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• Bengals QB Burrow insists injured wrist no longer affecting throws

  Joe Burrow insists the wrist injury that ended his 2023 season is not preventing him from making downfield throws after struggling in the Cincinnati Bengals' Week 1 loss.

  The Bengals' 2024 campaign got off to a miserable start as they were beaten 16-10 by the New England Patriots, who had the joint-second worst record in the league last year at 4-13.

  Burrow threw for 164 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions, being sacked three times. He did complete 21 of his 29 attempted passes, but only six of those completed passes travelled more than 10 yards in the air.

  Burrow – who was recently surpassed as the NFL's highest-paid player by Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott – was repeatedly seen flexing his wrist during the game.

  He suffered a wrist ligament injury versus the Baltimore Ravens in Week 11 last season, leading him to undergo reconstructive surgery.

  However, he is adamant he is no longer feeling the effects of that issue, saying: "It feels better this week than it did last week, than it did the week before, so it's continually getting better.

  "That's part of ligament injuries. If you don't move it, you're going to lose it. 

  "I'm always moving it around, keeping it loose, keeping my mobility the way it's supposed to be, so it's going to continue to happen."

  Having sat out the final seven games of 2023 as the Bengals missed the playoffs for the first time since 2020, Burrow is simply grateful to be back out on the field.

  "It's a luxury right now to be criticised by you guys about how we played on Sunday, because I was sitting in the wings for seven weeks last year," he said. "I'm just excited to be out there."

  The Bengals face the Kansas City Chiefs in a rematch of the AFC Championship games from the 2021 and 2022 seasons on Sunday, before taking on the Washington Commanders in Week 3.

• 'I know I'm going to be a Cowboy' - Parsons confident over Dallas stay

  Micah Parsons is confident he will remain with the Dallas Cowboys but is currently more focused on winning than signing a lucrative extension.

  The Cowboys have already signed Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb to new deals, with Parsons next in line to be given a new contract.

  He is in the final year of his four-year rookie contract, with Dallas already exercising their $21million fifth-year option on his deal.

  The former Defensive Rookie of the Year could land a deal that makes him the NFL's richest defensive player.

  However, Parsons is in no hurry to put pen to paper as he knows his future lies in Texas.

  "I know I'm going to be a Cowboy," he said on Monday on his 'The Edge with Micah Parsons' podcast. "There's nothing like Cowboy Nation. I think the love is very mutual.

  "As for me, I'm just focused on winning games. I want to win those big games. I want to win those playoff games, get to the Super Bowl. For me, the contract is not really what I'm worried about."

  Prescott and the Cowboys agreed to a four-year deal worth $240m hours before they opened the season with a win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, while Lamb signed his four-year, $136m contract two weeks earlier, making him the second-highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.

  Parsons was happy to see his team-mates commit their future to the club, in particular heaping praise on Prescott's influence.

  "We're happy it gets done because now, it puts a lot of talk to the side," Parsons added. "We're like, 'Man, we got our quarterback now.'

  "We can really just focus, like Dak said, on winning games. ... So, having our guys, CeeDee Lamb and Dak done, it means the world to us.

  "Dak is that guy, no BS. He deserves everything that he [gets]. He never cheated the game, he comes in every day with a positive attitude, great work ethic, and he's always first one in, last one out. Consistently being the best person/player you could possibly be.

  "He never cheats the game, and that's the most important part. So, when a guy like that gets his money, you say he earned every single dollar. I could not be more happy for him."

  The Cowboys will play their first NFL home game of the season against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. 

• Cousins 'rusty' not injured despite struggling in Falcons loss

  Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons made a disappointing start to the NFL season with a defeat, but coach Raheem Morris says he was not hindered by injury.

  The quarterback struggled in an 18-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, playing his first game since suffering a torn Achilles in week 8 last season.

  Against the Steelers, he was 16-of-26 for 155 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions overall. In the second half, Cousins had just 19 passing yards, the lowest total of his career.

  The 36-year-old did not play in pre-season, but Morris believes his performance likely came from "some rust from not playing for so long".

  "I feel like Kirk is healthy," Morris said on Monday. "He's been healthy since he's been here.

  "With Kirk being here, we've been doing the same thing since he's been here, and that's how we've planned on playing and we've played that way throughout."

  Many thought new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson's play-calling was designed to protect Cousins after his lengthy lay-off, though it did not pay off as the Steelers' defense dominated much of the game.

  "We played, I thought, winning football in two phases of the game, and we didn't play winning football in our offensive phase of the game," Morris added.

  "The plan was to go out there and win the football game, but it exposed some things inside for us.

  "We want to get better. But we got to play better at the [quarterback] position, we got to play better around him."

  The Falcons’ next game is against the Philadelphia Eagles.