Los Angeles Rams

The two future Hall of Famers are set to face each other twice this year following ex-New England Patriots quarterback Brady's decision to join the Saints' NFC South rivals the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the offseason.

Six-time Super Bowl winner Brady - the league's most decorated quarterback - will be aiming to bring the success he enjoyed in New England to a Bucs team deprived of postseason action in recent years.

Here, using Stats Perform data, we take a look at some of the most intriguing Week 1 matchups.

FEATURE GAME

Bucs at Saints - Sunday, 4.25pm (all times Eastern)

- Tampa Bay have gone 12 straight seasons without making the playoffs, the second-longest drought in the NFL (Cleveland Browns, 17 straight). The Buccaneers have not won a playoff game since defeating the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII in January 2003.

- Brady has joined the Buccaneers after 20 seasons and 285 career games played with the Patriots – the most games with a franchise all-time by a player who subsequently played for another team. Brady has an all-time best .774 career win percentage as a starting QB (minimum 100 starts); the Bucs' .387 all-time win percentage is the worst among current franchises.

- The Saints have won the NFC South three straight years, posting a 13-3 record in each of the last two. They are the fourth NFC team since the merger to have back-to-back seasons of 13-plus wins, joining the 1985-86 Chicago Bears, 1989-90 San Francisco 49ers and 1996-97 Green Bay Packers; no NFL team has ever had three straight 13-win seasons.

OTHER KEY GAMES

Browns at Ravens - Sunday, 1pm

- Since the franchise returned in 1999, the Browns are 1-19-1 in season openers, with the lone win in 2004 versus Baltimore (20-3). Every other team has won at least seven season openers in that span. 

Seahawks at Falcons - Sunday, 1pm

- Ten of the Seattle Seahawks' 11 wins last year – and two of their five losses – came by eight points or fewer. They joined the 1978 Houston Oilers as the only teams in NFL history to win 10 one-score games in a season (defined as seven points when there was no two-point conversion rule, and eight points when there was).

Chargers at Bengals - Sunday, 4.05pm

- Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow will be trying to become the first Heisman-winning QB drafted first overall to win his first start in the NFL since Jim Plunkett in 1971.

Cardinals at 49ers - Sunday, 4.25pm

- In their three-game postseason run in the 2019 campaign, the 49ers outrushed their opponents 612 yards to 212 yards, the best playoff differential for any team since Washington in 1982 and the best all-time by a non-champion.

Cowboys at Rams - 8.20pm

- The 2019 Los Angeles Rams finished third in the NFC West with a 9-7 record. Los Angeles were 7-0 when allowing fewer than 17 points last season, but just 2-7 when allowing 17 or more.

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Dolphins at Patriots - 1pm

- When Cam Newton starts for the Patriots on Sunday, it will snap a streak of 471 consecutive games – regular season and playoffs – in which the Pats have started a QB that they drafted. This is the longest such streak in NFL history.

Bears at Lions - 1pm

- Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford is set to make his 150th career start on Sunday. His 41,025 career passing yards are already the most by any QB through 150 career starts, with only Aaron Rodgers (40,715) also reaching the 40,000 mark.

For just the second time, the Steelers are 6-0 and victory at M&T Bank Stadium would see them match the franchise-best seven-game undefeated start set in 1978.

Games between these NFC North rivals are typically tight affairs, though. Since 2008, 14 of their 24 regular-season meetings have been decided by three points or fewer – the most of any matchup in that time frame – and the Ravens have won eight of those 14 nail-biters.

The Minnesota Vikings have the unenviable task of trying to stop an in-form Aaron Rodgers when they return from their bye week, while a significant milestone is in the offing for Travis Kelce.

We use Stats Perform data to preview the standout matchups on the Week 8 slate.
 

FEATURED GAME

Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens – Sunday 1pm (all times Eastern)

- Lamar Jackson has been held under 200 passing yards in four consecutive starts, though the Ravens won three of those games. Jackson has completed less than 60 per cent of his attempts in three of his last four contests, dropping his season completion percentage to 63 – 26th among 32 qualifiers.

- Since 2000, the Steelers (226) and Ravens (210) rank second and fifth respectively in total victories (regular season and playoffs). The teams have combined to win 14 of 18 AFC North titles all-time, and, in 19 of the past 20 seasons, at least one of the two teams reached the postseason.

- After throwing one interception in the first five games of 2020, Ben Roethlisberger was picked off three times in last Sunday's victory at the Tennessee Titans. Including the postseason, Roethlisberger is 15-10 in his career against the Ravens – but only 4-6 on the road. However, he was triumphant on his past two visits to Baltimore (2017, 2018).

OTHER KEY GAMES

Las Vegas Raiders at Cleveland Browns – Sunday, 1pm

- The Browns' last-minute 37-34 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals last week moved them to 5-2, giving them their best seven-game start to a season since re-joining the NFL in 1999. It is the fourth time since the merger that Cleveland has five or more wins through seven games (1977, 1993, 1994).

Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers – Sunday, 1pm

- Rodgers had four touchdown passes and no interceptions in a 35-20 win against the Houston Texans last time out. His 17 TD passes this year matches a career high through six games of a season, along with his 2011 MVP campaign

New York Jets at Kansas City Chiefs – Sunday, 1pm

- Kelce has 6,966 receiving yards in 103 career games. If he gets to 7,000 on Sunday, he would be the second-fastest tight end in NFL history to reach that mark, behind only Rob Gronkowski (100).

New Orleans Saints at Chicago Bears – Sunday, 4.25pm

- The Saints beat the Carolina Panthers 27-24 at home last week. Each of their past three games has resulted in a win by six points or fewer, just the third time they have ever had such a streak (three games across the 1990 and 1991 seasons; four games in 1988).

San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks – Sunday, 4.25pm

- The Niners are averaging 7.0 yards per carry when rushing to the right (483 yards on 69 attempts), more than any team in any direction this season. They have a combined 479 yards on 122 carries to the left and up the middle

ELSEWHERE…

Los Angeles Rams at Miami Dolphins – Sunday, 1pm

- Tua Tagovailoa will be making his first career start on Sunday. The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, he is the second highest-picked Alabama quarterback of all time (Harry Gilmer went first overall in 1948), and the second-highest QB ever selected by the Dolphins (Bob Griese went fourth overall in 1967).

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New York Giants – Monday, 8.15pm

- With a 45-20 win over the Raiders last week, Tampa Bay have now had back-to-back wins of at least 25 points for the first time in franchise history (defeated Green Bay by 28 in Week 6). The Bucs had just two such wins over the previous seven seasons combined.

The Chiefs have an 8-1 record this season, with their sole defeat coming at home to divisional rivals the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 5.

Kansas City this week have the opportunity to avenge the 40-32 reverse, however, with superstar quarterback Mahomes long since having recovered from that blip.

The game in Las Vegas is among the key Week 11 matchups we preview with Stats Perform data.

FEATURED GAME

Kansas City Chiefs at Las Vegas Raiders - Sunday, 8.20pm (all times Eastern)

- The Chiefs have started the season with wins in their first four road games for the second year in succession. The only time in franchise history the team started a season 5-0 on the road was in 1966, when they went 7-0 away from home en route to a loss to the Green Bay Packers in the first Super Bowl.

- Mahomes has played two road games against the Raiders in his career, throwing four touchdown passes without an interception in each contest. Mahomes' only interception of 2020 came in the Week 5 loss to Las Vegas by Jeff Heath; since then, he has 13 TD passes and no interceptions in 144 pass attempts.

- There are two quarterbacks in the NFL who have double-figure touchdown passes and fewer than three interceptions: Mahomes (25 TDs, one interception) and Derek Carr (16 TDs and two interceptions). Among QBs in league history with at least 1,000 pass attempts, Mahomes is first in touchdown/interception ratio (5.32) and Carr is eighth (2.48).

OTHER KEY GAMES

Tennessee Titans at Baltimore Ravens - Sunday, 1pm

- After going 7-1 at home a season ago, Baltimore have lost twice at M&T Bank Stadium in 2020, including their most recent home game versus the Pittsburgh Steelers three weeks ago. The Ravens have not dropped consecutive home games since Week 7 and 9 of the 2018 season – just before Lamar Jackson took over as starting QB.

Philadelphia Eagles at Cleveland Browns - Sunday, 1pm

- Carson Wentz has completed under 60.0 per cent of his passes in each of his past five games, the longest streak by any player this year. He has a career-low 58.2 completion percentage in 2020, the second-lowest mark among 33 qualified players (min. 14 pass attempts per team game; Drew Lock – 55.0).

Green Bay Packers at Indianapolis Colts - Sunday, 4.25pm

- The Packers' 24-20 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars last week gave Matt LaFleur a 20-5 regular-season record as a head coach. He is the sixth head coach since the merger to have 20 or more wins through 25 games.

Los Angeles Rams at Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Monday, 8.15pm

- The Bucs snapped a five-game losing streak against the Rams by scoring a franchise-record 55 points in last year's meeting. That was also one point shy of the most allowed by the Rams all-time.

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Pittsburgh Steelers at Jacksonville Jaguars - Sunday, 1pm

- Pittsburgh are the fifth team in history to start 9-0 while scoring at least 24 points in every game. The Steelers are also the first team in the Super Bowl era to have fewer than 50 rushing yards in three straight games and win all three.

New York Jets at Los Angeles Chargers - Sunday, 4.05pm

- The Jets are coming off their bye after losing their ninth straight game to the New England Patriots 30-27 in Week 9. They led the Patriots for 43 minutes and one second of game time but gave up 10 points in the final two minutes to remain winless. New York have lost each of their past four games coming off a bye week.

The 5-0 Seahawks are coming off a bye week and have QB Russell Wilson putting together an MVP year, although he has struggled against the Cardinals in the past.

Meanwhile, Kyler Murray is impressing in an Arizona team that beat Seattle when they last met in December 2019.

We use Stats Perform data to look at that game and the rest of the Week 7 slate.
 

FEATURE GAME

Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals - Sunday, 8.20pm (all times Eastern)

- The Seahawks are 6-1 (.857) in games after a bye week since 2013, which is the best record in the NFL. The lone loss during this span came against the Cardinals in 2015 (39-32).

- Since 2018, Wilson is averaging 183.3 passing yards and has three passing touchdowns to one interception over four games against Arizona. Against all other opponents in this span, Wilson is averaging 252.3 passing yards and has an 82/14 TD-INT ratio (33 games).

- Murray completed a career-low nine passes in the win over the Cowboys, but still finished with 188 passing yards. The last player to rack up that many yards through the air on fewer than 10 completions was Brian Hoyer on October 12, 2014 (217 yards on eight completions versus Pittsburgh).

OTHER KEY GAMES

Pittsburgh Steelers at Tennessee Titans - Sunday, 1pm

- This is just the sixth game in the Super Bowl era between two teams entering the game at 5-0 or better. Each of the previous five were won by a team that went on to make the Super Bowl (1973 Vikings, 2004 Patriots, 2007 Patriots twice, 2015 Broncos). Both franchises are 5-0 for the second time in their history. Pittsburgh started 7-0 in 1978 and went on to go 14-2 and win the Super Bowl, while Tennessee were 10-0 in 2008.

San Francisco 49ers at New England Patriots - Sunday, 4.25pm

- Sunday's game will be played 6,566 days since the last time the Patriots took the field on or after October 1 with a sub-.500 record. This last occurred on November 3, 2002, when New England travelled to Buffalo to face – just as this week, with the 49ers' Jimmy Garoppolo – a former Patriots QB. They defeated Drew Bledsoe and the Bills 38-7.

Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos - Sunday, 4.25pm

- Patrick Mahomes is the third quarterback in NFL history to have at least 15 TD passes and no more than one interception over his team's first six games of a season, along with Aaron Rodgers in 2014 and Tom Brady in 2015.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Las Vegas Raiders - Sunday, 4.05pm

- After going down 10-0 in the first quarter, Tampa Bay ripped off 38 unanswered points to defeat the Packers last week, the second-longest unanswered scoring run in franchise history. The longest came in a 41-0 win over Chicago back on September 10, 2000. Tampa Bay's defense held Green Bay QB Rodgers to a 35.4 passer rating in last week's win, the third-lowest of his career. The Buccaneers have now caused two of Rodgers' three career pick sixes after Jamel Dean took one to the house in the second quarter.

Chicago Bears at Los Angeles Rams - Monday, 8.15pm

- The Bears improved to 5-1 with a 23-16 win over the Panthers in Week 6, their best start since going 5-1 in 2012. Chicago's average margin of victory is just 4.0 points this season compared to 19.4 points during the 2012 start.

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Dallas Cowboys at Washington Football Team - Sunday, 1pm

- Washington lost to the Giants 20-19 in the Meadowlands last week, their first one-point defeat since a 24-23 decision against the Cowboys in Week 16, 2013. Sunday was the eighth time since 2018 that Washington have had at least two fourth-down conversions, tied for third-most in the league (0-8 in those games).

Buffalo Bills at New York Jets - Sunday, 1pm

- The Jets are 0-6 for just the second time in franchise history after starting 0-6 in 1996 (finished 1-15). They rank last in scoring offense (12.5 PPG) and point differential (-18.3). That is their second-worst point differential through six games in franchise history ahead of the 1976 Jets (-20.3).

Mahomes, the Super Bowl LIV MVP and 2018 season NFL MVP, and fellow quarterback Jackson, the 2019 season's NFL MVP, will hope to get the W that moves their team to 3-0.

That clash, one of a number of enticing Week 3 matchups, will provide an early indication of which franchise might be in the best shape to be the AFC's Super Bowl LV representative too.

Here, using Stats Perform data, we break down that game and the other top Week 3 showdowns.

FEATURE GAME

Chiefs at Ravens - Monday, 8.15pm (All times Eastern)

- There have been 13 games featuring the reigning and previous NFL MVPs starting against each other at the quarterback position (including playoffs). The reigning MVP has led his team to victory in eight of the last 10 such matchups, and is 8-5 overall.

- Mahomes hooked up with Tyreek Hill for a 54-yard touchdown in the win over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 2. That was Mahomes' 11th career touchdown pass of 50-plus yards (most in the NFL since 2018). The Ravens as a team have only had nine such touchdowns since 2015, four coming from the arm of Jackson.

- The Chiefs are 6-3 against the Ravens, including wins in each of the three most recent matchups and they have a 4-1 record in Baltimore.

OTHER KEY GAMES

Texans at Steelers - Sunday, 1pm

- The Steelers are 2-0 for the seventh time since 2000. They made the playoffs in each of the previous six seasons, reaching three Super Bowls and winning two titles. Pittsburgh's last 3-0 start was in 2010, when the Steelers made their last trip to the Super Bowl.

Raiders at Patriots - Sunday, 1pm

- New England are tied for ninth in the NFL in rushing yards per game (142.0) and are eighth in passing offense (268.5 yards per game). They are one of three teams in the league's top 10 in both categories, joining the Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams. In Sunday's loss at the Seattle Seahawks, Cam Newton passed for 397 yards, including 312 in the second half.

Rams at Bills - Sunday, 1pm

- Buffalo are attempting to start 3-0 for a second straight season, a feat they have accomplished only twice previously in franchise history (1964-65, 1991-92). The Bills have won 10 straight games since December 2018 when scoring 20 or more points, the longest active streak in the NFL. 

Cowboys at Seahawks - Sunday, 4.15pm 

- Dak Prescott enters this weekend with 99 career touchdown passes in 66 career games. With another touchdown pass on Sunday, Prescott would be the fastest Cowboy to reach 100 TD passes – Tony Romo currently holds the record at 79 games.

Packers at Saints - Sunday, 8.20pm

- Since 2018, Davante Adams - who could miss this game through injury - has accounted for 27.8 per cent of Green Bay's receiving yards, the fifth-highest mark in the NFL. The player with the highest percentage during this span is Saints star Michael Thomas (34.5 per cent), who is out this week with an ankle injury.

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Titans at Vikings - Sunday, 1pm

- Ryan Tannehill threw for four touchdowns and no interceptions in the win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, extending his streak of regular season games with multiple touchdown passes to a franchise-record nine games. Tannehill has a 118.1 passer rating since joining Tennessee in 2019, the best mark in the NFL over that span (minimum 250 attempts).

Buccaneers at Broncos - Sunday, 4.25pm

- Melvin Gordon has tallied 148 rushing yards on 34 attempts this season, 124 more than the Broncos' next-leading rusher (Phillip Lindsay, 24). Gordon also has five receptions and has accounted for 41.9 per cent of the Broncos' touches this season, fifth highest in the NFL.

The Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns ended long postseason droughts, while the Los Angeles Rams and Baltimore Ravens impressed as they produced upset results on the road.

Meanwhile, Tom Brady made sure the Tampa Bay Buccaneers progressed, securing a showdown with Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints that will be an all-NFC South battle between starting quarterbacks with a combined age is 85.

As for the Kansas City Chiefs, the reigning Super Bowl champions - along with NFC top seeds the Green Bay Packers - prepare to return to action after a well-earned bye week.

A four-game schedule has all the potential for another bumper weekend of NFL action, with fans watching on to found out who will be the final four left standing in the playoffs.

Los Angeles Rams at Green Bay Packers - Saturday, 4.35pm (all times Eastern)

- The Rams are the only current NFC team with an all-time winning record against the Packers (46-45-2), but they have lost five of the previous six and 11 of the past 15 meetings. Green Bay, meanwhile, earned the No.1 seed in the conference for just the third time in their history.

- Aaron Rodgers posted the second-highest passer rating in NFL history this season (121.5), trailing only his own 122.5 in 2011, when he was voted the league's MVP. Rodgers had six games with four or more touchdown passes and zero interceptions, tying the most in a season all-time (Peyton Manning in 2013). In Rodgers' playoff career, the Packers are 8-1 when he does not throw an interception - but 2-7 when he does.

Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo Bills - Saturday, 8.15pm

- Baltimore (191.9) and Tennessee (168.1) finished first and second in the NFL in rushing yards per game in the regular season, but the Ravens out-rushed the Titans 236-51 last week to progress. Lamar Jackson ran for 136 of them, the third most ever by a quarterback in a playoff game.

- Josh Allen completed 26 of 35 passes in the Wild Card win over the Indianapolis Colts (74.0 per cent), the highest completion percentage by a Bills starting QB in a playoff game. Allen also became the fifth player in NFL history with a passing TD, a rushing TD and a receiving TD in the playoffs, joining Freeman McNeil, Kordell Stewart, Julian Edelman and Nick Foles.

Cleveland Browns at Kansas City Chiefs - Sunday, 3.05pm

- This is the first postseason game between the teams. The Chiefs have won the past three meetings, most recently on November 4, 2018 (37-21). In fact, Cleveland have not beaten Kansas City since December 2012, while they have triumphed at Arrowhead only once in the past 32 seasons (December 2009).

- Against the Steelers, Baker Mayfield became the seventh player in league history to throw at least three TD passes without an interception in his postseason debut. Only one other player has done this in the previous 15 years (Alex Smith in 2011). He goes up against Patrick Mahomes, who has accounted for 16 total touchdowns – 13 TD passes and three rushing scores – in five postseason outings.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints - Sunday, 6.40pm

- This will be the 59th all-time meeting of these franchises, albeit the first in the postseason. The Saints have won five straight in the rivalry, outscoring the Bucs by a combined 165-81 during that streak.

- Brady's two touchdown passes against the Washington Football Team moved his career postseason total to 75, while the victory was his 31st in 42 career playoff starts. In the entire NFL, only five teams have as many as 31 postseason wins in their history. Brady (341) and Saints QB Brees (303) rank first and third respectively in career starts among quarterbacks, regular season and playoffs combined.

Cleveland's offense has averaged over 200 rushing yards a game through the campaign's first quarter, while the Colts defense has been among the best run-stuffers in the league so far. 

Two of the NFL's finest young receivers will look to grab the acclaim when the 4-0 Seattle Seahawks face the Minnesota Vikings, while the Washington Football Team and Houston Texans will hope a big change can reverse their fortunes. 

Here, we look at the NFL's latest slate using Stats Perform Data.

FEATURE GAME

Indianapolis Colts at Cleveland Browns - Sunday 4.25pm (All times Eastern)

- Colts QB Philip Rivers enters the matchup with 4,996 career completions and he will almost certainly become the fifth player to complete 5,000 passes on Sunday. In the last 60 seasons, only three other quarterbacks have completed a higher percentage of their attempts through four games with a new team than Rivers' 72.7 per cent – that list includes Matt Schaub (74.0 per cent, 2007 Houston Texans), Teddy Bridgewater (73.0 per cent, 2020 Carolina Panthers), and Mark Herrmann (73.0 per cent, 1985 San Diego Chargers). 

- The Colts allowed just 28 rushing yards in their Week 4 win over the Chicago Bears, their fewest since Week 3 of 2009 (24 rushing yards versus the Arizona Cardinals). They have allowed just 945 total yards this season, their fewest through four games since holding opponents to 575 yards through the first four games of 1971.

- The Browns trio of Kareem Hunt (five TDs), Odell Beckham Jr. (four TDs), and Nick Chubb (four TDs) are the fifth trio of team-mates to each score four touchdowns in the first four games of the season. They are the first to do so since the 2013 Denver Broncos group of Wes Welker, Demaryius Thomas, and Julius Thomas.

OTHER KEY GAMES

Buffalo Bills at Tennessee Titans - Tuesday, 7pm 

- Buffalo have recorded 21 plays of at least 20 yards this season, second-most in the NFL behind only the Dallas Cowboys (23). Tennessee have an NFL-low nine plays of 20-plus yards this season, though neither the Titans nor the Bills have a single 20-yard running play this season. 

Minnesota Vikings at Seattle Seahawks - Sunday, 9.20pm 

- Ascending Seahawks star D.K. Metcalf leads the NFL in yards per catch (25.2 - minimum 10 receptions) and catches for 25-plus yards this season (seven). Justin Jefferson, a rookie with the Minnesota Vikings, ranks second in both these categories (21.8 average, 6 catches of 25-plus yards). 

Las Vegas Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs - Sunday, 1pm

- Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (1,526) and Raiders tight end Darren Waller (1,392) rank first and second in receiving yards for players at their position since 2019. Kelce's 845 career receiving yards against the Raiders are the most among active players at any position.

Philadelphia Eagles at Pittsburgh Steelers - Sunday, 1pm

- The Steelers are looking for their first 4-0 start since 1979. Their current streak of 40 consecutive seasons without a 4-0 start is tied for the second-longest streak in NFL history behind a 48-year streak by the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans from 1960-2007.

Los Angeles Chargers at New Orleans Saints - Monday, 9.15pm

- Ahead of meeting the Justin Herbert-led Chargers, New Orleans QB Drew Brees has a 20-10 record when facing off against first-year quarterbacks, including wins in each of the last five such games. In those wins, Brees has a 75.8 completion percentage and has a 12-1 TD-INT ratio.

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Jacksonville Jaguars at Houston Texans - Sunday, 1pm

- The Texans fired Bill O'Brien this week. He was the seventh coach in NFL history to be replaced following back-to-back 10-win seasons with a team, though the first to be replaced after four or fewer games. O’Brien's replacement, Romeo Crennel, will be the oldest head coach in NFL history (73 years and 115 days on Sunday).

Los Angeles Rams at Washington Football Team - Sunday, 1pm

- Washington, who will have Kyle Allen starting at QB after benching Dwayne Haskins, have now lost three straight games by at least 14 points after a 31-17 defeat to the Baltimore Ravens. The last time the franchise lost four straight games by at least 14 points was in 2001.

Cam Newton, Tom Brady's replacement at quarterback, led New England to a 21-11 victory over the Miami Dolphins, while Russell Wilson put on a passing clinic when completing 31 of his 35 attempts in Seattle's 38-25 win over the Atlanta Falcons.

A repeat of Super Bowl XLIX is the standout game of Sunday's slate, though there are plenty more mouth-watering encounters, including the Baltimore Ravens facing the Houston Texans.

Here we break down the big matchups using Stats Perform data.

FEATURE GAME

Patriots at Seahawks - Sunday, 8.20pm (all times Eastern)

- This will be the first game in NFL history in which both teams will have a head coach aged 68 or older. Seahawks coach Pete Carroll is 69, while Patriots coach Bill Belichick is 68.

- Newton led the Patriots with 75 yards rushing on a game-high 15 carries in his Pats debut last week. Should he finish as New England's leading rusher again in Seattle, Newton will be his team's leading rusher for a 37th time - a new record for the most such games by a quarterback in the Super Bowl era (since 1966).

- New England have won eight straight games against NFC opponents, including their Super Bowl LIII win over the Los Angeles Rams, dating back to a loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 3 of the 2018 season.

OTHER KEY GAMES

Rams at Eagles - Sunday, 1pm

- The Eagles have won the last six meetings between these teams, including one-score wins in Los Angeles in 2017 (43-35) and 2018 (30-23). They have averaged 32.2 points during the win streak, with at least 30 points in each of the last five meetings.

Broncos at Steelers - Sunday, 1pm

- The Broncos have won four of the last five games against the Steelers, including two playoff wins. Four of those five games were decided by seven points or fewer.

Chiefs at Chargers - Sunday, 4.25pm

- After starting last season 6-4, Kansas City have won 10 straight games - regular season and playoffs. The streak began last November with a win over the Chargers in Mexico City. Each of the last seven victories have come by a double-digit margin; since 2000, only the 2007 Patriots (eight games) have had a longer streak of wins by 10 or more points.

Ravens at Texans - Sunday, 4.25pm

- The Ravens have gone 12 straight regular-season games without trailing in the second half, the longest streak by any NFL team since the Chicago Bears had a 12-game streak from 1933-34. The last team to have a streak longer than 12 games was the Green Bay Packers from 1929-30 (18).

Saints at Raiders - Monday, 4.15pm

- Josh Jacobs had three rushing touchdowns in Week 1, becoming the first Raider to do so since Latavius Murray, who is now with New Orleans, had three in Week 9 of 2016. Only two Raiders have rushed for three touchdowns more than once – Marcus Allen (five times) and Pete Banaszak (twice).

ELSEWHERE...

Falcons at Cowboys - Sunday, 1pm

- Dak Prescott has not been intercepted in his last 223 pass attempts going back to last November, the longest streak in Cowboys history. Troy Aikman held the previous mark at 216 passes in 1999.

Lions at Packers - Sunday, 1pm

- Green Bay have won seven straight home openers since a 30-22 loss against the San Francisco 49ers in 2012. That is the second-longest active streak of its kind, behind the Seahawks (11 straight).

Russell Wilson's phenomenal displays have helped the Seahawks go 6-2 to top their division, but Jared Goff has strung together some impressive performances and is coming off a bye week ahead of a mouth-watering clash at SoFi Stadium.

The Buffalo Bills have made their best start to a season since they made the Super Bowl after the 1993 season, but their defense will need to be strong to keep DeAndre Hopkins of the Arizona Cardinals at bay.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will be hoping to improve to 9-0 against the Cincinnati Bengals this weekend but could be forced into doing something that has not occurred in 22 years.

We use Stats Perform data to preview the standout matchups in Week 10.
 

FEATURED GAME

Seattle Seahawks at Los Angeles Rams - Sunday, 4.25pm (all times Eastern)

- The Seahawks average 34.3 points per game and allow 30.4; their games produce an NFL-high average of 64.7 total points. Rams games, meanwhile, see an average 43.1 points scored – 24.1 by Los Angeles and 19.1 by their opponents – which is the fourth lowest in the league.

- Wilson needs two touchdown passes to reach 30 for the fourth consecutive season and fifth time in his career. Dave Krieg is the only other Seahawk to have hit that mark, having thrown for 32 touchdowns in 1984.

- Goff has thrown TD passes in seven straight games, setting a personal high for consecutive games with a touchdown pass in a single season. The last such single-season streak of eight or more games by a Rams QB occurred in 2005 by Marc Bulger (eight games).

OTHER KEY GAMES

Los Angeles Chargers at Miami Dolphins – Sunday, 4.05pm

Tua Tagovailoa has won each of his first two starts, throwing three touchdowns and no interceptions. Only one Dolphins quarterback has started his NFL career 3-0 before, Damon Huard in 1999.

Buffalo Bills at Arizona Cardinals – Sunday, 4.05pm

- The Bills' 7-2 start is their best through nine games since 1993 (7-2), when they made their fourth straight Super Bowl appearance. However, wideout Hopkins has 60 receptions this season, the most by a player in his first eight games with a team in NFL history, and is eight receptions away from becoming the first player with 700 receptions before turning 29.

Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers – Sunday, 4.25pm

- Ben Roethlisberger was this week added to the Steelers' reserve/COVID-19 list and if he is unable to start Pittsburgh would be the first team since the 1998 Denver Broncos to change starting QBs with an unbeaten record and eight or more wins. His absence would deny an entertaining matchup with Bengals signal caller Joe Burrow, who has passed 330 times, has five 300-yard games and 284.0 yards per contest with a record of 2-5-1 after eight starts in his rookie campaign. At the same point in his debut season in 2004, Roethlisberger attempted 172 passes, had no 300-yard games, averaged 176.5 yards per game – and went 8-0.

Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots – Sunday, 8.20pm

- Cam Newton has six more rushing touchdowns (eight) than passing touchdowns (two) this season. The last player with that big of a difference was Chicago's Johnny Lujack in 1950, who finished with 11 rush TDs to just four pass TDs (minimum 100 pass attempts in season).

ELSEWHERE…

Houston Texans at Cleveland Browns – Sunday, 1pm

- Nick Chubb has been designated to return from injured reserve this week after missing the Browns' previous four games. Cleveland have averaged 204.5 rushing yards per game in four games with Chubb in the lineup this season and 95.5 yards per game without him.

San Francisco 49ers at New Orleans Saints – Sunday, 4.25pm

- The 49ers are averaging 53.5 rush yards per game and 2.74 yards per rush over its past two games compared to 137.7 per game and 4.77 per rush over their first seven.

Coronavirus protocols kept Roethlisberger away from Pittsburgh's team facility all week, but the star quarterback led the unbeaten Steelers to a 36-10 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.

Kyler Murray's throw saw the Cardinals claim a stunning last-gasp 32-30 success against the Buffalo Bills, while Cam Newton enjoyed a memorable outing as the New England Patriots upstaged the Baltimore Ravens.

STEELERS STAY PERFECT

There is no stopping the Steelers through nine games of the 2020 season.

Roethlisberger – one of four Steelers placed on the COVID-19 list at the start of the week – threw for a season-high 333 yards and four touchdowns, completing 27 of 46 passes.

The two-time Super Bowl champion connected with Diontae Johnson and JuJu Smith-Schuster in the first half, before throwing TD passes to Chase Claypool twice in the second half.

T.J. Watt sacked Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow twice – he had two sacks, four QB hits and two tackles for loss. T.J. Watt and J.J. Watt (2015) are the only players over the past 15 seasons to record nine-plus sacks, 25-plus quarterback hits and 10-plus tackles for loss in their team's first nine games of a season, per NFL Research.

It was a tough outing for number one pick Burrow, who was 21 of 40 for 213 yards, a touchdown and four sacks as the Bengals fell to 2-6-1.

CARDINALS CLAIM LAST-GASP WIN

Murray made NFL history after combining with DeAndre Hopkins for an incredible game-winning touchdown for the Cardinals.

Murray's 43-yard pass was brilliantly caught by Hopkins in the endzone with two seconds remaining to secure a victory for the Cardinals, who improved to 6-3 after scoring 17 unanswered points, having trailed the Bills 23-9.

The top pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Murray's throw to Hopkins was his only touchdown pass, as he finished 22 of 32 for 245 yards.

According to Stats Perform, Murray became the first player in NFL history with a pass TD and a rush TD in five straight games, thanks to his pass to Hopkins.

Murray also joined Newton as the only QBs in NFL history with 6,000-plus pass yards and 1,000-plus rush yards in their first 25 career games, as per NFL Research.

NEWTON'S PATS SILENCE JACKSON AND RAVENS

The Patriots may be struggling following the departure of Tom Brady, but Bill Belichick's side shocked the Ravens 23-17 for back-to-back wins.

Newton became the first quarterback in the Super Bowl era with nine rushing touchdowns in his first eight games of a season, according to NFL Research.

The former MVP rushed for one TD and 21 yards, while he was 13-of-17 passing for 118 yards and another touchdown in New England, where the Patriots (4-5) rallied.

With seven weeks still remaining, 2020 is already the first season in league history in which two quarterbacks – Newton (nine) and Murray (10) – have each had nine-plus rushing TDs.

Baltimore star and reigning MVP Lamar Jackson was 24 of 34 for 249 yards, two touchdowns and an interception as the Ravens fell to 6-3.

RAMS TAKE DOWN WILSON'S SEAHAWKS, BREES INJURY OVERSHADOWS SAINTS WIN

The Los Angeles Rams smothered Seattle Seahawks star quarterback Russell Wilson and won 23-16.

Wilson did not throw a touchdown, finishing 22 of 37 passing for 248 yards and two interceptions as the Rams (6-3) stifled the high-flying Seahawks (6-3).

The NFC South-leading New Orleans Saints topped the San Francisco 49ers 27-13 but it came at a cost on home soil.

Drew Brees suffered a rib injury in the first half and is set to undergo an MRI and X-Ray after taking a hit from 49ers defensive tackle Kentavius Street before being replaced by Jameis Winston at half-time.

Brees threw a touchdown, the 41-year-old finishing eight of 13 for 76 yards as the Saints eventually improved to 7-2 for the season.

Week 10 scores:

Cleveland Browns 10-7 Houston Texans
Detroit Lions 30-27 Washington Football Team
Green Bay Packers 24-20 Jacksonville Jaguars
New York Giants 27-17 Philadelphia Eagles
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 46-23 Carolina Panthers
Pittsburgh Steelers 36-10 Cincinnati Bengals
Los Angeles Rams 23-16 Seattle Seahawks
New Orleans Saints 27-13 San Francisco 49ers
Arizona Cardinals 32-30 Buffalo Bills
Las Vegas Raiders 37-12 Denver Broncos
Miami Dolphins 29-21 Los Angeles Chargers
New England Patriots 23-17 Baltimore Ravens

D'Ernest Johnson rushed 10 yards for the game's first touchdown in the third quarter to put Cleveland seemingly in control at FirstEnergy Stadium.

The Steelers' chances were already damaged by the loss of Boswell to a concussion following a huge hit from Browns tackle Jordan Elliot, but Najee Harris' touchdown closed the gap to a point.

Ben Roethlisberger threw two yards on fourth down for Pat Freiermuth to earn the decisive score with a little over 11 minutes on the clock.

Browns defensive end Myles Garrett came in costume as the Grim Reaper to mark October 31, his cape inscribed with the names of his sacked quarterbacks, but it was the Steelers' trick play that proved far from a treat in the first half: Boswell took a direct snap from 28 yards and, after rolling right and throwing for the end zone, he took a powerful hit from Elliot.

After rookie Harris had dragged Pittsburgh back into contention following Johnson's score, Roethlisberger, who is now 24-3-1 in career starts against the Browns, made his mark.

The 38-year-old, who finished 22 of 34 for 266 yards, almost saw his two-yard pass fumbled by Freiermuth but the tight end recovered to land both feet in the end zone.

By contrast, Jarvis Landry's handling let him down as he was stripped by Joe Schobert with a little over six minutes left.

The 4-4 Browns will hope for better next time out against the 5-3 Bengals, who were stunned by a New York Jets 34-31 comeback win in which Mike White threw for 405 yards and three touchdowns on his first NFL start.

Rams rout Texans, Lions looking toothless

The Philadelphia Eagles ran in four touchdowns as they snapped a two-game losing streak to crush the Detroit Lions.

As coach of the NFL's only winless team after eight straight defeats, Dan Campbell will head into a bye week to try to arrest a terrible run of results that culminated in Sunday's 44-6 loss, in which the Lions only got on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter.

The Houston Texans (1-7) are faring little better, their 38-22 loss to the Los Angeles Rams (7-1) looking only a little more respectable after they ran in 22 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, Davis Mills throwing for 310 yards and two touchdowns.

49ers down Bears through sensational Samuel

The San Francisco 49ers improved to 3-4 after a 33-22 defeat of the Chicago Bears in which Deebo Samuel set pulses racing with a spectacular 83-yard catch-and-run.

After being denied an apparent touchdown for being ruled out of bounds, Samuel's run still allowed Jimmy Garoppolo to score from two yards out just a handful of plays later to cut the Bears' advantage.

Not only did Samuel produce the Niners' longest play of the season, he passed Jerry Rice for the most receiving yards for the franchise across the first seven games of an NFL season.

The defending Super Bowl champions made the move on Tuesday, one day after Mayfield was released by the Carolina Panthers.

The former top pick joins a Los Angeles team that has lost six consecutive games and is tied with the Denver Broncos for the NFL's third-worst record at 3-9.

While it was being speculated he would be claimed by a contending team dealing with an injury at quarterback – the San Francisco 49ers or the Baltimore Ravens – he instead joins a Rams team out of the playoff picture.

The quarterback position has been a mess for Los Angeles with Matthew Stafford likely out for the rest of the season with a bruised spinal cord, while backups John Wolford and Bryce Perkins have struggled to generate much offense.

Wolford has one touchdown pass and a 64.6 QB rating in two games played, while Perkins has one touchdown and a 53.7 rating in four contests.

Mayfield, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2018 draft by the Cleveland Browns, has not been much better, throwing six touchdowns and six interceptions while registering a 74.4 passer rating in seven games played. Among quarterbacks with at least 75 attempts, Mayfield's 57.8 completion percentage beats out only the New York Jets' Zach Wilson (55.6 per cent).

Mayfield went just 1-6 for the Panthers, who acquired him from the Browns in July and would have been responsible to pay him $1.35million for the remainder of this season had the Rams not put in the claim.

Los Angeles host the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday night, and it is not out of the question Mayfield plays.

Recruited to Ohio State after a stellar high school career, Burrow never achieved his ambition of being the starting quarterback for the Buckeyes, who preferred to give first J.T. Barrett and then Dwayne Haskins the reins to their offense. His response: transfer to LSU and win the National Championship in the 2019 campaign, using his final year in college to put together one of the finest quarterback seasons ever produced at that level.

Five thousand six hundred and seventy-one passing yards, 60 touchdowns and just six interceptions proved more than enough to convince the Cincinnati Bengals he was deserving of the number one overall pick in the 2020 draft.

There was concern that decision would not be vindicated when, in Week 11 of the 2020 season against the then-Washington Football Team, Burrow tore multiple knee ligaments, ending his rookie season prematurely.

It was no secret that Burrow endured his struggles in training camp as he attempted to put the mental and physical pain of that devastating injury behind him, but any doubts that existed in the summer have long since been extinguished by a season in which he has continually thrived in adversity and excelled in the most significant moments.

No NFL quarterback was more accurate in the regular season, Burrow's well-thrown percentage of 85.7 the best in the league among quarterbacks with at least 200 attempts, and no quarterback fared better under pressure. He delivered an accurate, well-thrown ball on 80.1 per cent of his 156 pass attempts under pressure, putting him tops for quarterbacks with a minimum of 50 such attempts. His nearest challenger was Ryan Tannehill (76.5) while the average was 70 per cent.

Burrow does not just excel at being accurate under pressure, he also does a remarkable job of escaping it, his leap out of the clutches of Chris Jones in the fourth quarter one of the defining images of the Bengals' stunning comeback against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.

When the odds appear stacked against him, Burrow changes the calculus, and he is the reason why you'll find many in Los Angeles expecting him to spoil the Rams' party and lead Cincinnati to victory in Super Bowl LVI on Sunday.

Kevin Clark, senior NFL writer at The Ringer, is among those selecting Cincinnati to pull off the upset because of Burrow.

"I think it's going to be close, and when that happens it becomes situational football, it becomes third and eight, what's your best play? Who's best equipped for that? For me, that's Joe Burrow," Clark told Stats Perform this week.

"I was leaning Rams because I just believe in talent, a lot of times I say 'there's more blue-chip guys on this roster, I'm picking them' but when I started to look at it, I realised the difference wasn't that great. The Bengals just beat the Chiefs, and they did a nice job against the Chiefs. The idea that the Bengals are some Cinderella story plus Joe Burrow, I don't agree with that."

No quarterback in the NFL with at least 100 attempts on third down in the regular season had a better completion percentage in those situations than Burrow (72.5) while he also led the league in passing plays of 50 yards or more (12) despite his arm strength being a tick below the level of some of his superstar contemporaries.

"I was just reading a book that his college coach wrote, and they were saying in his junior year in training camp he didn't separate himself because his arm just wasn't that strong. You go from that to leading the NFL in 50 plus yards receptions, it's remarkable, it's unbelievable," added Clark.

"I think that's a testament to getting the ball out quickly, knowing exactly where the ball is gonna go, any quarterback can go throw 50 yards, it's whether you can throw 70 yards. If you're in the NFL you can get there and so Burrow, using all of his arm strength, but then you look at what he's able to do with just vision, the placement, it's all there and it's rendering the lack of arm strength quite frankly meaningless.

Burrow's success in overcoming his own supposed physical limitations is also giving his coach, Zac Taylor, freedom to be more aggressive. The Bengals were third in the NFL this season in fourth-down conversion success rate (65 per cent) and the confidence Taylor can afford to have in his quarterback could tilt the coaching matchup with Sean McVay in his favour.

Clark explained: "I think that McVay is obviously a much better coach than Zac Taylor, I think Burrow has liberated Zac Taylor in a way that gives him cover, almost like if you remember with the Ravens and Lamar Jackson a few years ago where the Ravens were getting very aggressive because they had Lamar Jackson, and if there was any question in the media about why this person went for it, the answer was just always Lamar Jackson.

"Joe Burrow is that kind of player where it's fourth and four, they're gonna go for it. I think in the coaching matchup Burrow makes a difference because he's the kind of guy who's going to go over there and say 'coach we're going for it on fourth down' and Zac Taylor is smart enough to say 'this guy's driving the bus I'm gonna let him do it'".

Taylor confirmed as such during the Bengals' media availability on Friday, the Bengals' desire to involve Burrow in the process on gameday and in the offseason allowing both coach and quarterback to feel more comfortable.

"We took with the number one pick so there's obviously some special traits, we know he's a winner, he's a champion," said Taylor. 

"We wanted to make sure that we built this thing around him and how he could feel most comfortable. I think that when a player like that, who prepares like he does and sees the game, really from a coach's perspective, he should be involved in everything we do, and that's opinions on other players that we're adding to the team, that's scheme and game plan, that's adjustments that we make over the course of the game, he's earned that.

"Any time he's involved, he tends to make it work really well. And so I don't think that there's any egos on our staff that say no, we've got to do it the way that the coaches want it done. I want him to feel comfortable on game day, because when he feels comfortable, he plays at a really special level."

Comfortable with how the team operates, at ease in the spotlight and always calm under pressure, Burrow has even earned the blessing of the original 'Joe Cool', Joe Montana, to take that nickname. In what could be the warmest Super Bowl ever, Burrow's composure may turn the heat on the home favourite Rams.

Donald, one of the league's greatest ever defensive players, is an eight-time Pro Bowler, seven-time All-Pro First-team selection and three-time Defensive Player of the Year, but team success had evaded him.

The 30-year-old was one of three starters against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday who had also started the Super Bowl LIII defeat to the New England Patriots.

But a big performance from Donald contributed to a precious 23-20 triumph, meaning he could finally get his hands on the Lombardi Trophy.

It had been suggested Donald would retire if the Rams won, but he was in no mood to discuss that possibility immediately after the game.

"I'm in a moment right now. I'm in a moment," he told CBS. "I just want to enjoy this right now with these guys.

"My kids are coming on the field – this is a promise I made to my daughter – so we're going to play in the confetti for a minute, man. I'm just going to live in the moment."

Describing his feelings, Donald said: "I'm so happy. I wanted this so bad. I dreamed this, man. I dreamed this. It's surreal. Look at this, look at this, man. I feel amazing, feel great."

He added: "It's the best feeling in the world. God is great. God is great. I'm lost for words. I don't know what to say. It's a blessing."

Sunday's game came down to fine margins, with the Rams the first team in NFL history to win three games by three points or fewer in a single postseason.

Donald finished with two sacks and three quarterback hits – including forcing an incompletion from Joe Burrow on fourth down in the final seconds. He had stuffed the run on third-and-one, too.

"Strain, strain," he said of his thoughts at that moment. "One last play to be world champs, give it everything you've got. We made a play and we won. That's all that matters."

Uzomah sustained a sprained medial collateral ligament during the Bengals' comeback win over the Kansas City Chiefs two weeks ago.

However, the tight end has been able to make a speedy recovery and was not on the Bengals' inactive list for the season-ending showpiece against the Los Angeles Rams.

During Monday's virtual media day, Uzomah said: "I'm not missing the biggest game of my life.

"I'm not missing it. That's my approach going every day into rehab."

He has made good on that promise and will provide Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow with an extra weapon to add to an already impressive list.

Uzomah caught a career-high five touchdown passes during the regular season and averaged over 10 yards per reception for the third time in four seasons.

But that is the reality the Cincinnati Bengals face, with head coach Zac Taylor still unsure of who his starter at right guard will be when they attempt to claim a first Lombardi Trophy in franchise history.

The right guard spot has been an issue throughout a season in which the Bengals and quarterback Joe Burrow have improbably overcome significant pass protection woes to reach the cusp of an historic triumph.

Rookie Jackson Carman and Hakeem Adeniji rotated at right guard in the Bengals' AFC Championship Game comeback win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Second-round pick Carman has been dealing with a back injury but remains in the mix to line up against the Rams' star defensive lineman Donald in a potentially decisive mismatch in Super Bowl LVI.

"Jackson's progressing well, he's better than he was last week," Taylor said in Wednesday's media conference of Carman's injury. 

"He and Hakeem have really gone back and forth at that guard spot, they've both given us some really good things, they're young players, their best days are ahead of them, we think both those guys have been progressing as we had hoped, so we'll continue to let them play out, see how it shapes out on Sunday."

The Bengals landing on the right player to attempt to slow down Donald, as well as Von Miller and Leonard Floyd, is essential.

Donald's stunt-adjusted pass rush win rate of 63.83 per cent was not only the highest for all defenders with at least 100 one on one matchups, according to Stats Perform data, it was over 10 percentage points higher than that of his nearest challenger, Myles Garrett (53.56).

With the Bengals allowing 51 pressures across their three playoff games, all signs point to a game-wrecking display for Donald.

However, the Bengals may have the ideal quarterback to deal with having Donald in his face. Of quarterbacks with 100 pass attempts under pressure, Burrow's percentage of well-thrown balls delivered of 80.1 was the best in the NFL and over 10 percentage points above the average (70.1).

And Burrow certainly will not get discouraged by any success Donald enjoys against the Bengals, Taylor pointing to his mental toughness as one of his greatest qualities.

"You're going to face a lot of adversity, a lot of difficult moments, it's easy when you're at practice, throwing seven on seven, preseason games, stuff like that," said Taylor.

"But when the season really matters, your mental toughness is going to be challenged, you've got to be thorough with your process, consistent with your process and those are areas where Joe really excels."

Burrow could yet have one of his more underappreciated offensive weapons available on Sunday, with tight end C.J. Uzomah expected to practice on Thursday as he recovers from a knee injury suffered in the AFC Championship Game win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

"Considering where he was when he fell on the turf last Sunday to where he is now, [I'm] really optimistic about how it's going," Taylor added. "We'll continue to see him in action these next two days, but optimistic."

The Bengals led for almost the entire second half at SoFi Stadium, but Matthew Stafford's clutch touchdown pass to Cooper Kupp secured a 23-20 Rams win.

This was the Bengals' third appearance in the Super Bowl and their third defeat, although this young team ended a 31-year drought in terms of playoff wins.

Burrow, therefore, expects the Bengals to kick on and find motivation in the pain of defeat.

"It hurts," he told a news conference. "We put a lot of work into going out there and executing and performing well, and it didn't turn out the way we wanted, so it's disappointing."

Burrow added: "We're a young team, so you'd like to think we'll be back in this situation multiple times over the course of the next few years.

"We take this and let it fuel us for the rest of our careers."

The Bengals' inability to protect their quarterback was key to their loss, with Burrow taking a record-tying seven sacks – one of which left him hobbling.

Burrow said his knee "feels good", however, and refused to blame his offensive line, focusing instead on his own display.

"I was disappointed with my performance overall," he said. "I thought I could have played better, given us a better chance to win, but you live and you learn."

Burrow, who finished with 263 yards and a single touchdown on 22-of-33 passing, tried to focus on the positives, citing a quote from former quarterback Kurt Warner who had "let [defeat] sting too much and didn't celebrate what they accomplished".

"Obviously it stings, but we had a great year," Burrow said. "We didn't come out of this last game the way we wanted to, but we still have something to celebrate."

Sunday's Halftime Show will be a parade of hip hop royalty, with Dre set to be joined on stage by Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J. Blige. 

A cultural icon in Los Angeles, Dre is delighted to be sharing the spotlight with the hometown team, claiming to have spoken their success into existence. 

"Who else could do this show here in LA, who else could perform the Halftime Show other than these amazing artists that we put together for this thing?" Dre said during the Halftime Show media conference on Thursday. 

"Not only that, I've been manifesting the Rams, since the beginning of the season, I'm just thinking about it every day, I'm meditating on it and I'm like: 'Okay, it would be perfect if we are in the Super Bowl performing and the Rams are in the game as well.'" 

Dre promised surprises in the show, though he would not go into any further detail. 

He and Snoop vowed there would be no wardrobe malfunctions. Dre joked he had dissuaded him and Eminem from any provocative displays during the performance. 

Snoop, though, expects to have the greatest impact during the show. 

Asked what he wants the audience to take from the concert, Snoop replied: "[That] I'm the greatest to ever do it. 

"Somebody gotta say it, Tom Brady wouldn't say it, I'm the GOAT." 

And although Snoop is a fully fledged Pittsburgh Steelers fan, he is backing the Rams to keep the Lombardi Trophy at SoFi Stadium. "I gotta go with LA," he said. 

In a moderated conversation, Dre, Snoop and Mary J all emphasised how much work has gone into the show. 

Asked what will be on her mind once the performance is done, Mary J said: "A drink. A really nice tall drink because I've just been so focused on me and the Super Bowl." 

With Dre describing their act as "f*****g incredible" and Snoop labelling it "magnifico", one of the most anticipated Halftime Shows in Super Bowl history appears set to be one not to forget. 

Indeed, Giannis, LeBron and Co. were in the position of warm-up act as Los Angeles plays host to Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium on Sunday. In a city they and the Los Angeles Dodgers have long since dominated, the Lakers must reconcile themselves with playing second fiddle as the Rams attempt to win their first Super Bowl for the city of Los Angeles.

That the Rams are part of the headline act is not especially surprising given their level of elite talent and the blockbuster trade for quarterback Matthew Stafford made with this end goal in mind. What is more eyebrow-raising is that any fallout from the latest Lakers defeat will quickly be buried for hype surrounding a title game involving the team that arrived at LAX prior to tip-off at Crypto.com Arena.

Cincinnati's is a true tale of the underdog. From 4-11 last year with their number one overall pick Joe Burrow tearing his knee ligaments in 2020, to a 10-7 campaign and consistent Houdini acts under pressure from Burrow in postseason wins over the Las Vegas Raiders, top-seeded Tennessee Titans and three-time defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs. The Bengals are the team nobody saw coming.

And, going into Sunday's meeting with the Rams, they are the team few expect to pull off a shock again despite their evident proclivity for upsetting the odds.

Antetokounmpo's sublime 44-point effort, in which he silenced a Lakers crowd trying to will a largely uninspiring team to a comeback that only briefly seemed possible, was almost routine. If Burrow and this team from the Midwest thwart a stacked Rams squad built to deliver immediate Super Bowl glory, the response will be anything but.

There is no expectation on the shoulders of the Bengals, whose young quarterback appears completely undaunted by the prospect of playing on the grandest stage in American sport for a team that prior to this season had not won a playoff game this century.

"At the end of the day, your mindset stays the same. When I played in the state championship in high school, it feels the same as playing in the Super Bowl does now," Burrow said in Tuesday's media conference. "At that moment in my life that was the biggest game I had ever played in, so everything kind of feels the same, I've just had more reps in those situations so I'm probably even a little calmer.

"Honestly we've never even spoken about the playoff drought once this whole season. We have a really young team that doesn't really understand the historical significance of what we're doing. We're just out there playing football and getting better while we're doing it."

Burrow is not feeling the weight of history, but he is appreciative of the significance of getting a Bengals franchise that has too often been a laughingstock to the cusp of a first Lombardi Trophy.

He added: "Being from Ohio and being the quarterback of the Bengals is something that I'm really proud of. Growing up there really weren't a lot of Bengals fans in high school and in the middle school, it was all Steelers and Browns and there were a few Bengals fans here and there that kind of got made fun of a little bit, so I think as a team we're excited to put a product on the field that the fans are proud of and kind of gives them bragging rights they haven't had that in a little while, so I'm excited to give that to them."

Free of expectation and free of pressure, the Bengals' position as underdogs could well be to their advantage. Regardless of whether they complete a remarkable run with the ultimate triumph on Sunday, with Burrow under center the Bengals look destined to compete for headline billing for years to come.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Sunday that Rams coach McVay and Bengals coach Taylor are in line to receive contract extensions from their respective teams once the dust settles on Sunday's clash at SoFi Stadium.

McVay has two seasons remaining on his deal, while the 2022 campaign is the last year of Taylor's current contract.

There had been reports that 36-year-old McVay, who has previously expressed a desire not to coach into his 60s, could step away from coaching at the end of the season, with talk of a potential move into broadcasting.

Such suggestions appear to have been erroneous, as the indication is now that he will continue a head coaching career in which he has reached the playoffs in all but one of his five seasons in charge of the Rams.

McVay also looks set to be tied to the quarterback that has led his team back to the Super Bowl for the long term.

Indeed, NFL Media's Ian Rapoport reported the Rams are set to hammer out a contract extension with Matthew Stafford, whom the Rams traded a pair of first-round picks to acquire in the offseason.

Stafford's contract expires at the end of next season but, regardless of whether he gets the job done on home turf, the Rams are poised to reward him for a campaign in which he set franchise records for completions (404), passing yards (4,886) and touchdowns (41).