Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule said a change at quarterback was "not right to speak on" after Baker Mayfield's struggles continued in a 26-16 defeat against the Arizona Cardinals.

Mayfield threw two interceptions in the loss, finishing with a season-low passer rating of 61.9 as the Panthers slipped to 1-3 for the season.

Under Mayfield's leadership, the Panthers have managed a league-low 262.3 yards per game this season, as well as recording the NFL's third-least passing yards per match.

When asked whether Mayfield's status as starter was at risk after the game, Rhule told reporters: "I'm going to refrain from anything big picture until tomorrow.

"At the end of the day, I'm on the headset, I see the things, I know that it's never just one person here, one person there, it's a lot of different things.

"I'll try to give you a really well thought-out answer after watching the tapes.

"All that being said, I believe that we can play better than that. I just feel like we have to expect more from all of us as an offense, and it starts with me first.

"Offensively, we have to score more points. So yeah, we have to get it corrected, but in terms of any one person, I just don't think it's right to speak on it right now."

Mayfield's likely replacement would be Sam Darnold, though he is yet to come back off injured reserve after suffering an ankle sprain in Carolina's preseason.

Darnold started at quarterback 11 times for the Panthers last season, going 4-7 after joining in a trade from the New York Jets.

 

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin refused to commit to starting Kenny Pickett in Week 5 after the first-round draft pick made his NFL debut in their 24-20 loss to the New York Jets.

After a first half in which the Steelers only managed a pair of field goals, Tomlin introduced the 24-year-old quarterback, who ran in for two rushing touchdowns to hand Pittsburgh a 20-10 lead.

However, Pickett also threw three interceptions as the Jets hit back, and rookie Breece Hall's game-winning touchdown reduced the Steelers to 1-3 for the season.

Pickett's introduction came as something of a surprise after Tomlin appeared to rule out a change at quarterback following the Week 3 loss to the Cleveland Browns, and he refused to give away his future plans after Sunday's game.

"I'm not going to talk extended as we sit here," said Tomlin. "We did what we needed to do to put ourselves in a position to win this game. We'll do it again. 

"But I like to just keep it where we are in terms of what transpired here today. We'll deal with next week, next week."

Asked why he brought Pickett in, Tomlin added: "We just thought we needed a spark. 

"We didn't do much in the first half, not enough offensively and thought he could provide a spark for us.

"I thought he did some good things. I thought there was some energy there. We scored some touchdowns. But obviously we also turned the ball over.

"We're disappointed, but what transpired is not anything mystical. That's what we talked about as a collective in there. 

"No disrespect to the Jets. They made plays and won the football game. But it's not about who we play.

"It's not about rabbits' foots and so forth. We've got to play better. We've got to put them in a better position. We've got to perform better. And I'm talking about the collection of players and coaches in there."

Pickett, meanwhile, fronted up for Pittsburgh's defeat as he echoed Tomlin's call for improvements, saying: "I'm just disappointed. 

"[I] wanted to come in and get the win so that's really just the emotion, just disappointed we didn't come out with the outcome we worked so hard for. Definitely something we need to learn from and move on.

"The plays were there, we made plays, but the turnovers killed us. It's definitely on me and I have to improve."

The decision to go for a touchdown on fourth down instead of kicking a go-ahead field goal "gave us the best chance to win", Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh insisted after the 23-20 defeat to the Buffalo Bills.

With the scores tied at 20-20 in the fourth quarter, the Ravens put together a 14-play, 93-yard drive from their own five-yard line to give themselves the opportunity to gain a precious late lead.

However, the drive stalled at the crucial moment and the Ravens faced a fourth-and-goal from the Bills' two-yard line with just over four minutes left in the game.

While a short field goal would have given the Ravens the lead, Harbaugh opted to go for the touchdown. The decision did not pay off as quarterback Lamar Jackson threw an interception, before Bills quarterback Josh Allen led a 77-yard drive to set up Tyler Bass for the game-winning field goal as time expired.

After the match, Harbaugh defended his late-game strategy, telling reporters: "[If] you kick a field goal there, now it's not a three-down game anymore, it's a four-down game.

"You're putting them out there, you're putting your defense at a disadvantage because they've got four downs to convert all the way down the field and a chance to again score seven, and then you lose the game on a touchdown.

"It didn't turn out that way, unfortunately, and we lost the game. So, hindsight, you could take the points, but if you look at it analytically, understand why we did it."

The decision sparked a furious touchline altercation between Harbaugh and cornerback Marcus Peters, with the former Kansas City Chief having to be pulled away from his coach.

But Harbaugh was not fazed by the interaction after the game, adding: "Emotions run high.

"We're on the same page, he and I. We have a great relationship, we have an honest relationship. I love him, I hope he still loves me. We'll see. I'm a Marcus Peters guy."

Tampa Bay Buccaneers' quarterback Tom Brady says he will "be all right" after appearing to injure his throwing arm in the 41-31 home loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Brady was strip-sacked by Chiefs safety L'Jarius Sneed in the second quarter, and the 45-year-old signal-caller immediately grabbed at his right arm before making his way to the sideline.

Despite the initial fears, Brady never missed a play and finished the match with season-highs of 385 yards and three touchdowns in defeat.

And Brady was not worried about his arm after the game, saying: "I'll be all right. It's football."

The Bucs' defeat to the Chiefs drops them to 2-2, though they remain atop the NFC South by virtue of their 1-0 record in divisional games.

They could surrender their position next Sunday though as the team second in the division, the 2-2 Atlanta Falcons, travel to face Brady's men at Raymond James Stadium.

There are fears of a serious knee injury for Denver Broncos running back Javonte Williams, who head coach Nathaniel Hackett confirmed will undergo an MRI.

Williams was forced out of Sunday's 32-23 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders with a right knee injury after being floored by defensive end Maxx Crosby in the first play of the third quarter.

The 22-year-old, who entered the game as the Broncos' leading rusher with 176 yards through three games, was unable to put full weight on his injured leg and taken to the locker room on a cart.

Williams was seen on crutches after the game and while Hackett would not elaborate on the extent of the injury amid fears of a lengthy stint on the sidelines, he confirmed he will need scans on Monday.

"We're still evaluating," Hackett said. "We want to be sure we get MRIs and get a feel there."

Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson added: "Obviously seeing Javonte go down, that hurt. Hopefully he'll be OK.''

Williams ran for 28 yards on 10 carries in Sunday's game. He has been the Broncos' second-leading receiver with 16 catches for 76 yards this season.

The Raiders' win marked Josh McDaniels' first as head coach of the franchise, coming against the team he led for almost two years before being sacked in December 2010 after losing 12 of his last 17 games with Denver.

"They gave me a great opportunity at a young age and, if anything, I look at it like it was a blessing because I learned so much from it," McDaniels told reporters.

"That made me better and I've been forever grateful to [owner] Mr [Pat] Bowlen for what he gave me an opportunity to do. Unfortunately, I didn't do well enough with it, but hopefully I've learned from it."

The Green Bay Packers got the victory but it was far from pretty as Aaron Rodgers had a poor night and the quarterback admitted that "way of winning is not sustainable".

The Packers won 27-24 in over-time against the New England Patriots, who were fielding a third-string rookie quarterback in Bailey Zappe for the majority of the game.

Green Bay trailed 10-7 at the long break after Rodgers had the lowest passer rating (11.2) of any half in any game he has started throughout his career, including a pick-six right on half-time. That was only the fourth pick-six of Rodgers' career and second at Lambeau Field.

Eventually, Rodgers got the Packers off the hook, driving them down the field in over-time to set up Mason Crosby's 31-yard game-winning field goal.

Rodgers finished the game with a completion rate of 60 per cent on 21-of-35 passing for 251 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

"This way of winning, I don't think is sustainable because it puts too much pressure on our defense," Rodgers told reporters. "Obviously, I've got to play better and will play better.

"I think we're going to have to play a little bit better against starting quarterbacks and if our defense isn't playing as well as they can."

On his poor first-half, Rodgers added: "I settled in and usually don't have two terrible halves, so I kind of returned to the form I expect from myself, and we started moving the football."

The win means the Packers improve to a 3-1 record, with running back Aaron Jones playing a key role with 110 rushing yards on 16 carries.

Green Bay may have wrapped up the win in regulation time when Rodgers found Romeo Doubs with a 40-yard pass in the endzone with 2:02 remaining, but the rookie wide receiver clearly did not secure the catch.

Despite that, Packers head coach Matt LeFleur threw the red flag to challenge what he thought was a touchdown, costing his side a timeout that would have helped his side win in regulation time.

"I'm not too proud of that moment," LaFleur said. "That was an emotional decision, and I think it's a great learning lesson that you can never make those emotional decisions in the heat of battle.

"You know better. You've got to survive the ground. [Packers assistant quarterbacks coach] Connor Lewis was in my ear, he's up in the box and he's in my ear, and he said, 'I don't think so.' And he said that we shouldn't challenge it.

"Just made an emotional decision, and it was almost like throwing a Hail Mary. That could have came back and bit us in the butt."

The Packers next face the New York Giants (3-1) in London on Sunday.

Patrick Mahomes put on a masterclass with three touchdown passes as the Kansas City Chiefs improved to 3-1 with a 41-31 win over Tom Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

Mahomes moved beyond 20,000 career passing yards, completing 23 of 37 attempts for 249 yards with three TDs, including an improvised flick for the second of Clyde Edwards-Helaire's TD.

The Chiefs blew away the Bucs early, scoring touchdowns from their opening two drives of the game including a Travis Kelce touchdown after 46 seconds following a Tampa Bay turnover.

Kansas City scored four touchdowns before half-time to lead 28-17 at the main break, representing the most combined points scored in the first half of a game this season.

Running back Edwards-Helaire had 19 carries for 92 yards with one touchdown, along with his one receiving TD, while Kelce made 92 yards from nine receptions with one TD. Kelce also moved past Rob Gronkowski into fifth overall for most career receiving yards for a tight end.

L'Jarius Sneed led the Chiefs' defensive display with eight tackles, including a sack on Brady leading to Noah Grey's one-yard rushing TD. Mahomes found Jody Fortson with 5:42 remaining in the third quarter for their fifth TD to make it 38-17.

Rachaad White and Leonard Fournette scored further TDs for the Bucs to limit the margin after wide receiver Mike Evans, who had eight receptions for 103 yards, scored their two first-half touchdowns.

Brady managed three touchdown passes, throwing for 385 yards on 39-of-52 passing, but the Bucs were always playing catchup after the Chiefs' early domination. The game marked only the fifth time in Brady's career he has scored 31 points and lost.

The Miami Heat signed reigning NBA Sixth Man of the Year Tyler Herro to a four-year contract extension on Sunday. 

The Heat announced the deal, but per club policy terms were not disclosed. According to reports, the contract – which begins with the 2023-24 season – includes $120million in guaranteed money and could be worth as much as $130million with incentives. 

"Tyler is an impact multi-faceted player and we are excited to have him signed for the next five years," Heat president Pat Riley said.  

"His improvement every year since we drafted him has led to this day. We believe he will continue to get better."

Miami selected Herro with the 13th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft after he spent one season at the University of Kentucky. 

He averaged 13.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 2019-20 to earn second-team All-Rookie honours. 

Herro then put up 15.1 points, 5.0 boards and 3.4 assists per game in 2020-21 before having a career year last season. 

Herro averaged 20.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists en route to being the runaway selection as the league’s top sixth man. 

He received 96 first-place votes from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters after 1162 of his team-leading 1367 points came as a reserve. 

Albert Pujols hit a home run in his final regular season home game as a trio of St Louis Cardinals legends were honoured in a 7-5 loss against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.

Pujols, 42, drove in the first runs of the game with a two-run double in the first inning, and with his next at-bat, he connected on the 702nd home run of his career to score another two runs. Only Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714) have ever hit more homers in their career, and with his three RBIs, he joined Ruth with the second-most ever (2214), trailing only Aaron (2297).

Starting on the mound for the Cardinals was another future Hall-of-Famer, 41-year-old Adam Wainwright, who was being caught behind the plate by 40-year-old Yadier Molina as the two added one more to their record number of starts together.

Unfortunately for Wainwright his final regular season start at Busch Stadium was less of a fairytale ending than Pujols', giving up six runs in four-and-two-thirds innings before all three Cardinals icons were pulled from the game together for a standing ovation.

Bryan Reynolds finished two-for-five at the plate for the Pirates, and the center-fielder hit his 27nd home run of the season to add some breathing room in the seventh inning, after Ben Gamel's three-run blast in the second frame.

Trout hits homer in Angels win

Three-time American League MVP Mike Trout moved up to fourth in this season's home run standings as he knocked his 39th in the Los Angeles Angels' 8-3 home win against the Texas Rangers.

Trout's 409-foot blast came in the fourth inning after the Angels piled on six runs in the opening frame, and with three games left he only needs one more home run to reach 40 for the third time in his 12 seasons.

Nobody in the top-20 for home runs this season has played fewer than Trout's 116 games, with the rest of the top-five all totaling at least 153 appearances.

Langelliers, Kaprielian carry the A's

Rookie Shea Langelliers and starting pitcher James Kaprielian were both excellent in the Oakland Athletics' 10-3 win against the Seattle Mariners.

Facing reigning Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray on the mound, the Athletics figured him out in the fourth inning, with Langelliers bombing a big 423-foot home run to left-field. It was one of two homers on the day for the 24-year-old catcher in his first season, also hitting one in the ninth inning for his first ever multi-homer day.

On the mound, Kaprielian was just as good, giving up only one hit and two walks in six scoreless innings, striking out seven batters.

Cooper Rush became the first quarterback in the history of the Dallas Cowboys franchise to win his first four career starts on Sunday, earning praise from team owner Jerry Jones following a 25-10 victory over the Washington Commanders. 

Rush, however, could once again find himself backing up Dak Prescott next week with the two-time Pro Bowl selection getting closer to returning from a thumb injury. 

The Cowboys have won all three games with Rush under center after Prescott sustained a fractured right thumb in a season-opening 19-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on September 11. 

The undrafted Rush has completed 55 of 89 passes (61.8 percent) for 673 yards while throwing four touchdowns and no interceptions in those three consecutive victories. 

"I can't say enough about his play," Jones said. "What it has possibly done for this team this season to give us a chance to sit here after these last three ball games and maybe have the opportunity we've got for the rest of the year. 

"It's amazing. It's far more than what I would've expected." 

Jones has said that Prescott will return as the starter once healthy, but he isn’t sure when that will be despite recent reports that it could happen next week when Dallas visits the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams. 

"I can't give you anything there medically," Jones said after Sunday's win. "I don't think anyone knows how he's going to grip the ball but certainly, we feel a lot better the way Cooper is playing, the way our team is playing." 

The Las Vegas Raiders rode a massive game from running back Josh Jacobs to a 32-23 home win against the Denver Broncos, marking their first win of the season.

Desperate for a result after an 0-3 start, the Raiders largely played a risk-averse style as they trusted Jacobs to carry the ball 28 times for 144 yards and two touchdowns, while quarterback Derek Carr posted 188 yards and no touchdowns.

The Raiders led 19-16 at halftime after Russell Wilson completed first-half touchdown passes to both Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy, but when starting running back Javonte Williams was forced to leave the game with an injury, the offense began to stall.

A pair of field goals gave the Raiders a 25-16 lead, which was trimmed to 25-23 when Wilson was able to scamper in for a three-yard rushing touchdown.

But the Raiders would not be denied, marching down the field one more time and punctuating it with Jacobs' second touchdown

The Broncos were yet to concede 100 rushing yards to any player in a single game this season, which was broken by Jacobs, and also had not faced a 100-yard receiver, which was broken by Davante Adams as he collected nine catches for 101 yards.

K.J. Hamler led the Broncos in receiving yards, and all 55 of his yards came on one catch as Wilson completed 17 of 25 passes for 237 yards and two scores.

Dynamic duo deliver for the Packers in overtime

Arguably the best running back duo in the league, Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon were both strong in the Green Bay Packers' 27-24 overtime win against the New England Patriots.

After backup Patriots quarterback Brian Hoyer suffered an injury in the first quarter, it was up to rookie fourth-round pick Bailey Zappe to lead New England the rest of the way, and he was more than respectable. He completed 10 of 15 passes for 99 yards and a touchdown, leading two touchdown drives in the second half to force overtime.

Rookie Packers receiver Romeo Doubs was the man to tie the game at 24-24 with his 13-yard touchdown catch, giving him touchdowns in back-to-back games as he tries to establish himself as Rodgers' top target.

In overtime, the Packers mounted a 13-play, 77-yard game-winning drive that featured seven runs, with Jones reaching 110 yards on 16 carries while Dillon had 73 yards on 17 carries.

Rodgers finished with a solid line of 21 completions from 35 attempts with 251 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

Mackenzie Hughes held his nerve in a playoff against Sepp Straka to secure the Sanderson Farms Championship with a score of 17 under.

It is the second PGA Tour win of the 31-year-old Canadian's career, with nearly six years passed since his first win back at the RSM Classic in 2016.

This win was all the more unlikely after shooting a 71 on Thursday, but he followed it with a 63 on Friday for the lowest round of the week, before finishing with 68 and 69 on the weekend.

He had to fend off the challenge of Straka to get it done, who was the only player this week to shoot all four rounds in the 60s.

Straka rose to a share of the lead after four birdies over the space of five holes on his front-nine, and another pair of back-to-back birdies on the 14th and 15th to tie things up for the last few holes.

Hughes had a makeable birdie putt on the 17th to take the lead, but he narrowly missed it, before hooking his drive on the 18th into a position where salvaging a par was the best-case scenario.

From deep in the rough, he sent his second shot on the par-four over the back of the green, requiring an up-and-down to force a playoff. His long putt from off the green was excellent, leaving him a four-footer for par and he made no mistake.

Hughes again failed to make the green in regulation as they replayed the 18th, but he again saved par as Straka missed a 10-footer for birdie. On the second playoff hole, replaying the 18th one more time, Hughes figured it out, landing his approach within 10 feet and converting the birdie for the win.

Speaking to NBC in the moments after his win, he called being greeted by his wife and young son to celebrate a victory "something I've dreamed about since I had my first boy".

"I kept telling myself the whole week that I was going to do it, and that was the only thing I saw in my mind," he said. "Those par-saves down the stretch… I'd say that kind of describes my game a bit, that grit and perseverance."

There was strong South African representation at the top of the leaderboard, with Garrick Higgo alone in third at 16 under while Dean Burmester took sole possession of fourth at 15 under.

Argentina's Emiliano Grillo was joined by Americans Nick Hardy, Keegan Bradley and Mark Hubbard in a tie for fifth at 13 under, and defending champion Sam Burns finished nine shots off the pace at eight under in a tie for 30th.

Fernando Alonso says he has lost "about 60" points due to mechanical issues across the Formula One season, describing Alpine's problems as "unacceptable" after retiring from the Singapore Grand Prix.

Alpine suffered their first double retirement of the 2022 campaign on Sunday, as suspected power unit issues ended the races of Alonso and team-mate Esteban Ocon.

Alonso was defending sixth place against the advances of Max Verstappen when the problem first struck, forcing him out of the race after 21 laps. Ocon, meanwhile, followed six laps later.

The issue overshadowed a landmark day for Alonso, who made a record 351st grand prix start, and the Spaniard made his frustration known after the race.

"Again eight or 10 points are gone and there were already about 50 points lost this year," Alonso said. "So there are already about 60, which is unacceptable.

"I am very upset because there had been a good performance in this race on my part throughout the weekend.

"Yes, it was the two [Alpine] cars, but one was behind and out of the points, and it was not as serious as in my case for the points.

"This year, this changes everything. If you gave me 60 more points in the standings and reduced those of the rest – because they are points that the others would not have added – my championship would seem much better, even compared to Mercedes."

Alonso has retired from four of his 17 races in 2022, including back-to-back outings at Monza and Singapore. 

The two-time world champion, who is set to replace the retiring Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin next year, sits ninth in the drivers' championship standings, seven points behind team-mate Ocon.

The Buffalo Bills took advantage of a questionable fourth-quarter decision to defeat the Baltimore Ravens 23-20 on the road on Sunday.

In a game played in difficult, rainy conditions, both star quarterbacks completed one touchdown pass each.

Baltimore's Lamar Jackson dished off a shovel pass to J.K. Dobbins in the first quarter, and Dobbins' second touchdown, this time on the ground, helped build a 20-3 lead in the second period.

Buffalo's Josh Allen found Isaiah McKenzie in the seconds before half-time for what would end up being his only touchdown pass of the game, but he scored with his legs on an 11-yard rush late in the third to tie things at 20-20.

With scores even in the fourth quarter, the Ravens put together a 14-play, 93-yard drive starting from their own five-yard line, but after Dobbins' attempt at his third touchdown was stopped for a loss, the home side were forced into a tough decision.

While they could have kicked a chip-shot field goal and taken the lead, they instead opted to throw for it on fourth down, resulting in a turnover, handing the Bills the ball with four minutes remaining, needing just a field goal to win it.

A 20-yard completion to Dawson Knox and a roughing the passer call on the Ravens defense moved the ball up the field quickly, and with the ball on the one-yard line, the road team decided to play it smart and kneel to set up a game-winning field goal from Tyler Bass as time expired.

Both quarterbacks also ended up leading their teams in rushing, with Allen totalling 70 rushing yards from 11 carries, while Jackson finished with 11 carries for 73 yards.

Eagles force five turnovers to remain undefeated

The last undefeated team in the league stayed that way after the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the rising Jacksonville Jaguars 29-21.

Philadelphia's defense was the story of the game, recovering four fumbles and securing one interception, with Haason Reddick posting two sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

On offense, Miles Sanders was a workhorse in the Eagles backfield, carrying the ball 27 times for 134 yards and two touchdowns, while A.J. Brown led both teams in receiving with five catches for 95 yards.

For the Jaguars, Jamal Agnew caught both of Trevor Lawrence's touchdown passes, although the impressive young quarterback completed just 11 of his 23 passes in the rain.

Pickett debuts as Steelers fall to the Jets

After a lacklustre first half where the Pittsburgh Steelers could only score a pair of field goals, first-round draft pick Kenny Pickett was brought in for his NFL debut as his side ended up losing to the New York Jets 24-20.

Pickett, who replaced Mitchell Trubisky, enjoyed a bright start as he ran in for two short-range rushing touchdowns to turn a 10-6 deficit into a 20-10 lead. While he completed 10 of his 13 passes, those three incompletions ended up as three interceptions to allow the Jets back into the game.

In his first game this season after returning from injury, Zach Wilson manufactured a touchdown pass to Corey Davis to cut the margin to 20-17, before going six-for-six through the air on the final drive to set up a one-yard, game-winning touchdown run from rookie Breece Hall.

Victory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium could not have come in a more dramatic style for the Minnesota Vikings, who took the lead with 24 seconds remaining on Sunday and saw the New Orleans Saints endure a double doink with the last kick of the game.

The 28-25 result takes the Vikings to 3-1 for the season, with the last two wins coming by less than a single score, needing two fourth-quarter touchdowns against the Detroit Lions in Week 3.

In the opening weeks, Justin Jefferson's impact on the offense was limited. Two touchdowns and 184 receiving yards against the Green Bay Packers in Week 1 did not go unnoticed, with the Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions often putting an extra man on him to quell his impact.

Those two games combined for just 62 receiving yards and only 50 per cent completion when Jefferson was the targeted receiver. Against the Saints, and Marshon Lattimore, the pendulum swung in the opposing direction again.

Lattimore, one of the league's premier cornerbacks, is not a player who needs an additional defender alongside him, but he lost the matchup in London against Jefferson despite numerous opportunities to stand out – Kirk Cousins targeting his receiver on 13 occasions, more than any other game this season.

Ten of those were successful, with Jefferson notching up 147 receiving yards, including a stunning 41-yard reception that teased the sort of partnership he can have with his quarterback, and punching in a touchdown run for three yards.

That was not just a targeted opportunity, though, with head coach Kevin O'Connell detailing after the game how the plan was to always get Jefferson involved as much as possible after a frustrating few weeks.

"No matter what we had to do today, within reason, within our normal offense, we were going to get him going," O'Connell said.

"We knew he was going to be matched up against a premier player at his position in Marshon Lattimore. I have a ton of respect for him, how he plays and competes. But we wanted to give Justin some more one-on-one opps when we saw them. Obviously, it allowed him to help the other guys as well on some of those early downs."

One on one, Jefferson is a player who can win his battles with the best, as shown with his matchup against Lattimore, but he needs to be brought into the game more by Cousins. While the receptions and the yards were there against the Saints, it could, and should, have been a more comfortable match.

Cousins knows as much, saying after the game: "Twice I think Justin was open for touchdowns and we didn't connect. The plays are there to make, and we didn't connect. That's disappointing."

Jefferson, for his part, needs to demand the ball and the big plays more. Now in his third year with the Vikings offense, he has taken leadership responsibilities this season and it has shown, not letting the frustrations in the past two weeks knock him out of his stride and responding in style against the Saints.

Lewis Cine will remain in London for surgery and his recovery after suffering a broken leg in the Minnesota Vikings' victory against the New Orleans Saints at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The rookie safety suffered the injury during a special teams play in the first quarter, requiring oxygen on the field and leaving a significant hole for the team to fill in the locker room.

Speaking after the game, head coach Kevin O'Connell confirmed that Cine had suffered a lower leg fracture and the team have opted for him to stay behind in London for his treatment, along with members of the Vikings team.

"It's a very tough moment for our team. Obviously, he's a guy that from day one has been a personal favourite of mine," he said.

"He did everything we asked and was continuing to progress in his rookie year, really having a dynamic role for us on teams.

"He did have a lower leg fracture. We got him the immediate medical care at a local hospital. Everything I've been told, the care, obviously the local folks here, they have been phenomenal with him.

Arizona Cardinals defensive linesman J.J. Watt said he would play against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday after undergoing a heart procedure.

Watt spoke out ahead of his team's game to reveal he had to have his heart shocked back into rhythm after lapsing into atrial fibrillation on Wednesday.

The former Houston Texans man said he was disclosing the news because the information had been leaked.

"I was just told somebody leaked some personal information about me and it’s going to be reported on today," Watt wrote on Twitter.

"I went into A-Fib on Wednesday, had my heart shocked back into rhythm on Thursday and I'm playing today. That's it."

A three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year during his time in Texas, Watt is in his second season with the Cardinals.

Sergio Perez's Singapore Grand Prix victory was confirmed after an FIA investigation into an infringement involving safety cars only resulted in a five-second time penalty for the Mexican.

Perez overtook Charles Leclerc on the first corner of Sunday's race at the wet Marina Bay Street Circuit, protecting his lead throughout to claim a second win of the season and fourth of his career.

Numerous safety cars were deployed throughout the eventful race in slippery conditions, with an investigation opened by the stewards into a misdemeanour by Perez when racing under a yellow flag.

Ferrari called for two five-second time penalties on Perez, who finished seven seconds ahead of Leclerc, for not keeping within 10 car lengths of the safety car.

Both the Red Bull driver and Leclerc were called to the stewards' office for their version of events after the race, with Perez also investigated for pulling alongside the safety car to encourage it to speed up.

Formula One's governing body, the FIA, reprimanded Perez for the first incident and gave him a five-second penalty for the second infringement, leaving the Red Bull racer two seconds ahead of Leclerc.

"Although the track was wet in parts, we do not accept that the conditions were such as to make it impossible or dangerous for Perez to have maintained the required less than 10 car length gap," the stewards said. 

"Nevertheless, we took into account the wet conditions and the difficulties highlighted by Perez as mitigatory circumstances for this incident and, accordingly, determine that a reprimand ought to be imposed.

"As this was the second breach of Article 55.10 by Perez during the race and followed an express warning from the race director, we determined to impose a five-second time penalty on Perez."

That leaves Perez trailing championship leader Max Verstappen by 106 points, with Leclerc in second as he sits 104 points behind the Dutchman.

Novak Djokovic scooped his 89th career title with victory over Marin Cilic in Sunday's Tel Aviv Open final.

Playing his first singles event since winning Wimbledon in July, Djokovic landed a 6-3 6-4 victory, improving his career head-to-head winning record to 19-2 against former US Open champion Cilic.

He broke serve to lead 3-1 in the opening set, and then struck immediately in the second set to tighten his grip on the contest, completing the task with a service winner on his first championship point.

This indoor hard-court success goes down as a third title of the year for Djokovic, who won the Internazionali d'Italia on clay before triumphing on the Wimbledon grass. He is the first man to win a title on all three surfaces in 2022 at ATP Tour level.

Prevented from playing the North American hard-court stretch of the season, due to his refusal to accept a COVID-19 vaccination, Djokovic sat out the US Open.

He made his first post-Wimbledon appearance at the invitational Laver Cup team event in London last week, which doubled up as Roger Federer's retirement party.

At the age of 35, Djokovic hopes to be a presence on tour for a good while to come, and Sunday's straight-sets picking apart of Cilic was a fresh demonstration of his enduring prowess.

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