Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni stressed that Monday's 32-21 loss to the Washington Commanders will only turn them into a better football team, despite having their run defense exploited in an eye-opening first loss of the season.
The Commanders came in with a clear game plan to limit the undefeated Eagles' time of possession, favouring long, grinding drives leaning heavily on their running game.
It led to Washington carrying the ball 49 times – one carry away from the season-high of 50 set by the Eagles in their Week 4 win against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
That in turn gave the Commanders over 40 minutes of possession, while the Eagles had less than 20 minutes.
Despite their lack of possession, the Eagles pulled the margin back to 23-21 in the fourth quarter, but gave up three fumbles down the stretch to torpedo their own chances of a comeback.
The cracks shown in the Eagles' run defense come at a bad time, with upcoming fixtures against elite running backs Jonathan Taylor of the Indianapolis Colts, Aaron Jones of the Green Bay Packers and Tennessee Titans superstar Derrick Henry.
Sirianni said right now all of his focus is on Taylor with the Colts coming up in Week 11, and that he knows his team will have to show they can stop the run to avoid being attacked in that fashion.
"I'm only worried about Jonathan Taylor at this point," he said.
"Obviously we'll have to go look at this tape and see what went down in this game, knowing that when you show you can be attacked in a certain place, we're going to see it again.
"We'll work like crazy to get it fixed, and we understand that will be the narrative of how to beat us. We've got to own that, we've got to fix it, and we will."
Sirianni refused to blame a crucial missed penalty by the referees in the fourth quarter, resulting in a fumble, saying his team needs to accept responsibility for their first loss.
"[The refereeing] is not at all what lost us the game," he said. "That's pretty simple, the three turnovers lost us the game, the time of possession loses you the game, we lost it together.
"Offense, defense, special teams, coaching – we lost it together. We've got to protect the ball better. We didn't do a good job of that all game, we were loose with that football, it came out, and they got it.
"I give them a lot of credit, I think that's a good football team and I have a lot of respect for coach [Ron] Rivera. So I don't like to ever say we lost it, they played and they played well.
"But we know that we made mistakes, we made uncharacteristic mistakes, so it's both. We give them all the credit, but we did not play our type of game, we made mistakes, we had penalties, we had uncharacteristic fumbles, we threw an interception.
"We [as coaches] didn't do a good enough job, there's some things we want back as calls, I didn't do a good enough job coaching this week… that loses you football games in this league."
Sirianni finished by adding: "We started 8-0 together, we lost this game together, we're going to move on together. We'll get better from this."
It was not Jimmy Butler's best offensive game of the season, but he was crucial in their narrow 113-112 home win against the Phoenix Suns on Monday.
The Suns led 102-89 with just eight minutes remaining, before Heat center Bam Adebayo took over, scoring 12 points to ignite a 24-10 run to close the contest.
Adebayo's two free throws with 35 seconds on the clock gave the Heat the lead, but an offensive rebound on the Suns' next possession would give Devin Booker a chance to win the game.
Pulling up from mid-range, Booker was blanketed by five-time NBA All-Defensive selection Butler for a game-winning blocked shot.
Adebayo led the way scoring the ball for Miami, finishing with a game-high 30 points on nine-of-18 shooting and 10 rebounds, but Butler was doing everything else, chipping in 13 rebounds, seven assists, a steal and the decisive block to go with his 16 points (five-of-12 shooting).
Booker played well for the Suns, posting a team-high 25 points on 11-of-22 shooting with eight rebounds, five assists and three steals, while Duane Washington Jr caught fire off the bench for 21 points (eight-of-14) in 19 minutes.
The win pulls the Heat's record even at 7-7, while the Suns are still in a good position at 8-5.
Tatum leads Celtics comeback
Jayson Tatum flashed incredible defensive ability in the Boston Celtics' 126-122 come-from-behind win against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Young Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continued his ridiculous start to the season, eclipsing 30 points for the ninth time in 14 games. He had 37 points on 13-of-26 shooting with eight assists, raising his averages to 31.1 points, 5.7 assists and 4.4 rebounds while shooting 54.3 per cent from the field.
But Tatum and running-mate Jaylen Brown were too much in the fourth quarter, leading a 37-26 final frame to swing the game in their favour. Tatum had 27 points on nine-of-23 shooting, but he was even better defensively, snatching three steals and blocking three shots.
Dalano Banton makes the most of his Raptors start
A second-round pick from the 2021 NBA Draft, Toronto Raptors point-forward Dalano Banton was tremendous in his side's 115-111 triumph on the road against the Detroit Pistons.
In his first start of the season due to Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam and Gary Trent Jr all missing through injuries, the six-foot-seven Banton scored a game-high 27 points on nine-of-16 shooting, adding four rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks in his 25 minutes.
The Raptors are now 8-7, and will be considered a threat in the Eastern Conference once fully healthy.
The Washington Commanders were unstoppable on the ground all game to inflict the first loss of the Philadelphia Eagles' season, leaving Lincoln Financial Field with a 32-21 victory.
Knowing they were likely outmatched in a shootout, the Commanders came in with the strategy to keep possession for as long as possible, limiting the Eagles' chances to score.
Things looked headed for the Eagles' ninth consecutive win to start the season after Commanders quarterback Taylor Heinicke lost a fumble on the first drive due to Josh Sweat's strip-sack, leading to a quick Jalen Hurts rushing touchdown to put the hosts up 7-0.
Washington's ensuing drives would span 13 plays and over seven minutes, 12 plays and over six minutes, before scoring their second touchdown of the first half to cap a 16-play, seven-minute march downfield to lead 20-14 at halftime.
Commanders running backs Brian Robinson Jr and Antonio Gibson scored the first-half touchdowns, and they were key on another 14-play, eight-minute drive to open the third quarter, resulting in a field goal.
A Devonta Smith touchdown early in the fourth quarter cut the lead to 23-21, and a late Heinicke interception gave the Eagles a chance to mount a late comeback, but they would lose two fumbles down the stretch before their Hail Mary attempt with five seconds left resulted in a third fumble and a defensive touchdown.
The Commanders ran the ball 49 times for 152 yards – the second most rushing attempts in a single game this season, trailing only the Eagles in their Week 4 win against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
It resulted in Washington having 40 minutes and 24 seconds of ball control time, while the Eagles possessed it for just 19 minutes and 36 seconds.
The win pulls the Commanders to an even 5-5 record, while the Eagles have their first blemish, now 8-1.
New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen told reporters on Monday that Jameis Winston may reclaim the role of starting quarterback for their Week 11 clash against the Los Angeles Rams.
Andy Dalton stepped into the role in Week 4, and under his leadership the Saints' offense was on fire, putting up scores of 25, 39, 26, 34 and 24 – before hitting a wall, only scoring a combined 23 points across the past two losses.
With a 3-7 record and coming off a poor 20-10 loss against the 3-6 Pittsburgh Steelers, Allen indicated Dalton was no longer locked into the starting role.
He told the media everything will be on the table when the Rams roll into town, including a change in quarterback.
"I think we've got to look at everything," Allen said. "Yeah, I think we've got to look at everything. That will be a process we go through today and tomorrow as we get ready for the Rams."
On Winston specifically, Allen said part of the decision will come down to if the medical staff believe he is healthy enough to contribute.
"I feel like I think we probably have to visit with him a little bit in terms of [his health], or visit with the medical staff in terms of that," he said.
"I think Jameis said this the other day, I don't know that he's ever going to be 100 per cent healthy this season. But he's in here every day, he's in here every morning working with the trainers, getting himself ready – and I feel like he's closer to being there.
"I don't think any decisions are made in a vacuum, but we've got to try to do what we feel like gives our team the best chance to win. So that's ultimately what the decision will come down to."
Dalton has thrown 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions in his seven starts, while Winston has four touchdowns and five picks in three starts.
Baker Mayfield will be back under center as the Carolina Panthers’ starting quarterback this week after P.J. Walker suffered an ankle injury Thursday night in a win over the Atlanta Falcons.
Walker, who is 2-3 as a starter this season, had an MRI taken over the weekend that revealed a high ankle sprain.
He finished Thursday’s game, a 25-15 victory over the Panthers' division rivals. Interim coach Steve Wilks said that Walker “sucked it up and played through it” to finish the game but will be unable to play Sunday when Carolina visits the Baltimore Ravens.
"A high ankle sprain limits his mobility... so we'll let him sit this week and go with Baker," Wilks said.
Wilks said that the Panthers will not place Walker on injured reserve, meaning it is likely he is able to return within three weeks.
Mayfield, in his first season with Carolina, won the starting job over Walker and Sam Darnold in the offseason, but was 1-4 as the starter before he suffered a sprained ankle in Week 5.
Even after Mayfield had recovered, Walker retained the starting job.
Mayfield is on pace to set career lows in completion percentage (56.6 per cent), yards per pass attempt (6.5) and passer rating (78.1).
Wilks told reporters that the top priority for Mayfield in his return is to "protect the football".
Mayfield has thrown four interceptions in his five starts and has fumbled six times this season.
As poorly as the season has started for the 3-7 Panthers, they are just two games back of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the NFC South lead.
Novak Djokovic begun his ATP Finals campaign with a straight set victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas in Turin, ending the Greek's hopes of finishing the year ranked number one.
The five-time champion emerged as a 6-4 7-6 (7-4) victor to go top of the Red Group above Andrey Rublev, the Russian having defeated compatriot Daniil Medvedev earlier on Monday.
Tsitsipas needed to win the title in Turin without losing in order to dethrone the injured Carlos Alcaraz at the top of the rankings, but now cannot catch the Spaniard.
Djokovic did not face a break point as he served superbly in the opening set, not allowing the second seed a look-in after breaking in the first game of the match.
Tsitsipas responded well in the second set, firing down seven aces and winning 88 per cent of points behind his first serve, but seventh seed Djokovic stood firm to take the set to a tie-break.
A battling Tsitsipas fought back from 5-1 down to 5-4 in the breaker, but Djokovic did not falter, coming up with a powerful serve that his opponent was unable to return to make a winning start in his quest for a record-equalling sixth ATP Finals title.
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Tsitsipas - 9/0
Djokovic - 3/2
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Tsitsipas - 24/0
Djokovic - 33/2
BREAK POINTS WON
Tsitsipas - 0/1
Djokovic - 1/2
Only a small percentage of players that enter the NFL get to climb the mountain and win the Super Bowl.
The difficulty level surrounding the challenge of lifting the Lombardi Trophy is too often forgotten and too often impressive seasons are written off and quickly consigned to history after a team falls short.
It is not unusual for players to take about their exploits throughout a season being meaningless when they fall short of the ultimate goal. Yet in a league that is so tough to win, it is important to cherish the dramatic victories and moments that spark the greatest joy in the long journey that is an NFL season.
No fanbase understands this more than that of the Minnesota Vikings, who have continually had their hearts broken throughout a tortured history.
The Vikings have gone to four Super Bowls without winning any and have a long history of playoff agony.
Yet they are also responsible for one of the great postseason finishes, Stefon Diggs' last-gasp touchdown in the Divisional Round against the New Orleans Saints at the end of the 2017 season quickly coming to be known as the 'Minneapolis Miracle'.
With Diggs providing the opposition as a member of the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson produced another of those indelible moments for the franchise and the fans to cling on to in their astonishing 33-30 overtime win at Orchard Park.
The Vikings were firmly in the last chance saloon, trailing 27-23 with two minutes remaining and faced with fourth-and-18 from their own 27-yard line. Minnesota's hopes of victory were seemingly about to end, but Jefferson literally plucked some new life out of the air, bending backwards as he leapt to take a desperation Kirk Cousins throw away from the grasp of Bills defender Cam Lewis, producing a catch that instantly joined the discussion as arguably the best of all-time.
What made that reception more remarkable was the fact it did not result in points and was only a prelude to the utter chaos of the finale to the unquestioned game of the year. The Vikings drove to the Buffalo one-yard line but were stopped on fourth down, only for the Bills to cough up what looked to be certain victory when a fumbled snap on their goal-line allowed Eric Kendricks to recover a fumble and give Minnesota the lead.
It was quickly snatched away when Josh Allen, with a little under 40 seconds remaining to do so, guided the Bills in position to kick a game-tying field goal and force overtime, achieving that feat in part thanks to a controversial completion to Gabe Davis, officials electing not to review his catch despite replays indicating he had dropped the ball.
The Vikings kicked a go-ahead field goal in the extra period after again failing to convert from inside the Buffalo five-yard line, but their profligacy in the red zone was not punished as Allen ended an off-colour showing with a poor decision to throw over the middle, his pass intercepted by Patrick Peterson in the endzone to clinch a thrilling comeback triumph for Minnesota.
Allen's fumble and his red-zone interception were the decisive plays, but it is Jefferson's exploits that provided the defining image of the game, with his unbelievable fourth-down reception the highlight of one of a domineering display from a player who has swiftly ascended to the elite at the wide receiver position.
Jefferson had two receptions for first downs on the overtime drive that ensured the Bills would have to score a touchdown to win, the second another leaping grab on a corner route to haul in a perfectly placed ball from Cousins against a two-deep safety coverage.
For the game, he finished with 10 catches for a career-high 193 yards and a touchdown, another history-making display for a receiver who has made a habit of rewriting the record books since entering the NFL in 2020.
This was his 20th career game with at least 100 receiving yards, surpassing Odell Beckham Jr. (19 games) and Randy Moss (19) for the most such games by a player in his first three career seasons in NFL history.
Jefferson now has seven games with at least 150 receiving yards, overtaking Moss and fellow Hall of Famer Lance Alworth (both six) for the most by a player in his opening three seasons, while he is up to 4,076 receiving yards in 42 games, tying Alworth and Beckham for the fewest games to reach 4,000 career receiving yards in NFL history.Following his efforts against Buffalo, Jefferson has 18 completions of at least 20 yards or more this season, trailing only Tyreek Hill (20). Jefferson's Stats Perform big play rate of 36.3 per cent puts him fifth among receivers with at least 50 targets, his explosiveness a product of his ability to manufacture separation with his route-running and make superb plays at the catch point.
Registering a burn, which is when a receiver wins his matchup with a defender on a play where he is targeted, on 66.7 per cent of targets, Jefferson is fourth in burn yards per route (4.2), further illustrating how adept he is at breaking free from coverage.
The Vikings trade with Buffalo in 2020 saw them part with the man at the heart of one of the greatest plays in franchise history as the Bills acquired Diggs in exchange for a first-round pick. Minnesota used that first-round pick on Jefferson, with that exchange now deservedly viewed as a huge win for both sides.
By producing a physics-defying catch with the game on the line in a matchup seen as a referendum on the Vikings' credentials as a contender, Jefferson has followed in Diggs' footsteps in delivering a moment that will live in franchise folklore.
The wild nature of the victory may lead some to hit the pause button on declaring the Vikings to be a team in contention to win the Super Bowl, even with an 8-1 record and a win over one of the AFC's best now on their resume.
But discussion over Super Bowl chances should be secondary in this instance. Regardless of whether the Vikings go on to make it deep into the postseason, Jefferson's play is one that the Vikings fanbase will talk about forever. The Vikings may not be holding the Lombardi Trophy come the end of the season in Arizona, but Jefferson's heroics in this bewitching chapter of their 2022 campaign will still be worth celebrating.
The USA’s Patrick Cover stormed in an early lead at the end of Sunday’s first round of play at the 55 Jamaica Open Golf Tournament at the Tryall Golf Club in Sandy Bay, Hanover.
Elijah Mitchell believes he and Christian McCaffrey could form the best running back tandem in the NFL after he returned in style in the San Francisco 49ers' 22-16 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Mitchell, the 49ers' leading rusher as a rookie in 2021, had been sidelined since Week 1 with a knee sprain.
His position as San Francisco's leading back looked to have been taken by McCaffrey last month when the 49ers traded four draft picks to acquire the former All-Pro in a deal with the Carolina Panthers.
However, the pair split carries as the 49ers prevailed in primetime despite an uneven offensive performance. Mitchell carried the ball 18 times for 81 yards and McCaffrey 14 times for 38 yards and a touchdown, the latter also had four catches for 39 yards.
The 49ers finished with 157 yards on the ground but at an average of just 3.8 yards per carry, however, Mitchell is confident he and McCaffrey can take their rushing attack to great heights.
"At the end of the day, it helps both of us and like I said, year six and he's an unbelievable back," Mitchell said of McCaffrey's arrival. "I get to learn from him so I'm excited for it.
"We could be the best duo of backs in the league, in my opinion."
The 49ers' victory moved them to 5-4, trailing the Seattle Seahawks (6-4) by just half a game in the race for the NFC West title.
That record is identical to that of the Chargers, who could not overcome critical injuries on the offensive side of the ball to the likes of Keenan Allen and Mike Williams.
San Francisco's vaunted defense dominated and shut out the Chargers in the second half, and running back Austin Ekeler refused to blame the Chargers' injuries for their struggles.
"We got some of our guys who are down," Ekeler said. "I get it. That doesn’t matter. . . . No one really created today.
"We need more playmaking. We didn't have that in the second half. We can't just go out there and play hard. That doesn't win in the NFL."
Ireland will be without Robbie Henshaw and Joey Carbery in their final Autumn Nations Series Test against Australia on Saturday.
Centre Henshaw suffered a hamstring injury during a 35-17 win over Fiji last weekend and will continue his rehabilitation at Leinster.
Carbery was replaced early in the second half of that victory at the Aviva Stadium with a head injury and the fly-half will complete the return to play protocols with Munster.
Johnny Sexton, James Ryan, Andrew Porter, Josh van der Flier and Hugo Keenan will be monitored ahead of the clash with the Wallabies in Dublin after sustaining knocks in the win over South Africa.
Jimmy O'Brien will complete the head injury assessment [HIA] process on Monday and is expected to be back in training on Tuesday.
Joe McCarthy has got through the HIA process and is back in the fold along with Bundee Aki, who has completed a suspension.
Meanwhile, Ireland boss Andy Farrell was on Monday shortlisted for the World Rugby Coach of the Year award after guiding the team to the top of the rankings.
Fabien Galthie, the France head coach, New Zealand women's head coach Wayne Smith and England Women's head coach Simon Middleton are the other contenders for the gong.
Wallball is a sport being played globally in over 100 countries and Founder and President of the Jamaica Wallball Association, Oneil Cummings, is optimistic about where the sport can go in the country.
Wallball is an indirect style of a ball game where the player hits a small rubber ball with their hand against a wall. The goal of the game is to score more points than the opponent. If the opponent fails to return the ball, the player scores a point. The game begins when one player serves the ball by hitting the ball towards the wall. The ball must bounce one time on the ground before it reaches the wall. The receiving player must let the ball hit the wall and bounce once before returning it.
“We are launching off at a very small level but we can only grow. We are hopeful that the sport will take off in Jamaica. I am hopeful that we will get the support that will foster the growth of the sport here,” he said at the JWA’s press launch and demo of Wallball at the University of Technology (UTECH) on Saturday.
“There are several emerging and exciting sporting activities that have been helping to foster greater social cohesion across the world and the game of Wallball represents one of those,” added Cummings before going into ways the association plans to integrate the sport locally.
“We at the Jamaica Wallball Association intend to host an annual International Invitational Pro Tournament so the future should be very bright for prospective players.”
Getting the sport into schools is also a goal down the line for Cummings, who reiterated that this is just phase one of their plans as the association, formed in 2018, is just picking up where they left off after taking a break due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.
“This is just phase one. We are now creating a brand so marketing will be very important after this phase. The association was formed just before Covid so now we are just picking up back where we left off before the break.”
He did mention one partnership that is already in motion with the hosts of the event, UTECH.
Donna-Marie Wynter-Adams, head of the Caribbean School of Sports Sciences at the university, spoke about the essence of their partnership with the JWA.
“We are always open to doing the certification for small federations and we have a sport elective. We feel that our graduates must know not only their field of study, but they must also develop the sportsmanship and community spirit that comes from sport. We have electives that you can do from another module and we have the sports elective so you can do Basketball, Golf and learn to swim and we can add Wallball to that collection that we can offer to persons who are getting their degree.”
“We think it is a good partnership because you are introducing another sport. If you realize now, we are expanding. Our athletes want to do field events and novel sports. With 2.9 million persons, not all of them want to do the 100 metres. It is good when we bring in small sports because we have a great capacity for sport,” she added before going into some benefits of playing Wallball.
“You can burn a lot of calories with it. It is not related to your age, just your ability to move. Even if you are not able to move and you’re wheelchair bound, you can still play it.”
Phase one of the associations efforts to grow Wallball in Jamaica will involve a series of training and demonstration clinics in the Kingston & St Andrew and Portmore areas from November 11-20. The training series will be hosted by the Wallball International Federation.
“We are very excited to be here to introduce a new sport to Jamaica. It is very easy to play,” said Colombian WIF President Alberto Viteri.
International players Tony Roberts, Paul Yagual and Stephanie Vega will be the coaches at the clinics while Cummings also noted that Jamaica College, Papine High, Bridgeport High, Kingston College and Donald Quarrie High will all be involved.
Stefon Diggs feels the Buffalo Bills might be "blinking a little bit" after their defeat to the Minnesota Vikings in the game of the year so far.
The Bills led 27-10 in the third quarter and still appeared set to prevail leading 27-23 late in the fourth with the Vikings seemingly on their last chance on fourth-and-18.
However, Justin Jefferson's remarkable one-handed grab, which immediately entered the discussion around the best catches of all-time, set in motion a chaotic and incredible finish.
Despite that catch, Buffalo looked to have clinched the game when they stopped Minnesota on the Bills' one-yard line, but Josh Allen fumbled the snap on the subsequent series, Eric Kendricks recovering to put the Vikings ahead with 41 seconds left.
Allen led the Bills down the field for a game-tying field goal that forced overtime, in which the Vikings took the lead on a field goal after once again failing to convert from inside the Buffalo five-yard line following another Jefferson-inspired drive.
That gave Allen the chance to win it for Buffalo with a touchdown, but he paid the price for a poor decision as the Bills quarterback was intercepted in the endzone by Patrick Peterson and Minnesota clung on for a 33-30 success.
Buffalo's second successive defeat dropped them to 6-3, meaning the Bills are now third in the AFC East behind the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets.
It is a surprising downturn for a team that has long since been seen as Super Bowl favourites, and one Diggs put down to the Bills not following their mantra.
"We've got to continue to play sharp," said Diggs. "I mean, I feel like we're coming out in the first half, minds sharp, getting after it, and then we somewhat hit a little lull and then kind of got to get back in the groove.
"It seemed like when we've got to get in the groove, it's always crunch time. And we always manage to kind of figure it out and make a way, but it'll save us if we don't take that lull, don't take that little gasp of air.
"[Defensive end] Von [Miller] always say don't blink and I feel like we might be blinking a little bit, especially when we come out trying to figure it out... This game has its ebbs and flows along with the season. I mean, we can’t ride a rollercoaster, so chin up."
Asked to explain what he meant by blinking, Diggs pointed the finger at himself for a false start in the fourth quarter.
"No, I mean, if you look at the score, the score was still tight," Diggs added. "When I think about a lull I feel like it's more so not being as sharp. For example like me jumping offsides like s*** like that.
"That's more so like a lull, not so much about the other team because like I said every week the other team will give you their best shot and they’re always going to give us that. More so looking inward than anything."
Andrey Rublev opened his ATP Finals campaign with a gripping 6-7 (7-9) 6-3 7-6 (9-7) success over compatriot Daniil Medvedev in Turin.
The sixth seed came from behind to beat his fellow Russian in a match lasting over two and a half hours to put himself top of the Red Group, with the pool's other two players, Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas, playing later on Monday.
Rublev got off to a fast start, securing a break to put himself 4-1 up in the first set. However, Medvedev saw off two set points to take it to a tie-break, before fending off five more set points on his way to taking an extraordinary opener.
World number seven Rublev hit back with two breaks in a strong second set to level the match, Medvedev not helping himself with six double faults.
Medvedev, the fourth seed, cut down the errors in a tight final set that did not see a solitary break of serve as a tie-break was required to settle an absorbing contest.
But after a remarkable final stand from Medvedev that saw him save four match points, Rublev finally got over the line make a winning start.
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Medvedev - 24/8
Rublev - 9/1
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Medvedev - 46/26
Rublev - 38/24
BREAK POINTS WON
Medvedev - 1/2
Rublev - 3/9
Justin Jefferson's critical fourth-quarter catch in the Minnesota Vikings' thrilling Week 10 win over the Buffalo Bills will go down as one of the best of all-time, but for the All-Pro wideout it was simply a case of him meeting expectations he has held since childhood.
Jefferson's astonishing one-handed grab on fourth-and-18 with the Bills ahead 27-23 kept the Vikings' hopes alive in an instant classic, the 23-year-old arcing his body backwards and leaping to rip the ball away from Cam Lewis for a 32-yard reception.
Despite driving down to the Buffalo one-yard line, Minnesota failed to get across the goal-line, but the Vikings were handed a reprieve when Bills quarterback Josh Allen fumbled the snap after the turnover on downs, Eric Kendricks recovering to put the visitors ahead with 41 seconds left.
Allen led the Bills down the field for a game-tying field goal that forced overtime, in which the Vikings took the lead on a field goal after once again failing to convert from inside the Buffalo five-yard line following another Jefferson-inspired drive. That gave Allen the chance to win it for Buffalo with a touchdown, but he was intercepted in the endzone by Patrick Peterson as Minnesota clung on for a remarkable 33-30 success.
In a game of so many dramatic moments, it is the image of Jefferson wresting the ball from Lewis in mid-air while falling backwards that will be the defining one.
Yet the Vikings star appeared to see nothing extraordinary about his pivotal play.
"Before we left the huddle," Jefferson told Peter King for Football Morning in America.
"Kirk [Cousins] said to me, 'Hey, I might just throw this up to you.' Kirk knew. We just needed to make something happen.
"I felt how close [Lewis] was. I knew it was going to be a battle for the ball. On plays like that, I don't remember exactly what happened. But I'm going up, I'm going to fight for the ball.
"That's my ball. Since ninth grade, those are the balls I think I should catch. I'm just happy Kirk trusted me and put the ball up for me to catch."
Jefferson finished with 193 yards and a touchdown on 10 catches. It marked his 20th career game with at least 100 receiving yards and saw him surpass Odell Beckham Jr. (19) and Randy Moss (19) for the most such games by a player in his first three seasons in NFL history.
He has yet to play in a postseason game, but with his latest heroics helping the Vikings improve to 8-1, that appears destined to change.
Aaron Rodgers was delighted to "knock back" the negative voice in his head by leading the Green Bay Packers to an overtime comeback win over the Dallas Cowboys.
The Packers went into the game, which saw Rodgers go against former head coach Mike McCarthy, on a five-game losing streak that dropped them to 3-6.
Green Bay last week scored only nine points in a defeat to the Detroit Lions, with many viewing that as the final nail in their coffin.
Rodgers agreed that loss was a low point, but felt the Packers could only go in one direction from there.
He ensured they went on an upward trajectory, throwing three touchdown passes to rookie receiver Christian Watson as the Packers fought back from 28-14 down in the fourth quarter to see off the Cowboys 31-28.
"Last week was definitely a low, rock-bottomish for sure," Rodgers said. "Not in a depressive, isolationism way but more disappointment. And I felt like that was the bottom and it was only up from there.
"I think a lot of the battles that we face are between I and I, between the person that can go out there and dominate and knows that they can, and the little voice in your head that tries to knock you out of that confident perch around you.
"I'm happy that I knocked that voice back into hell and had a good performance today."
The Packers' win over the 6-3 Cowboys and the coach in McCarthy who led them to glory in Super Bowl XLV in the 2010 season keeps them alive in the NFC playoff picture.
They are 4-6, two games back in the loss column of the 5-4 San Francisco 49ers, who would be the seventh and final seed in the conference if the season ended today.
And Rodgers is hopeful it could be the start of a remarkable turnaround in their fortunes.
"That was a turning point for us, hopefully a turning point that leads us to go on a streak," Rodgers said of the fourth-quarter fightback.
"But that [trailing 28-14] was a chance for guys to [go], 'Ah, it's not our season, 3-7, what are we doing in the offseason, it's not gonna be our year.'
"It just felt like energetically something was gonna go our way, and we stuck together in the fourth."
Lewis Hamilton is "not concerned" about racing against Max Verstappen in future despite the two clashing in Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix.
After a red flag on the opening lap in Sao Paulo, the restart saw the two familiar foes make contact heading into the second corner, forcing both off the track.
The incident dropped Hamilton from second to eighth, while Verstappen required a new front wing.
The world champion was handed a five-second time penalty for his part in the crash, which was reminiscent of a number of battles between the pair in their thrilling title battle last season.
Verstappen blamed his rival after the race, which Hamilton's team-mate George Russell went on to win while the seven-time world champion followed up in second to earn a Mercedes one-two.
"It cost him the race win and it gave me five seconds," Verstappen told Sky Sports. "It wouldn't have mattered anything for my race.
"I thought we could race quite well together but clearly the intention was not there to race."
Hamilton responded in the post-race press conference, saying: "I am not concerned.
"I think it's natural when you have the success and the numbers on your chest that you become a bit of a target.
"But it's okay, it's nothing that I've not dealt with before."
The clash with Hamilton was not Verstappen's sole controversy from the race, after he refused to hand sixth place to Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez, who called Verstappen's decision "disappointing" with the Mexican battling Charles Leclerc for second place in the drivers' championship.
Former UFC light-heavyweight title contender Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson has died at the age of 38.
The American, who ended his UFC career with a record of 22 wins and six defeats, had been suffering from an undisclosed illness.
Johnson came out of retirement to join Bellator last year, but he was forced to pull out of a light-heavyweight title bout in September 2021 on health grounds.
Speaking to ESPN in October, manager Ali Abdelaziz said Johnson "was not doing well" and asked the MMA world to pray for him.
Bellator's official Twitter account confirmed on Sunday that Johnson had passed away.
"It is with great sadness we acknowledge the passing of Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson," the tweet read.
"The Bellator family is devastated by his untimely passing and we send our condolences to his family and friends during this difficult time."
Johnson also competed as a welterweight and middleweight in UFC, with 17 of his 23 overall career wins coming by knockout.
Amid all the furore around his appointment as interim head coach, Jeff Saturday may have been the coolest man in the building as he guided the Indianapolis Colts to a 25-20 road win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
In his first game as a head coach above the high school level, Saturday tasted a victory that will have gone some way to silencing his critics.
Saturday's lack of experience made the former Pro Bowl center unlikely candidate, with others among the Colts coaching staff seen as having more valid claims, but owner Jim Irsay had little hesitation in turning to the 47-year-old to replace the fired Frank Reich.
Despite all the controversy surrounding him, Saturday remained cool, calm and collected.
"In all honesty and in all truth, I felt very at peace," he said, before diverting all the praise to his players.
"I told the guys just all three phases was an incredible team effort. These guys have been through it.
"I told the staff, the coaches, the players, [about] the fortitude that they presented and the way they played. They laid it all out there and I just could not be more appreciative of those guys and the way they played.
"Everybody from offense, defense and, obviously, on special teams, these guys, they rallied and it's a special moment for all of those guys and I tipped my hat to all of them. It's just an honour to be a part of it."
"I just kept telling them, man, just keep pushing through and I said it's going to come down to the last play. It always does in the NFL. And who goes hardest, the longest ultimately wins.
"We made a couple plays there at the end that were spectacular."
In a surprising move, Saturday opted to return the starting quarterback role to veteran Matt Ryan, pivoting away from second-year youngster Sam Ehlinger.
Ryan was serviceable, completing 21 of 28 passes for 222 yards and no turnovers, but they relied on their running game to get the job done.
"I wanted to talk to the staff on Friday afternoon, but I knew what I was going to do," Saturday said of his call to bring Ryan back in.
"I knew everybody was with it and I felt like Matt gave us the best chance to win. I had the conversation with Sam, who was a true pro, and I have so much respect for that young man and the way that he's conducting himself and the type of team-mate he is."
The Los Angeles Rams are unclear on the severity of the ankle injury that forced Cooper Kupp out of Sunday's 27-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, but head coach Sean McVay says "it didn’t look good".
Kupp clutched his right ankle when he landed awkwardly trying to catch a fourth-quarter John Wolford pass and was checked by the Rams medical staff before walking to the locker room.
The Rams wide receiver, who also hurt his right ankle late in their Week 8 game but played the following week, did not speak to media afterwards.
"I don't have anything right now," McVay told reporters. "I just know it didn't look good, it didn't sound good."
Kupp, who won last year's Super Bowl MVP, has been the Rams' key offensive player this season. The wide receiver has 72 receptions for 813 yards with six touchdowns, with one rushing TD from nine carries this season.
The Rams' latest loss left the Super Bowl LVI champions with a 3-6 record, sitting last in the NFC West after three straight losses.
Kupp enjoyed an historic 2021 season, becoming the fourth player in NFL history to lead the league in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in the same season, alongside Jerry Rice, Sterling Sharpe and Steve Smith Sr.
The 29-year-old had 145 receptions for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns in the 2021 regular season, before adding 33 receptions for 478 yards and six touchdowns in the postseason.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
