San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel will miss Sunday’s game against NFC West rivals the Los Angeles Rams with a hamstring injury.
Samuel, a first team All-Pro selection in 2021, was injured in the 49ers’ 44-23 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last week. The dynamic playmaker played through the issue during the game, but did not practice at all this week.
Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan on Friday said he is hopeful Samuel can return for San Francisco’s November 13 game against the Los Angeles Chargers following a Week 9 bye.
"He's not good enough to go," Shanahan said. "The fact that he even had a chance hopefully means he'll be good with the week off and be ready for the next game."
Samuel has compiled 387 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 32 catches so far this season, while adding 138 rushing yards and a touchdown on 24 attempts.
His best performance in 2022 came against the Rams in Week 4, when the fourth-year pro had six receptions for 115 yards and contributed a 57-yard touchdown catch to the 49ers' 24-9 victory.
Including the 2021 NFC Championship Game, Samuel has amassed 621 yards from scrimmage with five total touchdowns in five meetings with the Rams dating back to Week 12 of the 2020 campaign. The 49ers won all four of the regular-season matchups between the teams during that stretch.
Shanahan added that fellow wide receiver Jauan Jennings will be listed as questionable for Sunday’s game due to a hamstring injury of his own.
Jennings ranks fourth among San Francisco players with 14 catches and 180 receiving yards in seven games this season.
Christian Horner says Red Bull "begrudgingly accept" their "Draconian" punishments for breaking budget cap regulations but feels some rival Formula One teams owe them an apology.
Red Bull were on Friday fined $7million (£6.1m) and hit with a 10 per cent reduction in permitted aerodynamic research for overspending last year after coming to an 'accepted breach agreement' (ABA) with the FIA.
Motorsport's world governing body the FIA revealed that Red Bull were guilty of spending €2.2m (£1.9m) more than they were permitted to last season, which ended dramatically when Max Verstappen won his first world title.
Along with being slapped with a significant fine, the constructors' champions have also had the amount of time they can spend using their wind tunnel or computational fluid dynamics cut by 10 per cent for a one-year period.
"We could have been looking at a 12-month period to have this situation closed [if they had not accepted the ABA]," Horner said during a press conference at the Mexican Grand Prix.
"The amount of speculation, commenting and sniping that has been going on in the paddock, we felt that it was in everybody's interest – our interest, the FIA's interest, in F1's interest – to say, 'we close the book', and we close the book here and today.
"We accept the penalties, begrudgingly, but we accept them."
Horner says Red Bull will be significantly impacted by the punishment imposed next season.
"The more Draconian part is the sporting penalty, which is a 10 per cent reduction in our ability to utilise our wind tunnel and aerodynamic tools," he added.
"I've heard people reporting today that it's an insignificant amount. Let me tell you now, that is an enormous amount. That represents anywhere between a quarter and half a second of a lap.
"That 10 per cent will have an impact on our ability to perform on track."
McLaren chief executive Zak Brown last week stated that breaches of the budget cap amounted to "cheating", a claim which Red Bull principal Horner labelled "fictitious".
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, who was denied a record-breaking eighth world title when Verstappen claimed a dramatic and controversial win at the season-ending race in Abu Dhabi, warned a "slap on the wrist" for Red Bull would simply encourage further breaches.
Horner does not believe it is Red Bull that should be apologising.
"I think that we're probably due an apology from some of our rivals for some of the claims that they've made," he said.
"We make no apology for the way that we've performed, the way that we've acted. We do take on the chin that there are lessons to be learned, and potentially mistakes have been made in our submission, which with the benefit of hindsight and 20-20 vision, everybody can be a specialist.
"But there was no intent, there was nothing dishonest, and there was certainly no cheating involved, which has been alleged in certain corners. So I don't feel that we need to apologise.
"We've taken our pounding in public, we've taken a very public pounding through the accusations that have been made by other teams. We've had our drivers booed at circuits, and the reputational damage that's been made by allegations has been significant. The time is now for that to stop and move on."
World number one Carlos Alcaraz is through to the semi-finals of the Swiss Indoors Basel after easing past Pablo Carreno-Busta in straight sets.
Alcaraz took just under an hour and 40 minutes to overcome his fellow Spaniard and friend 6-3 6-4, getting 67 per cent of his first serves in and winning 77 per cent of those.
Carreno-Busta struggled to keep the US Open champion at bay, facing 12 break points in all, and although he saved nine of them, his defiance was ultimately in vain.
"It is difficult to play against a friend like Pablo," Alcaraz said on-court after his win on Friday. "Every day we go and have dinner, lunch, together. Every week and we train together, so it is difficult to play against him.
"I also support him and want him to win every match. On court, there are no friends. You have to be focused and go for the match and that is what I did."
Alcaraz will face third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final four after the Canadian defeated Alexander Bublik 6-2 6-3.
The other semi-final will see Roberto Bautista Agut play Holger Rune after the Spaniard beat Stan Wawrinka 7-5 7-6 (7-5) and the Danish teenager defeated Arthur Rinderknech 7-6 (7-0) 6-2.
In Austria, top seed at the Vienna Open Daniil Medvedev beat Jannik Sinner 6-4 6-2 to advance to the last four, where he will play Grigor Dimitrov after the Bulgarian overcame Marcos Giron 6-3 4-6 6-4.
The winner of that contest will face either Denis Shapovalov, who beat Dan Evans 6-3 6-3, or Borna Coric after the Croatian came through against Hubert Hurkacz 6-4 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-5).
The San Francisco 49ers are looking to continue their regular-season dominance over the Los Angeles Rams, and may need to lean on new running back Christian McCaffrey to help them do so.
San Francisco's trip to SoFi Stadium marks a critical game for these NFC West rivals, who have both struggled to produce their best this season.
After a bye week, the defending Super Bowl champion Rams are 3-3, while the 49ers are coming off back-to-back losses, which have dropped them to 3-4.
However, the 49ers have plenty of reason for confidence of getting back on track before their bye week against an opponent they defeated 24-9 in Week 4.
That victory made it seven straight regular-season wins over the Rams for the Niners, their second-longest streak against Los Angeles all-time (17 straight from December 1990 – December 1998).
But the 49ers will not have happy memories from their previous visit to Los Angeles, the Rams having prevailed 20-17 in last season's NFC Championship Game to book their place in the Super Bowl.
Wide receiver Deebo Samuel played a critical role in that game and has been a key feature in the 49ers' success against the Rams.
Samuel has accounted for seven regular-season touchdowns in his career against the Rams (three receiving, three rushing, one passing) but will be unavailable for San Francisco this weekend due to a hamstring injury.
The loss of the best running wide receiver in the NFL may see greater onus placed on arguably the best receiving running back, with McCaffrey sure to be an integral part of the gameplan after the 49ers traded four draft picks to acquire him from the Carolina Panthers.
McCaffrey averaged 6.2 yards on his 10 touches in his debut against the Kansas City Chiefs and, though the 49ers will look for him to boost a run game that has a disappointing success rate of 33.7 per cent through seven weeks, the absence of Samuel and their underwhelming ground game could see San Francisco feature the former Panther heavily in the passing game.
San Francisco's 44-23 loss to the Chiefs last week marked the first time they have lost back-to-back games by at least 14 points since Weeks 9-10, 2020. They followed those games up with a 23-20 win against the Rams in Los Angeles.
The 49ers will look for a defensive upturn after their struggles against Kansas City, though defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans' group is still battling injuries in the front seven.
Holding the Rams in check will be critical to San Francisco's hopes of overcoming their absences. Los Angeles have scored at least 20 points in all three of their wins this season and 10 or fewer points in all three losses.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford's record against the 49ers should also offer optimism to Kyle Shanahan's team. Stafford is 1-6 in his regular-season career against the 49ers, his worst record against any NFC opponent.
Stafford has thrown four touchdown passes and five interceptions in his three games against them since joining the Rams, losing each one. Whether he improves on Sunday is likely to have a huge say in which teams emerge from the NFC West.
Jahrome Hughes put on a show as New Zealand won Rugby League World Cup Group C by hammering Ireland 48-10 at Headingley on Friday.
Hughes scored two and set up three of the Kiwis' 10 tries as they ended the group stage with a perfect record and are expected to face Fiji at the quarter-final stage.
Slippery halfback Hughes, making his World Cup debut after recovering from a thigh strain, ghosted in for an opening solo try after Ed Chamberlain's penalty put Ireland in front and his pinpoint kick put one of a plate for Jordan Rapana.
Peta Hiku's quickfire double extended the Kiwis' advantage following a Louis Senior intercept try at the other end and Ronaldo Mulitalo's four-pointer made it 24-6 at half-time.
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves was perhaps lucky to avoid a red card for a high tackle on James Bentley late in that frantic first half.
New Zealand were not at their brilliant best, but Rapana and Hughes helped themselves to doubles, with James Fisher-Harris, Kenny Bromwich and Joseph Manu also crossing in the second half.
Senior pounced on a mistake to become the joint-leading try-scorer in the tournament with six as Ireland showed plenty of fight, but are on the brink of elimination with Lebanon poised to move into the last eight.
After a four-year wait to receive monetary damages from the Trinidad and Tobago Gymnastics Federation (TTGF), gymnast Thema Williams received payment on Thursday afternoon, following a ruling from a High Court judge.
High Court judge Frank Seepersad ruled on Thursday that Republic Bank at which the TTGF held an account, make out a cheque payable to Williams for $223,800.19. The amount includes interest accrued on the original judgement in 2018 of TT$200.000.00. According to the Newsday publication, the bank complied with the order about two hours before the 4:00 pm deadline set by the judge.
Her lawyer Martin Daly SC, meanwhile, has expressed concern over how the athlete was treated by the federation while it was collecting funds from the Trinidadian government mirroring comments made by Judge Seepersad in his ruling.
In his written judgement the judge stated; "Transparency of conduct, strict compliance with the law and accountability must define the way in which persons, organizations and entities operate. It is difficult to comprehend why the Judgment Debtor has continued to be in receipt of State funding and donations when it stands in violation of a court order."
In 2018, Williams won a court battle against the TTGF that was deemed to have discriminated against the gymnast when they withdrew her from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio Brazil. In her place, the TTGF selected Canadian-born gymnast Marisa Dick.
Williams had sought to recover damages of TT$11 million but the court ordered that she receive TT$150,000 in exemplary damages and a further TT$50,000 in lost earnings.
At the time of Thursday’s order, the amount in the TTGF’s account was just over TT$257,000.
Daly told Sportsmax.TV that he was delighted at the outcome but expressed concerns over how the state had treated the athlete who had to wait as long to be compensated after being egregiously wronged.
"I am pleased that she has finally got her money," he said while highlighting comments from Judge Seepersad during his ruling on Thursday.
"I think the most important comments in the judgement yesterday is the criticism of the state for continuing to provide funds for a federation that had behaved in the way that it did."
It brings into question the accountability of sporting bodies and why would a government continue to provide subvention to a body that had behaved in that way. One of the things that had greatly upset me was that as few as 14 days after the original judgement there was a picture in the newspaper of officials from sporting bodies receiving money from the state and included in that was the TTGF and I just could not understand why they couldn't have, as we say colloquially, 'mash brakes and think about what they were doing.
"So I think there is a very important long-term outcome of this which is the judge's criticism of the state being blind to egregious acts by sporting bodies. That is the long-term message we should take from this."
Emma Raducanu has pulled out of next month's Billie Jean King Cup, citing a wrist injury.
The former US Open champion had been named as part of Great Britain's team for the tournament, which will take place at Emirates Arena in Glasgow between November 8-13.
Raducanu was selected alongside Harriet Dart, Katie Boulter and Heather Watson, with a fifth member to be added at a later date, and made her Billie Jean King Cup debut in April's qualifier against Czech Republic.
However, after pulling out of the Transylvania Open earlier this month with the same right-wrist issue, the 19-year-old confirmed on Friday she had been told by doctors she will not recover in time.
"It's disappointing to get the news from the doctors that I won't be ready in time, particularly with it being on home soil," Raducanu said.
"I tried to do everything possible to get it ready in time.
"Since my last tournament I've been working every day on physical training and rehab. I've got confidence in my team-mates and look forward to playing next year."
Great Britain will be one of 12 teams participating in Scotland, and have been drawn in a group with Kazakhstan and Spain.
Aston Martin have been fined €450,000 (£388,830) after being found in breach of Formula One financial regulations for the 2021 season.
Motorsport's world governing body the FIA announced earlier this month that an audit determined Aston Martin and Red Bull – who were hit with a €7million (£6.1m) fine on Friday – broke the rules during the 2021 reporting period.
Aston Martin's financial documentation claimed their costs were under the budget cap, but the team was found to have misrepresented their outgoings.
In a statement, the FIA revealed Aston Martin "incorrectly excluded and/or adjusted costs" relating to the construction of their "new headquarters, new F1 simulator, wind tunnel fees, R&D tax credit, a signing bonus cost, use of transferable components, used inventories, service desk costs, cost of catering services at their headquarters, costs of desks and chairs, sponsor services and outsourced personnel services".
Aston Martin subsequently entered into an Accepted Breach Agreement (ABA) with the FIA, meaning they must pay a fine within 30 days and reimburse costs incurred by the administrators who conducted the financial review.
Announcing the ABA, the FIA said: "The Cost Cap Administration recognised that AMR [Aston Martin] has acted cooperatively and in good faith throughout the review process and has sought to provide additional information and evidence when requested in a timely manner, that this is the first year of the full application of the Financial Regulations and that there is no accusation or evidence that AMR has sought or obtained any undue advantage as a result of the breach."
With Aston Martin entering an ABA, there is no possibility for the team to appeal their fine and the matter is now closed.
Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen are ending their 13-year marriage after announcing they have started divorce proceedings.
Multiple outlets reported that Bundchen filed documents in the couple’s home state of Florida on Friday morning, hours after Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers were dealt a 27-22 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
The pair have reportedly reached a settlement on property and custody of their two children.
"We arrived at this decision to end our marriage after much consideration," Brady wrote in an Instagram post. "Doing so is, of course, painful and difficult, like it is for many people who go through the same thing every day around the world."
The announcement ends months of speculation that the high-profile marriage was close to unravelling. Brady briefly left the Buccaneers’ training camp in August for personal reasons that were rumoured to be related to the couple’s marital problems.
“The decision to end a marriage is never easy but we have grown apart and while it is, of course, difficult to go through something like this, I feel blessed for the time we had together and only wish the best for Tom always,” Bundchen wrote in a statement.
Brady had announced his retirement in February, citing the desire to spend more time with his family, but reversed course 40 days later and re-signed with the Bucs for a 23rd NFL season.
Bundchen admitted her displeasure over her husband’s decision in an interview with Elle magazine in September.
“Obviously, I have my concerns,” she said. “(Football) is a very violent sport, and I have my children and would like him to be more present. I have definitely had those conversations with him over and over again.
“But ultimately, I feel that everybody has to make a decision that works for (them). He needs to follow his joy, too.”
Brady and Bundchen, a successful supermodel born in Brazil, were married in 2009 and had their first child, Benjamin, later that year. Their second child, Vivian, was born in 2012.
The 45-year-old Brady has endured a difficult year on the field as well. The Buccaneers were among the NFC’s preseason favourites but fell to 3-5 with Thursday’s loss – the first time in the seven-time Super Bowl champion’s career his team is under .500 eight games into a season.
Jamaica’s Fraser McConnell is set to go up against some of the best drivers in the world when the fourth leg of 2022/2023 Nitro Rallycross Championship gets underway in Los Angeles, California this weekend, October 29 and 30.
SportsMax will carry the action live.
On October 2, the 24-year-old McConnell crashed and rolled during third-leg of Group E qualifying in Minneapolis but recovered to finish third.
Standing in his way for top honours this weekend will be Robin Larsson and Andreas Bakkerud, who have 160 and 141 points, respectively, to occupy first and second place. McConnell is third in the standings with 114 points.
Hel looks forward to the challenge at the iconic Glen Helen Raceway, where cars fly and the track thrills.
“Glen Helen is a track I enjoyed last year. It’s super-fast and almost 100 per cent dirt with eight or nine jumps, so you have to ensure you’re timing the speed right so that when you land, you get as much downhill of the speed as you can,” he said.
“My job is to ensure the car is making the gaps. I can’t wait to get out there.”
The 2022-23 NITRO Rallycross Championship will see action over 10 legs across the USA, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Saudi Arabia, and Canada. The series runs from June 2022 to March 2023.
Multiple-time winner Lennox Braithwaite of Guyana won the Grand Aggregate in the individual event at the 2022 West Indies Full Bore Shooting Championships on Thursday. The championship is being held at Twickenham Park in St. Catherine, Jamaica.
Brathwaite, who lamented the pandemic-induced relative lack of preparation coming into the tournament, won with a score of 467.39 out of a possible 480 points. He defeated Emmanuel Gauvin and Avtar Nanrey of Canada as well as compatriots Sherwin Felicien and Ransford Goodluck, who finished in the top five.
Guyana had five shooters in the top 10.
Jamaica’s national champion Dwayne Forde scored 449.30 to finished seventh while Karen Anderson was 17th.
Meanwhile, Jennifer Jordan-Cousins of Barbados scored 436.20 while out-dueling Anderson (435.25) to win the Amazon trophy which goes to the top female shooter. Women shoot against the males on the same targets and use same equipment in the competition.
The competition continued on Friday, October 28, with the team event which comprises a short-range and long range component.
The long-range team match, for the Milex Cup, began on Friday and will be followed by the short-range (300m/500m/600m) team match for the Wogarth Cup.
Braithwaite is the defending champion. The short range team match is Saturday, October 29.
About 100 golfers are expected to compete for US$100,000 in prize money when the Jamaica Golf Association’s (JGA) 55th Jamaica Open Golf Championship tees off at Tryall Golf Club from Saturday, November 12-Tuesday, November 15.
This year, the tournament will honour the late Seymour Rose who won the Open in 1977, 1982 and 1987.
“Seymour is really one of the icons of Jamaica’s golf and we don't want to forget him,” said JGA member Gordon Hutchinson at the launch on Wednesday.
“We want to remember him. We want him to be associated with Jamaica Open for a long time. His name will always be there on the records as a past winner. Seymour was outstanding because he was such a gentleman, in addition to being a golfer. He did a lot for young golfers coming up. He was a very humble person and you can approach him anytime and he would assist you irrespective of who you are.”
Meanwhile, Vice-President of the JGA Dr. Mark Newnham, said the association managed to overcome the challenges associated with the pandemic to make this year’s tournament possible.
"We are just so proud, so excited to host this championship,” he said.
“We struggled a little bit with staging this during Covid. Our protocols are going to be a little bit more relaxed this time and we couldn't be happier to stage this our 55th event. The Jamaica Open is our premier event."
With the start less than a month away, Chairman of the organizing committee Peter Chin said everything is going according to plan and they are expecting up to 100 golfers to compete at the tournament.
"We are very happy with where we are now, all the plans are in place, so far so good. We have sponsorship in place. We have the golf course in place. We have players who are registering and paid their entry fees,” he said.
“So far we have 65 players and we are hoping to reach to 100 by tournament day. We are happy that a number of the past winners are coming back; Michael Maguire, who won last year, and Patrick Cover who won the year before. Both players have graduated to the Korn Ferry tour but they seem to have a liking to the Jamaica Open so they are coming back to play."
The tournament is being sponsored by Aqua Bay, Tourism Enhancement Fund, SDF, Tryall Golf Course, JTL Jamaica Tours Limited, Digicel Business, Jamaica Producers, Rain Forest, Wisynco, Barita and First Rock.
Red Bull have been fined $7million and have been hit with a 10 per cent reduction in permitted aerodynamic research for breaking Formula One budget cap regulations.
Motorsport's world governing body the FIA revealed that Red Bull were guilty of spending £1.86m more than they were permitted to last season, which ended dramatically when Max Verstappen won his first world title.
The FIA on Friday confirmed the sanctions imposed on the constructors’ champions after the Red Bull Racing accepted breaking the rules.
It was taken into account by the FIA that Red Bull Racing had "acted cooperatively throughout" what was the first review process under F1 financial regulations.
UFC great Anderson Silva has been cleared for his boxing match against Jake Paul after his "bad English" prompted a late meeting to assess his health before Saturday's fight.
Silva had told MMA Weekly he was knocked out twice in his training camp – comments that raised concerns to the Arizona Boxing & MMA Commission.
The 47-year-old's team said the Brazilian had misspoken in his second language, while Silva himself told ESPN he was "joking".
"When I'm talking about the knockout, it's just to help the [team-mates] who help me, to [lift] them up," he explained.
In a Twitter post, Silva said discussion of the knockouts were "rumours" that stemmed from "simply bad English".
The commission still had chairman Scott Fletcher attend Thursday's news conference, while Silva also had to take additional medical examinations.
Ara Feinstein, a commissioner who is also a surgeon and a ringside physician, assessed the results and cleared Silva to fight.
"When I look at all of those things together, I don't have any more concerns with Mr Silva fighting [on] Saturday than I would have any other fighter," he said, as quoted by ESPN.
Silva left the UFC in 2020 and has since won two fights to improve his professional boxing record to 3-1 ahead of facing Paul.
Ja'Marr Chase could be set for injured reserve following a hip injury, potentially slowing the Cincinnati Bengals' momentum as they recover from a tough start in 2022.
Second-year wide receiver Chase sustained the injury against the New Orleans Saints in Week 6, although he still caught two touchdown passes in that game and two more against the Atlanta Falcons last week, tallying 262 receiving yards across the two games combined.
Despite initially playing through the issue, Chase appeared on the Bengals' injury report on Thursday.
Coach Zac Taylor suggested the injury would be assessed daily, but ESPN subsequently reported Chase was facing four to six weeks on the sideline after seeing a specialist.
That would represent a huge blow to the Bengals, who started 0-2 after losing Super Bowl LVI but have recovered to 4-3.
As last year, when his 1,455 receiving yards set a rookie record for the Super Bowl era, Chase leads the Cincinnati receiving corps, tallying 605 yards and six touchdowns from 47 catches.
However, the Bengals are the only team in the NFL to have three players with at least 400 receiving yards, with Chase joined by Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins (both 455).
Boyd led the way with 155 yards in last week's 35-17 defeat of the Falcons, in which quarterback Joe Burrow threw for 481 yards – the third-most in a regular-season Bengals game all-time – and three TDs, rushing for a further 20 yards and a score.
Burrow endured a dismal start to the year, with four interceptions and seven sacks against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1, but now looks back to his best.
The QB's 11.45 yards per attempt against the Falcons represented a career high, while his completion percentage of 81.0 (34 of 42) was his second-best mark.
Burrow now faces the Cleveland Browns, a team he has never beaten in three attempts.
In fact, the Bengals have lost four straight to their AFC North rivals, their worst run in this matchup since dropping seven in a row between 1992 and 1995.
Bidding to end that run without Chase on Monday, Burrow and the Bengals are second in the division, two games ahead of the third-placed 2-5 Browns.ja
The big boys are back in Week 8 as the NFL season edges its way closer to the playoffs.
The Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings all return after a bye week, as do the defending champion Los Angeles Rams, who will look to increase the pressure on the San Francisco 49ers.
The Eagles are aiming to maintain their 100 per cent record when the Pittsburgh Steelers come to town, while the Bills host Aaron Rodgers and his wobbling Green Bay Packers.
Stats Perform has taken a look at the numbers ahead of Sunday's games, starting in the city of brotherly love.
Pittsburgh Steelers (2-5) @ Philadelphia Eagles (6-0)
It promises to be a tricky trip for Pittsburgh, as the Eagles own a nine-game winning streak at home against them, a streak that started in 1966 (Pittsburgh's last win there was Week 6, 1965). It is the Eagles' longest home winning streak against a single opponent in franchise history.
The Steelers lost 16-10 at the Miami Dolphins last week, and are averaging just 15.3 points per game, the second fewest in the NFL (Denver Broncos, 14.3). The last time they finished in the bottom two of the NFL in scoring was 1969 (15.6 points per game, second worst).
The Eagles have held a lead of at least 14 points in each of their six games this season. The last team to do so in seven straight games to begin the season was the 2007 Patriots (eight straight).
Philadelphia have won Jalen Hurts' last nine starts, tied for the longest quarterback win streak in franchise history with Carson Wentz (2017), Donovan McNabb (2003) and Norm Van Brocklin (1960). The Eagles were 6-10 in Hurts' first 16 career starts in the NFL.
San Francisco 49ers (3-4) @ Los Angeles Rams (3-3)
Including a 24-9 home win in Week 4, the 49ers have won seven straight regular-season games against Los Angeles, their second-longest streak against the Rams all-time (17 straight from December 1990 to December 1998). However, the Rams beat the 49ers in last season's NFC Championship Game at SoFi Stadium.
San Francisco lost to the Kansas City Chiefs, 44-23, at home last week. It was the first time they have lost back-to-back games by at least 14 points since Weeks 9-10 in 2020. They followed those games up with a 23-20 win against the Rams in Los Angeles.
Last week, Jimmy Garoppolo threw for 303 yards, the 11th game in his career with at least 300 yards. The 49ers won the first seven of those games but are just 1-3 in the last four. The only win in that span came on the road against the Rams in Week 18 last season.
Rams QB Matthew Stafford is 1-6 in his regular season career against the 49ers, his worst record against any NFC opponent. He has thrown four touchdown passes and five interceptions in his three games against them since joining the Rams, losing each one.
Green Bay Packers (3-4) @ Buffalo Bills (5-1)
The Packers have won their last four home games against the Bills, but are 0-6 all-time in Buffalo, most recently losing a 21-13 game there in Week 15, 2014. The Bills are the only active franchise the Packers have never beaten on the road.
Green Bay lost 23-21 to the Washington Commanders last week, and have lost three straight games for the first time since Weeks 11-13 in 2018. They have not lost four straight since Weeks 8-11 in 2016. The last time they lost four of their first seven games was in 2006 (also 3-4).
The Bills are coming off their bye week following a 24-20 win in Kansas City in Week 6. Since the Bills' last Super Bowl appearance in 1993, they have begun a season 5-1 four times – 1995, 2008, 2019, and this year.
Buffalo's offense has faced a blitz on 35.3 per cent of its passing plays this season, the fourth highest in the league. The Packers have faced a blitz just 20.2 per cent of the time, second lowest in the league (Miami, 18.2). The Bills have blitzed opponents just 12.9 per cent of the time, the lowest in the league.
Elsewhere…
Dak Prescott should face the Chicago Bears (3-4) after making his return in the Dallas Cowboys' (5-2) win over the Detroit Lions last week, moving his career record as a starter to 54-33 (.621). Since 2016. The Cowboys are 9-8 when Prescott does not start (.530) while averaging almost 60 total yards fewer per game when he is not the starter (382.3 with, 322.9 without).
The New York Jets (5-2) enter their clash with the New England Patriots (3-4) with a chance to break their current 12-game losing streak against them, which dates back to the 2016 season. With a loss, the streak would match Denver's 13-game losing streak to Kansas City as the longest active one in the NFL.
Saquon Barkley (110 rushing yards) and Daniel Jones (107) each ran for over 100 yards last week, the third time a New York Giants (6-1) duo has eclipsed that mark. Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw did so in Week 14, 2010 and Week 16, 2007. The only other team with such a duo this season was the New Orleans Saints in Week 5 against the Giants' opponents for Week 8, the Seattle Seahawks (4-3).
The Tennessee Titans (4-2) own a four-game win streak after a 19-10 win at home against the Indianapolis Colts. This is the Titans' sixth-straight season with a winning streak of at least four games, and it could go to five with a win at the Houston Texans (1-4-1).
Alpine have won their appeal against a penalty imposed on Fernando Alonso following the United States Grand Prix, meaning his points for a seventh-place finish have been restored.
A dramatic race for the Spaniard involved his car sustaining significant damage after a collision with Lance Stroll saw the Alpine rear up and hit roadside barriers, forcing him to pit for repairs.
The Haas team launched a protest after Alonso lost his right-hand mirror late in the race, and a 30-second punishment saw him fall to 15th place in the race standings.
The post-race complaint from Haas came, according to Alpine, some 24 minutes after the deadline for making such claims.
Now Alpine have succeeded in getting the penalty overturned by governing body the FIA, with two-time champion Alonso recovering the six points he achieved in Austin.
Ahead of this weekend's Mexico City Grand Prix, Alpine said in a statement: "BWT Alpine F1 Team thanks the FIA stewards for convening and reaching a positive conclusion on the matter involving car #14 from last weekend's United States Grand Prix.
"The team welcomes the decision made by the aforementioned stewards, whereby car #14 reinstates its seventh-place finish and six points from the race. We look forward to continuing our collaborative work alongside the FIA to ensure the racing spectacle is maintained to the highest quality. The team now looks forward to competing this weekend at the Mexico City Grand Prix."
Alonso sits ninth in this year's drivers' standings, one place behind team-mate Esteban Ocon.
Before the FIA appeal result was known, Alonso said on Thursday: "It was a rollercoaster of emotions for me on Sunday: I started at the back, then we were like P6, we had the accident; last again; and then finishing P7, and then in the evening, again out of the points. So it was up and down all day long."
Tom Brady said the Tampa Bay Buccaneers "struggled on everything" in Thursday's 27-22 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, with the quarterback now on his first three-game losing streak since 2002.
The Bucs' miserable run of form continued as the Ravens clicked into gear after only scoring three points in the first half, with Lamar Jackson throwing two touchdowns after the interval.
Neither quarterback committed a turnover as Brady completed 26 of his 44 passes for 325 yards and one touchdown, but the seven-time Super Bowl champion is now enduring his worst losing run in 20 years.
The Bucs have slumped to a 3-5 record after opening the season with two wins, and Brady says they are simply not meeting their own standards.
"We just didn't play well enough to win, so give them credit. They played good, certainly better than we did," Brady said.
"We just came up short, I don't think it feels good, whether [you're ahead in the] first half or second half. We just have to play better, certainly on offense.
"I think we've struggled pretty much on everything. We struggled in the red zone, on third down, during the run game. It's just not very good offense football."
Having lost five of their last six games to fall below the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC South, the Bucs now have a 10-day break before they face the Los Angeles Rams, and Brady knows the importance of a response.
"I don't think anyone feels good. We've lost five, so it's not where we want to be, but we haven't earned it," he added. "We've got to go earn it, fight hard and figure out how to win games.
"Whenever we play, we play. We've got to win, break or no break. We're all just frustrated we're not getting the job done.
"We're playing to win and losing is no fun for any of us, we're just coming up short."
The Bucs' injury problems continued to mount when outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett suffered a suspected torn Achilles in the third quarter, and Brady cannot wait for the team to return to something approaching full strength.
"Shaq's a great player for us, I hope he's okay," Brady said. "We need to get some guys back, get a little healthier, and see if we can perform a bit better."
Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles admitted "it doesn't look good" for Shaquil Barrett after he suffered a suspected torn Achilles in the team's 27-22 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
The outside linebacker was injured during a Ravens running play in the third quarter on Thursday, and reports have suggested his season could be over after initial examinations.
Speaking after the Bucs suffered a fifth loss in their last six games, Bowles said of Barrett: "He has an Achilles right now, so we'll wait for the MRI, but it doesn't look good."
Any significant absence for the two-time Pro Bowler would represent a considerable blow for the Bucs, who were already coping with several injuries ahead of Thursday's game.
Barrett has led the team for sacks in two of the last three seasons, and has recorded eight sacks and 43 tackles in his eight starts this campaign.
With Tampa Bay slumping to a 3-5 record despite winning their first two games of the season, Bowles acknowledges things are "dark" for his team, but he remains confident they can change their fortunes.
"It's still dark; until you win ball games consistently and play for four quarters consistently it's going to be dark," he said.
"That doesn't mean we can't get out of it, we just have a lot of work to do as coaches and as players."
The Ravens looked to have suffered an injury blow of their own when tight end Mark Andrews was ruled out with a shoulder injury in the second quarter, while wide receiver Rashod Bateman also exited with a foot problem.
However, head coach John Harbaugh played down any concerns over the duo after the win, saying: "They are not serious.
"Rashod was a tweak of what he had before, and Mark is not a serious long-term injury."
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