Cleveland Browns safety Duron Harmon says the team cannot dwell on injuries to key players Nick Chubb and Deshaun Watson, saying they must find a way to "win at all costs".
The Browns have lost several key players this season, starting with star running back Chubb as he suffered a gruesome knee injury in Week 2, which has required two separate surgeries.
That injury put even greater responsibility on quarterback Watson, but he was forced to undergo season-ending surgery after sustaining a fracture in his throwing shoulder last month.
Despite their absences, the Browns approach their Week 14 matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars with a 7-5 record and are one of three teams from the AFC North currently in a playoff position.
Speaking exclusively to Stats Perform, Harmon – who signed to Cleveland's practice squad in November – said they cannot afford to dwell on those injuries, remaining bullish about their Super Bowl hopes.
Asked what the Browns' mentality would be for the rest of the season, Harmon said: "Find a way to win. it's not about making excuses.
"It's not about talking about who could be there, who's not going to be there, who might be there. It's about just finding a way to win.
"We're at the point of the season where everybody has, or is dealing with, some type of injuries on their team.
"The teams who just find a way are the teams that are going to be there in the end competing for that Lombardi. So we've just got to find a way to win at all costs."
The Browns had another injury scare last week as defensive end Myles Garrett was seen with his arm in a sling following the team's 29-12 loss to the Denver Broncos, though he was able to suit up for their road game against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 13 – a 36-19 defeat.
Harmon believes Garrett, who ranks fifth in the NFL for sacks this year with 13, is the standout athlete in the league.
Asked what makes the star edge rusher special, Harmon said: "I think just his motor, his get-off, his athletic ability. Myles Garrett is truly one-of-one.
"I was talking to a team-mate yesterday and I was like, 'Myles Garrett might be the best athlete in the NFL'.
"Just as a pure athlete, and he looked at me and said, 'There's no might about it, he is'. Just watching how he practices, watching how he goes about his day, how he treats his profession, how he works on his craft daily. It's no surprise he is where he is.
"It's no surprise he's going to continue to get better and terrorise quarterbacks. He takes the right approach every day. The success coming his way is because he works for it and he's earned it."
Cowboys owner Jones says quarterback Prescott will likely be placed on injured reserve
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones implied that quarterback Dak Prescott will likely be placed on injured reserve, meaning he would miss a minimum of four games.
The Cowboys announced Monday that Prescott would be side-lined with an injured hamstring, but a decision on if he would go on IR had not yet been made.
Speaking on his weekly radio appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Tuesday, Jones indicated the injury was worse than initially feared.
"It's likely we'll IR him," Jones said. "We'll see how his rehab goes."
Prescott, who signed a record-breaking, $240million contract hours before this season's opener, suffered the injury late in the third quarter of Sunday's 27-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
He was replaced by Cooper Rush, and the seven-year backup will get the start this Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Rush completed 13-of-25 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown against the Falcons, but couldn't rally Dallas all the way back.
The Cowboys ended up losing their third straight game to drop to 3-5, which matches the total number of losses the team had each of the last three seasons.
They now sit in third place in the NFC East, 3 1/2 games behind the division-leading Washington Commanders.
Rush has found some success as a fill-in starter for the Cowboys, though, the 30-year-old hasn't been forced into the starting role since 2022.
In six career starts for Dallas, he's gone 5-1 with 1,281 passing yards with seven touchdowns, four interceptions and an 83.6 rating.
Mahomes' 'scary' ankle injury 'not too bad'
Patrick Mahomes assured the ankle injury he sustained during the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is “not too bad” despite hailing the incident as “scary”.
The quarterback led the Chiefs to their 14th straight win with 34 of his 44 passes completed for 291 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.
The Bucs took them to overtime but the AFC West leaders prevailed to remain unbeaten following a 30-24 victory on Monday.
Mahomes had hobbled off with assistance at one point during the game, leading to concern ahead of the Chiefs' next game against the Denver Broncos, but he has provided some reassurance.
"[The injury was] definitely scary. I think it hurt more just because it's the same ankle I rolled last week, so it scared me a little bit,” he said.
“But once I took my breath and calmed down a little bit, it ended up being not too bad. We were able to go in there at the reset and go back on the football team."
It means it is likely Mahomes will return next week despite the reoccurrence of the injury on the same ankle, with head coach Andy Reid marvelling at the 29-year-old's resilience.
"I wasn't sure exactly where he was going to be with it. He might have the loosest ankles in America. It's ridiculous how he can come back from those things,” he said.
The victory also marked DeAndre Hopkins’ first home game as a Chief, as he finished with eight catches for 86 yards and two touchdowns.
"[Hopkins] is so good at winning one-on-one, so to be able to have him down in the red zone, third-down situations - he does a good job of filling out and finding those windows. You give him a chance down the field and he makes a play,” Mahomes said.
NFL: Chiefs stay perfect with OT win over Bucs
Kareem Hunt finished the game's lone overtime drive with a 2-yard touchdown run that kept the Kansas City Chiefs unbeaten with Monday's 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Hunt powered into the end zone to conclude the 10-play, 70-yard series that gave Kansas City (8-0) its 14th consecutive victory, including play-off games, dating back to last season. The veteran running back finished the night with a season-high 106 rushing yards on 27 carries.
Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, including two to DeAndre Hopkins in the wide receiver's first home game as a Chief, to help the defending Super Bowl champions stay perfect despite the Buccaneers forcing overtime on Baker Mayfield's 1-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Miller with 27 seconds left in regulation.
Tampa Bay (4-5) opted to kick the extra point instead of attempting a potential game-winning two-point conversion, however, and never got the ball back again after losing the coin toss to begin overtime.
The Bucs trailed 10-7 at half-time following Mahomes' 1-yard touchdown pass to Hopkins late in the second quarter, but scored 10 unanswered points in the third quarter to move ahead.
After Mayfield found Cade Otton for an 11-yard touchdown pass early in the period for a 14-10 lead, Tampa Bay's defence forced a three-and-out to help set up Chase McLaughlin's 47-yard field goal with 5:50 left in the third.
The Chiefs stormed back with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns, however. Mahomes capped a 12-play, 70-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown delivery to Samaje Perine to tie the game at 17-17, then later hit Hopkins for a go-ahead 5-yard strike with 4:17 remaining in regulation.
Kansas City's next possession stalled, though, to give Mayfield enough time to orchestrate a 10-play, 71-yard sequence that ended in Miller's tying touchdown grab.
Mayfield finished 23 of 31 with 200 yards and two touchdowns. Otton led the Bucs with 77 receiving yards on eight catches, while Rachaad White had a rushing touchdown for Tampa in the first half.
The Chiefs received 14 catches for 100 yards from Travis Kelce and 86 yards on eight receptions from Hopkins, playing his second game since being acquired by Kansas CIty from the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 24.
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