After a busy NFL trade deadline, the focus is back on the field this weekend.

Josh Allen faces Zach Wilson as the New York Jets confront a major test of their defense against the soaraway Buffalo Bills, while the Los Angeles Rams will look to keep up their remarkable record against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Could Derrick Henry have another monumental game in him after last week's big effort, and after he dispelled worries about a foot problem?

Stats Perform has taken a look at the numbers ahead of Sunday's games, beginning with the travails of the Brady bunch.

Los Angeles Rams (3-4) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-5)

The Buccaneers are on the slide, and the Rams are just about the nightmare opponents this weekend, judging by recent games between the teams.

Including Los Angeles' win in last season's Divisional Round, the Rams are 9-1 in their last 10 games against the Bucs, and that includes a 5-0 streak in Tampa.

This game is big for both, and for the Bucs it offers a chance to halt a losing sequence of three. They were beaten 27-22 by the Baltimore last week and are on their longest single-season losing run since a dismal four-game run in the 2019 season.

It remains to be seen whether Tom Brady can get them out of this mess. Brady threw for 325 yards and zero interceptions in last week's loss to Baltimore. Across his stellar career, he is 54-7 when throwing 300 yards and no interceptions, but this season he is 1-2 in such games.

Brady might fancy the job against a Rams team who have scored 14 or fewer points and lost by double-digits four times already this season, including last time out in a 31-14 home loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

Rival quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for 187 yards last week on 33 attempts. His team are 2-9 in games where Stafford has thrown the ball at least 30 times and finished with fewer than 200 passing yards.

Buffalo Bills (6-1) at New York Jets (5-3)

The Buffalo Bills are 6-1 for the first time since 1993, the season they last made it through to the Super Bowl. This weekend they go after a fifth win in a row after getting the better of the Green Bay Packers last time out.

What's more, they have strung together a four-game winning streak in road games against the Jets, second only in franchise history to a seven-game streak from 1987 to 1993.

The Bills have outscored this season's opponents by 105 points (203-98) so far, the widest differential in the NFL.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen has urged the Jets to show patience with his struggling counterpart Zach Wilson, who has completed just 54.9 per cent of passes this season, the second-worst rate in the NFL heading into Week 9. Wilson has thrown for 1,048 yards across five games, with three touchdowns and five interceptions, compared to Allen's 2,198 yards for 19 TDs and six interceptions from seven games.

Stefon Diggs has at least 100 yards and a receiving touchdown in three straight games, the longest streak of the Bills wide receiver's career and tied for the longest streak in team history with Elbert Dubenion (1964). The last NFL player with a longer streak was Adam Thielen in 2018 (five). How Diggs fares against Jets rookie cornerback Sauce Gardner will be a factor.

The Jets have already topped last season's four wins, but they are 8-30 against divisional opponents since 2016, the worst record in the NFL.

Tennessee Titans (5-2) at Kansas City Chiefs (5-2)

What does Titans running back Henry have in store for an encore? Henry last week recorded his sixth career 200-yard rushing game, with 219 yards and two touchdowns against the Texans, tying Adrian Peterson and O.J. Simpson for the most all-time. All other active players have combined for just four such games.

The Chiefs will be wary of that threat, and will look to their own WR, JuJu Smith-Schuster, to make his own impact. After failing to reach 90 yards or find the endzone in his first five games this season, Smith-Schuster now has back-to-back games with at least 100 yards and a touchdown. He had not had such a game since Week 8, 2019 and now has eight such games in his career.

The Titans have won four straight regular season matchups with the Chiefs but lost in the 2020 AFC Championship Game in Kansas City.

Their respective 5-2 records this season disguise the fact each of those wins has been relatively close. The Titans and Vikings have only won by single digits this season. Only five teams in NFL history have seen such a streak reach six games – the 2020 Chiefs, 1997 Vikings, 1994 Giants, 1988 Saints and 1986 Giants. Of those, only the Chiefs' streak reached seven.

Elsewhere...

The Miami Dolphins (5-3) will be looking for a fourth consecutive road win against the Chicago Bears (3-5), which would make the Dolphins the first AFC team since the conference came into being in 1970 to have such a streak in Chicago. Miami's Tyreek Hill has gone 52 consecutive receptions without a receiving touchdown. That accounts for the longest streak of his career, nearly doubling his previous career-long streak (27, twice).

Memories of a record-setting 2014 game between the Carolina Panthers and the Bengals will be stoked when the teams meet in Cincinnati on Sunday. The last time these teams met at the home of the Bengals it finished in a 37-37 tie, and entering Week 9 in 2022 that remains the highest-scoring tie in an NFL game since the NFL and AFL merged in 1970.

The New England Patriots are 4-4 for the fifth time in the Bill Belichick era (since 2000) as they approach a home game against the Indianapolis Colts (3-4-1). The other four times the Patriots started 4-4 under Belichick, they made the playoffs three times (2001, 2005, 2021) and missed the playoffs once (2002). Between the regular season and playoffs, Belichick owns an 18-9 career record against the Colts, with only Don Shula (36 wins as coach of the Dolphins from 1970 to 1995) having achieved more such wins.

Justin Verlander was relieved his work since his Game 1 start was rewarded with a belated first World Series win on Thursday – even if it was still "a heck of a grind".

Verlander pitched five innings in the Houston Astros' 3-2 Game 5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies, giving them a 3-2 series lead.

The nine-time All-Star won the World Series with the Astros in 2017, yet he finished the series against the Los Angeles Dodgers with an 0-1 record.

Verlander did start the Game 2 win versus the Dodgers, but team-mate Chris Devenski was the winning pitcher as the Astros rescued an 11-inning victory.

Heading into Thursday's meeting with the Phillies, Verlander was 0-6 through eight starts in the World Series for his career.

His latest frustration on baseball's biggest stage had seen him depart a Game 1 defeat at 5-5 after five innings.

But Verlander made amends this time, securing a 2-1 lead as he only allowed a Kyle Schwarber leadoff home run from four hits, setting up Ryan Pressly – who closed out a combined no-hitter in Game 4 – to complete the job.

Speaking to MLB Network afterwards, Verlander said he "went back to the drawing board" following his previous start and made the most of the delay in the series after Game 3 was postponed.

"Honestly, the extra day helped me," the 39-year-old said.

"I was able to throw an extra bullpen [because] we got rained out; I threw two bullpens in a row, and I knew I had a lot of work to do. It wasn't easy adjustments, so I needed as many reps as I could.

"After the first few sliders I threw tonight, I was like, 'oh, thank goodness'."

Asked for his thoughts on the long-awaited breakthrough win, Verlander replied: "I don't even know, man. I don't think it's set in yet.

"What an incredible game, first of all. This win, much like most of the wins in my career, doesn't happen without the guys who came in behind me – I only went five innings.

"It was a heck of a grind, especially the first three innings. These guys had a great game plan. After last night, I felt like they completely changed their game plan, were trying to get on top of heaters.

"Thank goodness my slider and curveball clicked, and I was able to lean on those a little bit in the latter half of my outing."

Jalen Hurts warned the Philadelphia Eagles "haven't accomplished anything yet" after moving to a franchise-best 8-0 start to the NFL season.

The quarterback threw two touchdowns in his hometown of Houston for the visitors against the Texans to seal a 29-17 win at NRG Stadium.

Hurts has helped guide the team to their best season start in the franchise's 90-year history, silencing doubters who wondered if he would be their long-term starter.

But he said there is still work to be done, pointing to his own days playing college football with Alabama as proof that a superb start can come to nothing in the end.

"I know it's special for the city of Philadelphia," Hurts stated "[But], I mean, I've been 8-0 before and lost the national championship. [We've got to] just take it day by day.

"We haven't accomplished anything yet. It's a day-by-day thing of us controlling things we can, playing to our standard and trying to grow every day. I think that's truly what it's about."

Hurts dashed hopes for his hometown team with his impressive performance, but acknowledged it was a "special moment" to play in the city, while adding the Eagles still have room to grow.

"There's a lot to be grateful about," he added. "There's a lot to reflect on and look at the things that we did well. There's also a lot of things that we can improve on.

"Personally, playing in the city of Houston, being the first time playing back home, that's a special moment for me personally. I think the job is still not done."

Tom Brady says he is out to "do the best you can do" following a trying season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, ahead of this weekend's clash with the Los Angeles Rams.

The veteran seven-time Super Bowl winner, who originally called time on his career at the end of last season before reversing his decision, has endured a tough time on and off the field in recent months.

Brady has seen the Bucs fall to 3-5 following defeat to the Baltimore Ravens, while the 45-year-old has also been finalising his divorce from Gisele Bundchen over the past week.

But speaking ahead of Sunday's encounter with incumbent Super Bowl champions the Rams at Raymond James Stadium, he says he is focused on ensuring he is the strongest possible version of himself in all walks of life.

"I've always tried to do the best I could do here [at the Bucs' facility], and then when I leave here, I try to do the best I can do," he stated. "That's what we all try to do.

"I'm sure everyone sitting in this room, everyone sitting at home, is trying to wake up every day doing the best they could do for their families and their career.

"I'm no different. So just do the best you can do every day. We certainly try to do."

Brady is hoping the Bucs can gain revenge against the Rams, with the quarterback having gone 0-3 against them over the last two years, including an NFC divisional round exit last campaign.

He does not expect an easy campaign over the coming weeks, but insists the team do not want sympathy, adding: "It's not like it gets easier; it's not like it gets any less competitive.

"No one feels sorry for us, nor should they. They're trying to win those games. We're trying to win, and we just haven't done a good job the last six weeks doing that."

Kyrie Irving has belatedly issued an apology following the Brooklyn Nets' decision to suspend him indefinitely for his repeated failure to "unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs".

Irving declined to apologise for last week's social media post about a book and movie with alleged antisemitic tropes, nor answer explicity when asked if he was antisemitic during a Thursday press conference.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had expressed his disappointment on Thursday that Irving had "not offered an unqualified apology".

The franchise responded later on Thursday with a press statement confirming Irving would be suspended for a minimum of five games with no pay, adding he is "currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets".

Approximately four hours following that announcement, the seven-time All-Star posted an apology on Instagram.

"To All Jewish families and Communities that are hurt and affected from my post, I am deeply sorry to have caused you pain, and I apologize," Irving wrote.

"I initially reacted out of emotion to being unjustly labeled Anti-Semitic, instead of focusing on the healing process of my Jewish Brothers and Sisters that were hurt from the hateful remarks made in the Documentary.

"I want to clarify any confusion on where I stand fighting against Anti-semticism [sic] by apologizing for posting the documentary without context and a factual explanation outlining the specific beliefs in the Documentary I agreed with and disagreed with.

"I had no intentions to disrespect any Jewish cultural history regarding the Holocaust or perpetuate any hate. I am learning from this unfortunate event and hope we can find understanding between us all.

"I am no different than any other human being. I am a seeker of truth and knowledge, and I know who I Am."

Kyrie Irving has been suspended indefinitely by the Brooklyn Nets, but for a minimum of five games, in light of the All-Star's unapologetic response to the widespread backlash for allegedly endorsing an antisemitic film.

Irving spoke to the media on Thursday for the first time since a controversial press conference on Saturday after last week sharing a social media post about a book and film leading to condemnation, including from the franchise owner Joe Tsai who said it was "full of antisemitic disinformation".

The 2016 NBA champion on Thursday stopped short of apologising for the social media post, instead speaking with ambiguity when directly asked if he had any antisemitic beliefs.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said he was disappointed Irving had "not offered an unqualified apology" for his "reckless" social media post.

Irving and the Nets had on Wednesday each donated $500,000 towards causes and organisations that work to eradicate hate and intolerance in our communities.

But after Thursday's press conference, the Nets moved to suspend Irving for a minimum of five games and without pay, having been left "dismayed" by his latest comments.

"Over the last several days, we have made repeated attempts to work with Kyrie Irving to help him understand the harm and danger of his words and actions, which began with him publicizing a film containing deeply disturbing antisemitic hate," the Nets said in the statement.

"We were dismayed today, when given an opportunity in a media session, that Kyrie refused to unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs, nor acknowledge specific hateful material in the film. This was not the first time he had the opportunity - but failed - to clarify.

"Such failure to disavow antisemitism when given a clear opportunity to do so is deeply disturbing, is against the values of our organization, and constitutes conduct detrimental to the team.

"Accordingly, we are of the view that he is currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets."

Irving had said he had take responsibility for sharing the social media post, that has since been deleted, but ultimately stood his ground again.

"I didn't mean to cause any harm," Irving said. "I'm not the one that made the documentary.

"Again, I'm going to repeat. I don't know how the label becomes justified because you guys ask me the same questions over and over again but this is not going to turn into a spin-around cycle - questions upon questions.

"I told you guys how I felt. I respect all walks of life and embrace all walks of life. That's where I sit... I cannot be antisemitic if I know where I come from."

The Houston Astros are one win from a World Series championship after fine pitching displays from Justin Verlander and Ryan Pressly held off the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 in Game 5 on Thursday.

Verlander claimed his first-ever World Series victory in his ninth start with six strikeouts across five innings before Pressly's five-out save at Bank Citizens Park.

The Astros' defense came up big when it mattered too, with first baseman Trey Mancini making a huge play from Kyle Schwarber's low line drive to close the eighth inning, along with outfielder Chas McCormick leaping and holding a J.T. Realmuto shot on the wall for the second out in the ninth.

Houston go 3-2 up ahead of Game 6 at Minute Maid Park on Saturday, with the Game 5 winner when the World Series has been tied going on to win 30 of the previous 45 editions.

Jeremy Pena, who had three hits for the game, drove in Jose Altuve in the first inning, before Schwarber's leadoff homer over right field squared it up.

In the fourth, Pena blasted Phillies' starter Noah Syndergaard over Schwarber's head at left field for his fourth homer this postseason, becoming the first rookie shortstop to hit a blast in World Series history.

Altuve, who got on base three times, plated in the eighth inning from Yordan Alvarez's ground ball which first baseman Rhys Hoskins tried to charge.

Jean Segura's RBI single drove in Nick Castellanos in the bottom of the eighth, but Pressly held his nerve after replacing Rafael Montero, with Mancini's clutch play on first base closing the inning.

Alec Bohm's brilliant double play ended the Astros' ninth, but the Phillies were denied despite Bryce Harper getting on base for the fourth time in the game, with McCormick plucking a great catch before Castellanos hit to Pena who threw to Mancini to close it out.

The Philadelphia Eagles reached 8-0 for the first time in franchise history with a 29-17 victory on the road over the under-manned Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on Thursday.

Jalen Hurts claimed his 11th straight regular-season win, which is the longest streak in franchise history, completing 21 of 27 passes for two touchdowns and 243 yards with no interceptions.

Hurts has multiple touchdowns in three consecutive games for the first time in his career, but the Eagles also did damage with their rushing game.

Running backs Miles Sanders, 17 carries for 93 yards, and Kenneth Gainwell both scored touchdowns. The latter's TD was the Eagles' 16th rushing TD of the season, which is the franchise's most through eight games since 1949.

The Texans pushed the Eagles in the first half, with quarterback Davis Mills finding Teagan Quitoriano for their first opening drive score of the season, but the visitors hit back, with Sanders scoring after Hurts and tight end Dallas Goedert had combined for a 16-yard gain.

Sanders' 25-yard gain led to Gainwell's touchdown  in the second quarter, with a huge run by impressive Texans rookie running back Dameon Pierce, who made a career-high 139 yards on 27 carries, leading to Chris Moore squaring the game up at half-time with a TD.

Mills, who made 13 of 22 passes for 154 yards, threw one of two interceptions to C.J. Gardner-Johnson in the third quarter, leading to A.J. Brown's TD when wide open from Hurts' 17-yard pass.

Hurts and Goedert combined twice in the same drive leading to the latter's fourth-quarter TD. Goedert finished the game with 100 yards on eight receptions.

Stephen Curry's 39 points were not enough to prevent the Golden State Warriors from slumping to their fourth straight defeat as Jalen Suggs lifted the Orlando Magic to a 130-129 victory on Thursday.

The reigning champions, who led by 16 points at one stage, had gone into the final minute with scores tied but Suggs drained a three-pointer, followed by making a steal, sinking one of two free-throws to make it to a two-score game.

Suggs finished the game with 26 points with nine assists, while rookie Pablo Banchero contributed 22 points with eight rebounds.

Curry scored 39 points on eight-of-15 three-point shooting with nine assists for Golden State. Klay Thompson found form with seven triples in his 27-point haul.

The Magic scored 33-of-46 points from the free-throw line, compared to Golden State's 10-of-15.

The result means the Warriors fall to 3-6, having lost three of their past four games to sides who missed last year's playoffs. Golden State are also 0-5 on the road.

Jokic records another triple-double

Two-time MVP Nikola Jokic's third triple double of the season and 79th of his career helped the Denver Nuggets to a 122-110 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Jokic scored 15 points with 13 rebounds and 13 assists as Jamal Murray contributed 24 points including four three-pointers for Denver who improve to 5-3.

For the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 37 points but only four in the final quarter when OC went seven-for-22.

Eighth seed Daria Kasatkina claimed her first win at this year's WTA Finals after fighting back for a comprehensive straight-sets victory over Coco Gauff in Fort Worth on Thursday.

Kasatkina trailed 4-1 in the first set but rallied to win the opening frame in a tiebreak, before dominating the second set to win 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 in one hour and 40 minutes.

The victory is Kasatkina's 41st of the year and 25th on the hard-court surface this season. Kasatkina is 29-0 this season when she wins the first set.

Gauff has now suffered two singles losses and two doubles defeats in Fort Worth this week, producing an erratic performance, where she committed 34 unforced errors compared to the Russian's 10.

Kasatkina had to earn the victory, with the first set lasting 66 minutes, as the eighth seed rallied from 3-0 down in the tiebreak to take the frame with her third set point.

The second set was more dominant, with Kasatkina claiming it in 35 minutes, although it included five straight broken games. Kasatkina converted her first match point from another Gauff error.

BREAK POINTS WON
Kasatkina - 6/10
Gauff - 5/8

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Kasatkina - 2/2
Gauff - 1/2

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Kasatkina - 10/10
Gauff - 25/34

Iga Swiatek moved onto the verge of sealing her place in the final four of the WTA Finals as she cruised to a 6-3 6-2 triumph over Caroline Garcia at Fort Worth on Thursday.

Garcia was the only WTA Finals player to have beaten Swiatek this year, but the world number one swept her aside with an impressive display in one hour and 23 minutes.

Swiatek remains yet to lose a set at Fort Worth and will qualify for the semi-finals should Coco Gauff fail to beat Daria Kasatkina in two sets, or if Kasatkina wins.

Garcia managed the first break in the third game of the opener, but Swiatek broke back immediately before finding another at 4-3 up, kicking on from there to take the opening set.

The Pole was excellent in the second set, breaking Garcia twice to secure another victory and inch closer to the final four.

Swiatek gets some measure of revenge for the 6-1 1-6 6-4 defeat to Garcia at the Warsaw Open quarter-finals in July, her only loss on clay over the season.

A Kasatkina win against Gauff will see Swiatek advance as group winner, while a Gauff win in three sets will seal her progression but leave her position in the group undecided.

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Swiatek - 17/8
Garcia - 16/14

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Swiatek - 1/2
Garcia - 3/3

BREAK POINTS WON

Swiatek - 4/5
Garcia - 1/6

Will Gordon shot four straight birdies on his way to holding a one-stroke lead from Russell Henley on the opening day at the PGA World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba on Thursday.

Gordon, who lost his PGA Tour card in his rookie season two years ago, shot a nine-under-par 62 including an eagle on the par-five fifth hole at El Camaleon Golf Club in Riviera Maya, Mexico.

Henley is eight under, having also peeled off four consecutive birdies from the 10th to the 13th holes, while he finished his round with two more birdies to edge into second behind Gordon.

Scott Piercy, Francesco Molinari, Harris English and Sam Ryder are all one further stroke behind at seven under.

Viktor Hovland, who is chasing a third straight Mayakoba crown, is six under alongside Scottie Scheffler, who is hoping to re-claim the world number one ranking from Rory McIlroy.

The two-time Mayakoba champion started with two bogeys in his first eight holes, but rallied with four birdies before an eagle firmly put him in contention. Scheffler had less drama in his bogey-free round, with five birdies.

Another former Mayakoba winner, Matt Kuchar, put together four straight birdies from the fourth to the seventh holes, but is five under with two bogeys stalling his progress.

One of the pre-tournament favourites, two-time major winner Collin Morikawa, struggled with four bogeys for an opening-day even-par 71 to be nine shots off the pace.

Tony Finau is three under, fighting back with four birdies on a bogey-free back nine after a triple bogey on the second hole.

Kyrie Irving has been suspended indefinitely by the Brooklyn Nets, but for a minimum of five games, in light of the All-Star's unapologetic response to the widespread backlash for allegedly endorsing an antisemitic film.

Irving spoke to the media on Thursday for the first time since a controversial press conference on Saturday after last week sharing a social media post about a book and film leading to condemnation, including from the franchise owner Joe Tsai who said it was "full of antisemitic disinformation".

The 2016 NBA champion on Thursday stopped short of apologising for the social media post, instead speaking with ambiguity when directly asked if he had any antisemitic beliefs.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said he was disappointed Irving had "not offered an unqualified apology" for his "reckless" social media post.

Irving and the Nets had on Wednesday each donated $500,000 towards causes and organisations that work to eradicate hate and intolerance in our communities.

But after Thursday's press conference, the Nets moved to suspend Irving for a minimum of five games and without pay, having been left "dismayed" by his latest comments.

"Over the last several days, we have made repeated attempts to work with Kyrie Irving to help him understand the harm and danger of his words and actions, which began with him publicizing a film containing deeply disturbing antisemitic hate," the Nets said in the statement.

"We were dismayed today, when given an opportunity in a media session, that Kyrie refused to unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs, nor acknowledge specific hateful material in the film. This was not the first time he had the opportunity - but failed - to clarify.

"Such failure to disavow antisemitism when given a clear opportunity to do so is deeply disturbing, is against the values of our organization, and constitutes conduct detrimental to the team.

"Accordingly, we are of the view that he is currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets."

Irving had said he had take responsibility for sharing the social media post, that has since been deleted, but ultimately stood his ground again.

"I didn't mean to cause any harm," Irving said. "I'm not the one that made the documentary.

"Again, I'm going to repeat. I don't know how the label becomes justified because you guys ask me the same questions over and over again but this is not going to turn into a spin-around cycle - questions upon questions.

"I told you guys how I felt. I respect all walks of life and embrace all walks of life. That's where I sit... I cannot be antisemitic if I know where I come from."