 25.4 per cent of his targets, putting him sixth among all running backs and fullbacks last year.

Yet passes to running backs are unlikely to be as significant of a feature of the Rams' attack in 2021. With the arrival of Matthew Stafford at quarterback, theirs is an offense that should be much more aggressive in going downfield and the onus will be on Henderson to take advantage of the running opportunities that the threat of the deep pass will open.

Henderson is the most versatile running back the Rams have and, with the four backs below him having never taken an offensive snap at the NFL level, he must use that well-rounded skill set to excel as the undisputed lead back and ensure the Los Angeles ground game remains among the elite.

Conner left Sunday's 38-30 defeat to the Seattle Seahawks nursing his ribs after 15 carries for 52 yards and two touchdowns.

Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury said the side's medical staff were still evaluating Conner's condition ahead of Monday's game.

"He’s still being evaluated . . . hopefully, it’s not too serious," Kingsbury told Arizona Sports 98.7. "But we won’t know for the next couple days."

Conner had missed the Cardinals' previous two games due to a heel injury before making his comeback against the Seahawks.

The 26-year-old finished the regular season with an NFC-high 18 touchdowns, 15 rushing and three receiving. He ranked third in the NFL, behind only Austin Ekeler and Jonathan Taylor (both 20).

Conner has had 202 carries for 752 yards this season along with 37 receptions for 375 yards.

The four-time Pro Bowl selection has not played since Week 3 after undergoing groin surgery, but he returned to practice on Thursday.

Outside linebacker Bosa is in line to return in the Week 17 encounter at SoFi Stadium after he came off IR on the eve of the game.

Bosa had been designated to return, opening up a 21-day window for the playoffs-bound Chargers to decide whether to activate him.

The 27-year-old has played 82 games and made 77 starts for the Chargers, making 59.5 sacks and 218 solo tackles.

He has also forced 14 fumbles and three recoveries and will strengthen the 9-6 team as they prepare for the postseason.

The Chargers also announced they have waived running back Sony Michel, while they elevated defensive lineman David Moa and running back Larry Rountree III from the practice squad for their first game of 2023.