Jalen Hurts felt he let the Philadelphia Eagles down on Sunday despite helping them maintain their unbeaten start to the season against the Arizona Cardinals.

The Eagles improved to 5-0 on Sunday with a 20-17 win in Arizona as Cardinals kicker Matt Ammendola hit a game-tying field goal attempt wide right, wasting the opportunity to send the contest to overtime.

Hurts, though, was disappointed he gave the Cardinals the chance to force an extra period with a kick, having thrown an incomplete pass to Quez Watkins on third down from the Arizona five-yard line with the score tied at 17-17, leaving the Eagles to settle for a field goal at the end of a 17-play drive that lasted nearly eight minutes.

For Hurts, it was a significant blemish on a game in which he was otherwise very accurate. Hurts completed 72 per cent of his passes and, per Stats Perform data, delivered an accurate, well-thrown ball on 91.2 per cent of his attempts. He also rushed for the Eagles' only two touchdowns.

"As a competitor when you have the ball in your hands at the end of the game, you want to take advantage of it and not give the opposition the opportunity to win the game, tie the game, whatever it is," said Hurts.

"I don't look at anybody else but myself. I look in the mirror and I look at myself and I ask myself, 'What could I have done more to not put the team in this position toward the end of the game? How could I have gotten us in the end zone?'

"What could I have done more to put us in a better position? I feel like in many ways, I feel like I let them down. 

"Just with opportunities we didn't take advantage of and the ball touching my hands every play. Those are the mixed emotions I have.

"The worst feeling is when we walked off the field, when I walked off the field even toward the end of the game, we kicked a field goal.

"[Eagles kicker Cameron] Dicker made a great play and put this team in a great position, but there's nothing that I can do. 

"I can't control what their kicker does. He missed it. Our kicker made ours. I can't control that, but I can control what we do in the second quarter, in the first quarter, when I have the ball in my hands. I can do that.

"I don't like putting the team in the position where their kicker has the opportunity to tie or win the game, or our defense is on the field.

"If I can control it, I want to take advantage of that. That’s just my competitive nature with it."

Tom Brady denied having any influence over a controversial roughing the passer penalty that helped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers seal a narrow Week 5 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

The Falcons looked set to get a chance to complete a memorable comeback against Tampa Bay when Grady Jarrett sacked Brady on third down with three minutes remaining.

However, after a conversation, referee Jerome Boger called roughing the passer against defensive tackle Jarrett, giving the Bucs a free 15 yards and a new set of downs, allowing Tampa Bay to ice a 21-15 win.

In a pool report Boger said he called the penalty due to Jarrett unnecessarily throwing Brady to the ground.

Asked in his post-game media conference if he had lobbied at any point in the game for roughing calls, Brady offered a blunt response.

"I don't throw flags," said Brady.

Bucs coach Todd Bowles, for his part, felt the penalty was influenced by the controversy surrounding Tua Tagovailoa, the Miami Dolphins quarterback who was concussed in the Week 4 game with the Cincinnati Bengals when he was tossed to the ground by Josh Tupou.

Boger also made a similar call on a hit on Josh Allen that helped the Buffalo Bills beat the Baltimore Ravens three days later.

"I saw that one being called. I saw it against Tua when he got hit, and in the London game [Packers v Giants]," Bowles said.

"I think they are starting to crack down on some of the things, slinging backs. I don’t know.

"Right now, the way they are calling [it], I think a lot of people would’ve gotten that call.”

The Bucs' win snapped a two-game losing streak and moved them to 3-2, though a team many expected to contend to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl has yet to really deliver a convincing performance.

"Obviously, it's tough to lose two straight at home. You have to earn it in the league. There are no easy games, you've got to play good," Brady added.

"Five games in and we've got a lot of work to do. We're not nearly at the point of where we're capable of being."

Up next for the Bucs is a road game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Josh Allen wanted to show Gabe Davis he has his implicit trust prior to the Buffalo Bills' 38-3 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, and his faith in the wide receiver will have only grown stronger after they combined in astonishing fashion in Week 5.

Davis had struggled to make much of an impact in the previous two weeks while battling an ankle injury.

But the third-year receiver, who caught four touchdowns in the Bills' incredible playoff defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs last season, was back to his best against the Steelers.

He caught two remarkable long touchdown passes, the first of which went for 98 yards after the Bills were backed up on their own two-yard line, Taiwan Jones having dropped the opening kick-off.

That score came 64 seconds into the game, making it the longest touchdown from scrimmage within the first 90 seconds of a game in NFL history.

Three drives later, they linked up for a stunning second act, Allen finding Davis for a 62-yard strike that saw the wideout make a superb one-handed catch and wrestle the ball away from safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.

"I kind of got hit right when I threw it, so I didn't see him catch it. I just kind of heard the crowd go crazy," Allen said of the opening touchdown. "Those ones are cool. It's going to be tough to beat.

"Backed up to take a shot like that, it's not too often you get a shot to do that early on in the game.

"The kick return put us at the two-yard line, put us behind the 8-ball a little bit, but guys were resilient, we didn't blink and just trusted our guys.

"I've got so much trust and faith in 13 [Davis], it was good to see him get going. He only had three catches but for 170 and two touchdowns, which is pretty crazy; it's not too often you have those type of drives.

"We had a one-play, two two-play drives and a three-play drive that ended in touchdowns. That’s crazy."

Allen added of the second touchdown, on which Davis was essentially double covered with Fitzpatrick playing over the top: "I'm just trusting my guy more than anything, he's coming off a couple weeks with an ankle and I just wanted him to know that I trust him implicitly.

"I'm gonna give him these opportunities, when you continue to make them, it makes it that much easier to trust a guy."

Asked if he saw something in Davis that made him think he was back to 100 per cent, Allen replied: "I think I saw it in our walkthrough that we do on Saturdays, just the way he was moving, bouncing around on it, I was like 'OK, this guy’s ready to go', and he was."

Zac Taylor expects fortune to favour the Cincinnati Bengals eventually after they again came up just short in Sunday's 19-17 defeat to the Baltimore Ravens.

The Bengals went to the Super Bowl last year but have a losing 2-3 record through Week 5 in 2022.

However, each of their three defeats have seen Cincinnati lose by a field goal on the final play of the game, going down 23-20 to the Pittsburgh Steelers in overtime in Week 1 and 20-17 to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2.

It was little surprise Justin Tucker similarly punished Taylor's team, with the Ravens kicker executing an NFL-record seventh game-winning field goal with time up.

Of those, this was the fourth – another record – to come with his team losing, as the Bengals failed to protect a late lead having been tied against both the Steelers and the Cowboys.

"It's tough," said coach Taylor. "We've lost three games now on the last play of the game, that's what I told the guys.

"We just have to keep taking our shots, and these things have a way of balancing out, and we are going to get some of these wins in these situations."

That the Bengals were within three points of winning was particularly painful given a hapless third-quarter series from which they failed to score any points.

Cincinnati had first-and-goal from the Baltimore two, but Taylor called two trick plays, seeing wide receiver Tyler Boyd sacked running the Philly Special on second down before Joe Burrow's attempted shovel pass up the middle to Stanley Morgan on fourth down was batted away.

"We felt good about some stuff we called, but obviously it didn't work," Taylor said.

He added: "I felt comfortable with our package going in. When it doesn't work, you wish you would have done something different."

Ja'Marr Chase, whose 12-yard catch brought the Bengals back to the two-yard line after Boyd's sack, said: "It's pretty frustrating.

"We've got to know how to execute coming into that and know which play is going to give us the right play. I don't think we did that."

Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon would later run in a touchdown from the one-yard line in the fourth quarter, but he was pass blocking on both the Philly Special and the shovel pass.

"I'm just running the play that's called," Mixon said.

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford needs help, according to head coach Sean McVay.

The Super Bowl LVI champions suffered their third loss of the season, with Stafford and the offense struggling again in a 22-10 defeat to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

The Rams have managed only one touchdown in their past nine quarters, with Stafford finding wide receiver Cooper Kupp in a 75-yard catch and run against the Cowboys.

Stafford has also been left banged up with the Rams' offensive line cursed by injuries, allowing five sacks on Sunday, for a total of 21 for the season. The QB was also pressured 20 times by the Cowboys defense, the equal second most in a game for Stafford's career.

"I love Matthew Stafford," McVay told reporters. "He is competing and doing everything in his power for this team. He needs some help. We've got to be able to help him."

McVay had no quick fixes for his side's offensive line issues, while he continued to back Stafford.

"I think he's doing everything he can," he said. "I think he needs more help. Guys got to play better around him.

"We've got to be able to help him be able to give himself a chance to sit on his back foot, just past even a hitch on some things.

"I'll ride with that guy to the end of time. And he's continuing to do everything in his power to try to help our team move the football, score points and we've got to be able to help him out more."

Stafford completed 28 of 42 attempts for 308 yards with one interception against the Cowboys, showing that he has been able to play through pain after copping so many hits.

"I feel OK," Stafford said. "It's part of the game."

"We've got to find a way to get the ball in the end zone. Got to do a better job sustaining some drives, giving ourselves some more manageable situations and find a way to get more points."

The Baltimore Ravens were saved by a Justin Tucker 43-yard field goal in the final seconds to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals 19-17 on Sunday night.

Arguably the best kicker of his generation, Tucker converted all four of his field-goal attempts in the contest, also hitting from 25 yards, 37 yards and a 58-yarder in the third quarter to take the lead out of the halftime break.

Things were tied at 10-10 at the midpoint after touchdown catches from both featured tight ends, with Baltimore's Mark Andrews benefitting from a busted coverage to walk in with an easy 11-yard score, before Hayden Hurst answered right back with a 19-yard touchdown reception for the Bengals later in the second quarter.

There would be no more touchdowns until Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow converted a goal-line sneak in the first play out of the two-minute warning to take a 17-16 lead, leaving the Ravens one minute and 58 seconds to drive down into field-goal range.

After struggling to move the ball all night, the Ravens made their last drive look easy, with a couple of catches for Andrews followed by a 19-yard run by Lamar Jackson to push their way to the 25-yard line, where they would run down the clock for the final kick.

After nailing the kick, it improved Tucker's record on game-deciding field goals (in the final two minutes or overtime to tie or take the lead) to 25 out of 26 (96 per cent).

Jackson finished up completing 19 of 32 passes for 174 yards, one touchdown and one interception, while also leading the Ravens in rushing with 12 carries for 58 yards.

Carolina Panthers quarterback Baker Mayfield said he will undergo an MRI on Monday after injuring his left ankle in Sunday’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

Mayfield attended his postgame press conference with a walking boot on his lower left leg. The struggling former number one overall pick sustained the injury late in the first half of Carolina’s 37-15 defeat, but remained in the game until being replaced for the Panthers' final possession with the outcome no longer in doubt.

"Somebody landed on the ankle," Mayfield told reporters. "It didn’t feel too good.

"[It’s] a little painful right now. I’m not sure exactly what it is. We’ll examine that [Monday] and find out."

The injury added to another ineffective performance from Mayfield, who entered the game 31st out of 32 qualified quarterbacks in completion percentage (54.7) and 30th in passer rating (75.0). The offseason addition finished the day 20 of 36 for 215 yards with no touchdowns and an interception that the 49ers’ Emmanuel Moseley returned 41 yards for a touchdown.

"I’m confident with where I’m at," Mayfield said when asked about his job security. "I haven’t played well enough, obviously. There’s a lot of ball left.

"I don’t live in the past, I live in the moment. Figure it out and move forward."

Sunday’s loss dropped the Panthers to 1-4 and was the team’s 11th in its last 12 games under head coach Matt Ruhle, whose future has also come under speculation.

"I would love to be in a better position record-wise, but you keep pushing forward," Mayfield said. "It’s not time to put your head down and give up."

With 2021 starter Sam Darnold still on injured reserve with a high-ankle sprain, P.J. Walker would presumably start at quarterback should Mayfield be forced to miss next week’s game against the Rams in Los Angeles.

Darnold, selected two spots behind Mayfield in the 2018 draft, started 11 games for the Panthers in 2021 but was displaced from the starting quarterback’s role following the team’s acquisition of Mayfield from the Cleveland Browns in July.

Mayfield became expendable to the Browns when Cleveland traded for the currently suspended Deshaun Watson earlier in the offseason and signed the former Houston Texan to a five-year, $230million extension.

There won't be any panic among the Green Bay Packers following their stunning 27-22 loss to the New York Giants.

However, after letting slip a 10-point lead at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, there is undoubtedly plenty of frustration.

Green Bay's progress towards what looked set to be a routine victory in their first game in the United Kingdom could hardly have been more serene. The second half was an entirely different tale.

The Packers had zero issues moving the ball through the first two quarters, and did so without having to ask their back-to-back MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers to do much at all.

Indeed, the Packers were able to lean heavily on the run game and the short passing attack in racking up 228 yards at an average of six yards per play in the first half.

But the warning signs were there late in the second quarter, with Giants finding the endzone to give themselves hope, a 40-yard rush on a direct snap from Saquon Barkley helping set up their opening touchdown with 75 seconds to go in the first half as a double reverse play worked to perfection and allowed tight end Daniel Bellinger to find paydirt.

Packers kicker Mason Crosby ensured a two-possession lead with a field goal to bring the opening half to a close, but the Giants had already gained the necessary belief they could spring a turnaround few would have thought possible.

That optimism was soon furthered in the second half, which the Giants opened with a field goal drive before stopping a promising Packers drive with a third-down sack of Rodgers.

From there, a pattern set in, as the Giants tied things up with a 15-play drive capped by a Gary Brightwell touchdown run that was swiftly followed by a Packers three-and-out.

Having moved the ball at will, progressing it down the field suddenly looked an impossible challenge for the Packers, who found no joy on longer developing passing plays that dominated their approach in the final two quarters.

Joy was soon unconfined for the Giants, though, as Barkley – having missed the previous drive through a shoulder injury – surged for 41 yards on a catch and run from Daniel Jones and then burst into the endzone from two yards out to complete the comeback.

Rodgers drove the Packers to the six-yard line in response, but saw a fourth-down pass intended for Allen Lazard batted down before he was sacked on a Hail Mary attempt after an intentional safety taken by New York, leaving the Giants jubilant and Rodgers and head coach Matt LaFleur to answer questions about a worrying trend.

While the Packers headed to London with three wins, only their Week 2 victory over the Chicago Bears was convincing and, in their Week 4 defeat of the New England Patriots, Green Bay allowed third-string quarterback Bailey Zappe, aided by a run game that averaged 5.1 yards per rush, to take them to overtime.

This week, the Packers were left bemoaning once again failing to perform for four quarters, with a run defense they hoped to have addressed adequately in the offseason proving all too fallible once more, especially on the Giants' game-tying drive on which Jones confounded Green Bay with his ability to make plays with his legs.

"Certainly there's been a lot of struggles – that is this league," LaFleur said of his impression of the Packers' season to this point.

"We just got to be more consistent because there's some moments where we look pretty good. We have yet to put together a complete game as a team.

"It's like every game has been one good half. That's not good enough in this league. You got to play every play like it's your last. If you don't, you get your a** whipped."

Asked about the reasons for the issues with run defense, which have plagued the Packers in significant moments during his tenure, LaFleur replied: "I can't name one thing for you right now.  

"I just know that I thought there were some times where we had 'em in some longer yardage situations. They were able to convert on some long third downs. You can't do that. You can't do that in this league.  

"Coming in, we had the top third down defense in the league. Just didn't execute in the second half."

Though struggling to shackle opposing running backs is not a new problem for the defense, Rodgers and the Packer offense are finding it tough to overcome a difficulty they perhaps did not anticipate at the end of last season, with the future Hall of Fame signal-caller still evidently lacking chemistry with his young receiving corps following Davante Adams' offseason trade to the Las Vegas Raiders.

Rodgers connected with old friend Randall Cobb seven times for 99 yards and found trusted target Lazard on four occasions, including for the Packers' opening score.

No other receiver had more than three catches, however, and rookie wideouts Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson, who suffered a hamstring injury, were essentially non-factors, Rodgers showcasing only a sporadic rapport with the former.

For his part, Rodgers refused to accept a paucity of familiarity as any kind of excuse for the Packers' inconsistency on the offensive side.

"That's a tough question," Rodgers said when asked how close the Packers are to putting a complete game together.

"The cliche answer would be really close. The actual answer is unknown, honestly. There's a standard that we've played at for a long time. Just because the faces change doesn't mean the standard changes. That's a hard concept I think to grasp at times.

"We hold ourselves to a really high standard. I hold myself to a high standard. We're just not quite there yet.

"So I trust Matt and the staff and the conversations we'll have this week that we'll clean some things up. This team, we're five weeks in, and there's a lot of football left. Can't squander any more games like this though because the season is going to be pretty tough."

Rodgers' assessment is a hard one to disagree with. The Packers have a winning record, they will be expected to bounce back at Lambeau Field against the New York Jets in Week 6 and the likelihood is that they will be contesting the postseason again in 2022, yet the standard Rodgers speaks of has been allowed to slip too often in the first five weeks and, come the pressure cooker of the playoffs, a failure to uphold it could leave Green Bay with an all too familiar feeling of January disappointment.

The Dallas Cowboys have now won four games in a row with backup quarterback Cooper Rush after defeating the Los Angeles Rams 22-10 away from home on Sunday.

Rush, who now owns a 5-0 record as a starter as he continues to fill-in for the injured Dak Prescott, was not burdened with a large responsibility against the Rams as it was the running backs and defense doing the heavy-lifting.

Cowboys pass-rusher DeMarcus Lawrence got things started with a fumble recovery for a touchdown after just 93 seconds, and the only other touchdown they scored came from a 57-yard Tony Pollard run in the second quarter.

The Dallas defense made life miserable for Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, sacking him five times, as well as snagging an interception and recovering two forced fumbles. Second-year star Micah Parsons led the way with two sacks, and Malik Hooker came up with the interception in the fourth quarter to ice the game.

Often considered a controversial aspect of the Cowboys offense, their two-pronged running back attack was the key to their success on the offensive end.

Highly paid Ezekiel Elliott was again given the larger workload, carrying 22 times for 78 yards, and he was once again outperformed by his backup, Pollard, who tallied 86 yards and a touchdown from just eight carries.

Reigning Offensive Player of the Year Cooper Kupp was as reliable as ever for the Rams, catching seven passes for 125 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown.

Eagles move to 5-0 after late kick fails to send it to overtime

The Philadelphia Eagles remain the only unbeaten team in the NFL after a 20-17 road win against the Arizona Cardinals.

The Cardinals had a chance to tie the game with a 43-yard field goal in the dying seconds, but missed, allowing the Eagles to secure the win in regulation.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts threw a clean game, completing 26 of 36 passes for 239 yards and no turnovers, and he was also his side's leading rusher with 15 carries for 61 yards and two touchdowns.

Marquise Brown was on the end of Kyler Murray's only touchdown pass of the day, and adding insult to injury is the fact that starting running back James Conner (ribs) and third-stringer Darrel Williams (knee) both suffered injuries.

Tom Brady called on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to improve after he equalled an NFL record by moving to 11-0 in his career meetings with the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

Brady shook off a shoulder injury to help the Bucs to go 3-2 for the season with a 21-15 home win over their NFC South rivals, cutting a two-game losing streak.  

The 45-year-old's 11th straight win against Atlanta saw him equal the record for most wins by a quarterback without losing against a single NFL opponent, matching John Elway's 11-0 return against the New England Patriots and Andrew Luck's perfect record against the Tennessee Titans.

Speaking after the win, however, Brady said he was simply focused on halting the Bucs' alarming slide following recent defeats to the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs.

"Yeah, it's obviously tough to lose straight at home, right? And we didn't deserve it, but that's football, you've got to earn it," Brady said.

"There's no easy games, you've got to play good. Certainly, five games in, we've got a lot of work to do.

"We need a lot of people to step up. We've got to get people out there, healthy, playing consistently, we've got to keep practicing, make the corrections and continue to improve."

Brady threw 52 passes throughout Sunday's game, completing 35 for 351 yards and a touchdown.

However, the Bucs were pegged back after storming into a 21-0 lead, and Brady acknowledged they failed to maintain their standards in the second half, adding: "We just had a lot of three and outs, we just weren't very good. 

"Bad execution and it wasn't our best in the second half. We've got to learn from it and get better."

Brady was aided by a questionable roughing the passer call against Atlanta's Grady Jarrett late on, when a third-down sack would have given Atlanta the ball with a chance to steal victory late on.

But the Bucs star was unwilling to get involved in debates surrounding the controversial call, simply stating: "I don't throw the flags."

Seattle Seahawks leading rusher Rashaad Penny’s season is likely in jeopardy after the running back reportedly fractured his left tibia in Sunday’s game at New Orleans.

According to NFL.com, Penny is expected to need surgery and will undergo further testing Monday to determine if he sustained additional damage.

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll told reporters after his team’s 39-32 loss that Penny sustained a "serious" ankle injury, but did not elaborate further.

Penny entered the contest with 292 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 49 attempts through four games, and added 54 yards on eight carries Sunday before exiting early in the second half. He had his lower left leg bend awkwardly while being tackled on a third-quarter run and was taken off the field on a cart.

Rookie Kenneth Walker III replaced Penny and recorded 88 yards on eight rushes, including a 69-yard touchdown that gave Seattle a short-lived 32-31 lead with 6:54 remaining.

A first-round pick of Seattle in 2018, Penny re-signed with the Seahawks on a one-year contract in March after setting career highs of 749 rushing yards and six touchdowns in 2021.

The Seahawks took Walker, who won the 2021 Doak Walker Award honouring the nation’s top college running back, after rushing for 1636 yards and 16 touchdowns for Michigan State, in the second round (41st overall) of this year’s draft. The 21-year-old has 146 yards and one touchdown on 23 rush attempts through his first four NFL games.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Teddy Bridgewater became the first player to be removed from play under the new concussion protocols established by the NFL and NFL Players Association in recent days.

Bridgewater was starting his first game of the season in place of Tua Tagovailoa, whose concussion during the Dolphins' Week 4 defeat to the Cincinnati Bengals led to the protocols being changed.

The Dolphins came under heavy scrutiny for their decision to field Tagovailoa against the Bengals.

In Tagovailoa's previous outing against the Buffalo Bills, he appeared unsteady on his feet after his head slammed against the turf following a heavy collision. 

The NFL and NFLPA launched an investigation into the handling of that injury after he returned to the field shortly thereafter.

Although it found the Dolphins to have followed existing protocols "as written”, the NFL and NFL Players Association agreed to modify protocols.

Remarkably, Tagovailoa's replacement Bridgewater was ruled out after the very first play of Miami's 40-17 loss to the New York Jets on Sunday due to the changes to the concussion protocol.

The quarterback left with an elbow injury and was evaluated for a head injury, with Miami stating that Bridgewater would not return.

Third-choice quarterback Skylar Thompson replaced him, and after the game Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel showed confidence in the rookie's ability to hold down the fort.

"It's rough," McDaniel said. "But the whole team has confidence in Skylar. I think our team in general doesn't look at it like we're a one-man saviour at any spot.

"So it is a new set of circumstances of adversity so early, but I don't think that the rest of the team's response to losing Teddy had anything to do with losing the game."

Saquon Barkley is unconcerned whether outsiders take the New York Giants' 4-1 start seriously after they produced a superb comeback to stun the Green Bay Packers in Week 5.

The Giants trailed 20-10 at half-time at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as the Packers, backed by a raucous crowd, looked set to ease to victory in their first game in the United Kingdom.

However, the Giants flipped the script in the second half to prevail 27-22, with running back Barkley playing a critical role.

Barkley's game appeared as if it could be over in the second half because of a shoulder injury, but he returned after Gary Brightwell punched in a two-yard run to tie the game at 20-20.

And Barkley then took centre stage as the Giants produced a game-winning drive. Barkley moved the Giants inside the red zone with a 41-yard catch and run from Daniel Jones and then took a direct snap into the endzone for a two-yard score that proved decisive despite Green Bay's MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers driving the Packers down to the six-yard line in response.

The Giants were not seen as contenders heading into the season and three wins from the first four games for Brian Daboll's men did little to change that perception.

Asked if a win over the Packers will change minds as to the Giants' legitimacy, Barkley told his post-game press conference: "I don't think it's any statement to the league.

"To be completely honest, it's the NFL. Every time you go against somebody, this isn't college. It isn't like you're playing at Penn State and going against your Week 1 team who is someone you should beat by 40. It's the NFL and it's hard to win in this league.

"For us, we can't even focus on that. If anyone want to take us serious or not, the main thing we got to focus on is interior, inside our building, continue to love the process and continue to get better and continue to lean on each other and find ways to get wins."

The Giants' 4-1 start is their best for 13 years, but Barkley refuses to think too much about their achievements to this point.

"Yeah, it's great start. 4-1. It’s where you want to be. But like I said, you can't get too caught up in it, you've just got to keep working and there's a reason why we're 4-1 and that's because of the process," he added.

"That's because we've got guys coming in and working and believing in the system, setting the culture, setting the standard and following it. That's what it means.

"We've got to continue to do that and if we continue to do that, continue to believe in each other - when we look back at this thing we'll be pretty excited."

The Los Angeles Chargers survived a late scare to defeat the Cleveland Browns 30-28 on Sunday afternoon thanks to a massive performance from running back Austin Ekeler.

Ekeler finished with two of the Chargers' three touchdowns, rushing for 173 yards and a score from 16 carries, and adding 26 yards and a touchdown from four catches.

Both times Ekeler scored he put the Chargers back into the lead in a rollercoaster of a game, where the Browns jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter through touchdowns to focal points Amari Cooper and Nick Chubb.

Chubb's second rushing touchdown gave the Browns a 17-14 lead at half-time, and they were up 28-27 going into the fourth quarter after Kareem Hunt converted a goal-line carry for a touchdown of his own.

Taylor Bertolet's field goal put the Chargers back in front with nine minutes to play, finishing three-for-three with his kicks for the day, and the game looked to be sealed when Browns quarterback Jacoby Brissett threw an interception with under three minutes on the clock.

Needing a couple of first downs to put on the finishing touches, the Chargers were presented with a fourth-and-one at their own 46-yard line, and instead of punting and playing it safe, they went for it and failed.

A short completion gave the Browns a 54-yard field goal opportunity to win the game in the final seconds, but it drifted wide right, with kicker Cade York missing both of his attempts for the game.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert completed 22 of his 34 passes for 228 yards and a touchdown with no turnovers, with his top receiver Mike Williams catching 10 for 134 yards.

Chubb was the offensive star for the Browns, carrying 17 times for 134 yards and two touchdowns.

Bills blow away the Steelers

The Buffalo Bills took their foot off the gas in the second half to coast to a dominant 38-3 victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Wide receiver Gabriel Davis was the star of the show along with quarterback Josh Allen, combining on a 98-yard passing touchdown just 64 seconds into the game. It was the longest touchdown in the NFL this season.

They were not finished there, linking up again to begin the second quarter with a 62-yard touchdown.

Allen added two more touchdown passes in the first half – one to Stefon Diggs and one to Khalil Shakir – to open up a 31-3 lead at the long break, and from there they were never tested.

Another Dolphins quarterback leaves with concussion

Making his first start of the season after Tua Tagovailoa was sidelined with his concussion last week, Miami Dolphins quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was pulled after the first play in a 40-17 loss to the New York Jets.

Bridgewater was evaluated for a concussion and could not return, handing rookie Skylar Thompson his first snaps as a professional. 

Neither team threw for a touchdown in the game, with the Jets rushing for five scores as exciting rookie Breece Hall finished with 18 carries for 97 yards and a touchdown, adding two catches for 100 yards, and goal-line back Michael Carter pushed his way in for two touchdowns.

Adding to the great day for Jets fans was the fourth overall pick from this year's NFL Draft, cornerback Sauce Gardner, recording his first career interception.

Brian Robinson Jr. made his NFL bow on Sunday, as the Washington Commanders rookie played his first game just six weeks after he was shot twice.

The running back survived an attempted robbery in the capital on August 28 and has not played since, but was activated from the non-football injury list ahead of this weekend's game with the Tennessee Titans.

Brought on to a hero's welcome at FedExField, the third-round pick was unable to prevent another loss, which leaves the Commanders' record at 1-4 after a 21-17 defeat.

But Robinson nevertheless notched solid numbers for the NFC East outfit, posting 22 yards from nine carries with an average 2.4 gain.

The 23-year-old will hope his performance earns him further game-time over the coming weeks, with Washington set to travel to the Chicago Bears on Thursday night.