Tampa Bay Buccaneers superstar Tom Brady insisted there is a "real urgency" for the NFL Super Bowl champions to arrest their slump ahead of Monday's clash with the New York Giants.
The Buccaneers (6-3) have lost back-to-back games as they prepare to host the Giants at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.
Brady has not lost three consecutive regular-season games since 2002, when he dropped four in a row, and the record seven-time Super Bowl champion knows the Buccaneers must start winning sooner rather than later.
"I think we have to change it and I think winning football is about doing the right thing as often as possible," Brady told reporters on Saturday.
"Everyone being on the same page, great communication and just giving the best effort as possible on every play. Things aren't always going to be perfect out there, but you have to have as few as mistakes as possible.
"I think there's a real urgency for us to have it right."
Despite their loss of form, the Buccaneers still lead the NFC South, ahead of the New Orleans Saints.
"It's not nearly as fun putting all the work in and us trying to grind and get it right," said Brady. "We're not doing what it takes on the field in order to win.
"In order to do it right, you put in a lot of time and energy and detail into what we're doing. It will feel a lot better when we win, but we have to go earn it and we're going against a team that challenges you to do it."
Brady is 5-1 in his six career regular-season games against the Giants (passing for more than 330 yards in four of those six games) but 0-2 against them in Super Bowls.
The 44-year-old leads the NFL this season in big plays passing (26), attempts per game (41.9), completions per game (28.2), passing yards per game (318.9), having completed 254 passes for 2,870 yards and 27 touchdowns.
His passer rating (106.1) through nine games is his best since 2015 with the New England Patriots.
"I actually have great teammates and great group of coaches and we're going to work our butt off to get it right," said Brady. "I think there are definitely things that we've done a good job of, but it's identifying those things and then working at them.
"I think the expectations are high for a reason because we have a lot of talented players, and we know that we can play at a high level. We just have to go do it."
The Buccaneers, meanwhile, will again be without star Antonio Brown against the visiting Giants.
Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians confirmed Brown's absence on Saturday – the wide receiver has not played since Week 6 due to an ankle injury.
Miami Dolphins turn down record bid in rout of hapless Denver Broncos
The Miami Dolphins rattled up the highest points total in the NFL since 1966 as they overwhelmed the winless Denver Broncos 70-20.
Rookie De’Von Achane ran for 203 yards, two touchdowns and collected a touchdown pass from Tua Tagovailoa – who completed his first 17 passes – while fellow running back Raheen Mostert ran for three touchdowns and caught another.
Coach Mike McDaniel opted against a last-ditch field-goal attempt which would have broken the record of 72 points set by Washington against the Giants 57 years ago.
AFC East rivals Buffalo Bills also had a commanding victory as they routed the Washington Commanders 37-3.
Josh Allen threw for one touchdown and ran for another as the Bills defence sacked home quarterback Sam Howell nine times.
Howell threw four interceptions, once of which was returned for a touchdown by AJ Epenesa – as the Commanders went scoreless until a field goal with 46 seconds left on the clock.
Elsewhere in the AFC East, the New England Patriots won 15-10 to beat the New York Jets for a 15th successive game and avoid a first 0-3 start since 2000.
Patrick Mahomes threw three touchdown passes, two to Jerick McKinnon, but had to take second billing to a watching Taylor Swift as Kansas City Chiefs ease passed the winless Chicago Bears 41-10.
Swift cheered on from a suite at the invitation of Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, with whom she has been romantically linked and who also grabbed a touchdown pass from Mahomes.
Reigning MVP Mahomes threw for 272 yards, Isiah Pacheco and Clyde Edwards-Helaire adding touchdown runs as the Bears fell to a 13th straight defeat ahead of a clash with the Broncos next week.
Kenny Pickett passed for 235 yards with two touchdowns as the Pittsburgh Steelers held off a fourth quarter comeback from the Las Vegas Raiders to win 23-18.
The Raiders, who trailed 23-7 going into the final quarter, cut the deficit to eight points but opted to take a field goal on fourth and four in the closing moments.
Dallas Cowboys’ impressive start to the season hit came to an abrupt end as they lost 28-16 at Arizona Cardinals, Joshua Dobbs throwing for a touchdown and 189 yards to secure his first win as a starting quarterback in his seventh NFL season.
Quarterback Derek Carr was forced off with a shoulder injury as the New Orleans Saints coughed up a 17-0 lead to lose 18-7 to the Green Bay Packers while Kenneth Walker II rushed for a pair of touchdowns as the Seattle Seahawks won 37-27 over the winless Carolina Panthers.
The Minnesota Vikings are also 0-3 after they went down 28-24 to the Los Angeles Chargers, Justin Herbert completing 40 of 47 passes – a franchise record 18 of them to Keenan Allen – for 405 yards and three touchdowns.
Andrew Beck returned a kick-off 85 yards for a touchdown and CJ Stroud threw for two more as the Houston Texans beat the faltering Jacksonville Jaguars 37-17.
Matt Gay kicked four field goals from more than 50 yards, including the game winner in overtime from 53 yards, as the Indianapolis Colts won 22-19 to inflict a first defeat of the season on the Baltimore Ravens.
The Tennessee Titans totalled just 94 yards in offence as they went down 27-3 at the Cleveland Browns, while the Atlanta Falcons went down 20-6 at the Detroit Lions.
Report: Saints QB Carr has shoulder sprain
New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr sustained a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder that forced him to leave Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers, according to NFL.com.
Carr was taken to a local hospital after injuring his throwing shoulder when sacked early in the third quarter of the Saints' 18-17 loss. The 10-year veteran underwent X-rays that turned up negative and no additional damage to his shoulder was found, according to the report.
Though Carr appears to have avoided a long-term injury, his status for New Orleans' game against NFC South rival Tampa Bay next Sunday is in question.
Carr has been among the NFL's most durable quarterbacks since entering the league in 2014, having missed only three games due to injury and none since 2017. His 145 regular-season starts since 2014 are the most of any quarterback over that time frame.
The 32-year-old signed a four-year, $150 million contract with the Saints in March, nearly a month after being released by the Las Vegas Raiders, the team Carr spent his first nine seasons with.
Jameis Winston replaced Carr in Sunday's loss and is expected to take over at quarterback in the event Carr misses time. The 2013 Heisman Trophy winner started New Orleans' first three games of last season before injuring his back and later being supplanted by veteran Andy Dalton as the team's No. 1 signal-caller.
The Saints held a 17-0 lead at the time of Carr's departure. The Packers then scored 18 unanswered points in the final 11 minutes to tie for the largest fourth-quarter comeback in franchise history.
Carr ended the day with 103 passing yards and a touchdown while completing 13 of 18 attempts. Winston completed 10 of 16 passes for 101 yards.
'The numbers don't lie' – Djokovic hailed as greatest of all time by Lopez
Novak Djokovic is just one grand slam away from becoming the most decorated player in history and Feliciano Lopez believes "the numbers don't lie" when it comes to debating tennis' greatest.
Serbia's Djokovic equalled Margaret Court's record of 24 grand slam triumphs after defeating Daniil Medvedev in straight sets at the US Open earlier in September.
That made the world number one, aged 36 years and 111 days at the time, the oldest winner of the men's singles title at the US Open.
It was also Djokovic's third major crown of 2023, winning a trio of grand slams in a calendar year for the fourth time in his career,
Davis Cup tournament director Lopez, who had previously hailed Djokovic for featuring at the "unique" competition, suggested no one in history compares with the 36-year-old.
Asked by Stats Perform if Djokovic was the GOAT – greatest of all time – Lopez said: "According to the numbers, yes. The numbers don't lie.
"If you look at the stats, Novak is the best. So, I mean, what can I say?
"I think the numbers are very clear, not only by the fact that he's won 24 slams, but also there are other numbers and other statistics that clearly show he's the best player who ever played the sport.
"According to the numbers, I cannot say anything different."
Djokovic triumphed at the Australian Open, French Open and US Open, only missing out on a clean sweep of the majors after losing the Wimbledon final to Carlos Alcaraz.
As for Djokovic's chances for more major success going forward, Lopez believes the sky is still the limit.
"It's very difficult to predict honestly, but as long as he's feeling physically strong I think it's clear that his will in the last three or four years is to keep winning grand slams," Lopez added.
"If he is able to sustain his physical condition for the next two years, I can fairly say that he can win, I don't know, two, three or four, but it's very difficult to say one number because this year, for example, he could have won all four.
"He won in Australia, he won in Paris, he was very close to winning Wimbledon because of that second-set tie-break, and he just won the US Open.
"You ask me how many grand slams you think he will win in the future when he just won three of them in the same year!
"I don't know, maybe three or four more is fair to say, but it's very difficult to predict."
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