Dak Prescott cannot grip a football, according to Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, but as soon as he is healthy enough to play, Cooper Rush will be headed back to the bench – regardless of how many wins he has racked up.

Rush will reportedly make his fourth straight start since Prescott suffered a fracture near his right thumb in the fourth quarter of the Cowboys’ 19-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the season opener.

Jones said during an interview with 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday that Prescott’s surgically repaired thumb is improving but he cannot grip a football “well enough to play.”

So that means Rush will get the call against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

The Cowboys have won all three games with Rush under center, and although just less than two weeks ago Jones said he would welcome a quarterback controversy between the two because that meant the team was winning, he walked back on that idea Tuesday.

Jones was asked when Prescott is deemed healthy, would the Cowboys stick with Rush if he continues to pile up victories.

"No. No. As I see it right today," Jones said.

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. 

With Sunday’s 25-10 win over the Washington Commanders, Rush became the first quarterback in franchise history to win his first four career starts.

Jones admitted that he never thought the Cowboys would have beaten the Cincinnati Bengals, New York Giants and Commanders in the last three weeks.

“No. No, I did not,” he said.

Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said on Monday that Prescott would need to put in an entire week of practice before he could play, and Jones remains hopeful he will be back practicing before long.

"I don't know that you could ask for better news technically, physically in how it's responding, how it's healing so to speak," Jones said.

"So all of those things are on go and I don't know that as we bid bye to each day if considering the injury, considering the location of the injury, I don't know that you could make any more progress.

"There's some things here about healing that again I often say only the man upstairs knows how that works, but he'll have a big week and he'll be hard on himself getting it ready to go."

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is excited to see the team progress with Kenny Pickett as the starting quarterback, confirming the change ahead of their Week 5 game against the Buffalo Bills.

Pickett replaced Mitch Trubisky at half-time of Sunday's defeat to the New York Jets and, despite the loss, caught the eye with a display that included two rushing touchdowns – making him the first QB since 1970 to score multiple rushing TD's in his first game.

Tomlin was initially coy on Pickett's future following the game against the Jets but, ahead of a challenging trip to face the Bills, he confirmed that the rookie will get his chance to start.

"There are a lot of things to be excited about, there are a lot of things to have urgency with. We have no reservations of what Kenny is going to be capable of in terms of our schematics," he said in Tuesday's press conference.

"We have a level of concern about the environment we are taking him into, you have concerns about any quarterback you take into that environment against that defence and at that venue.

"Kenny has shown us maturity at every moment throughout this process. He's older than most rookies and that was obvious to us leading up to the draft process. The things we value in him from a draft perspective, he's fluid and quick, his decision-making, a pro-like anticipation and things of that nature have proven to be true.

"That's why we took him when we were given the opportunity to do so. Since we acquired him, he has done nothing but fortify that thought process and make some plays, during team development and in pre-season.

"He has continually got better even after the regular season started. We can see the progress; we can see his maturity and readiness. We're excited for him and about him, but we have work as a collective, so we prepare with an edge knowing that."

Tomlin made it clear that while Trubisky's display against the Jets in the first half was a factor in the decision, the blame does not lie solely at the feet of the number two overall draft pick in 2017, who penned a two-year deal with the Steelers in March.

"Often QB gets too much credit, too much blame. We haven't moved the ball fluid enough to our liking, we haven't put enough points on the board, the QB is a component of that but not the only one," he added.

"We've all got to absorb the responsibility and what we haven't done, including myself. When you make a QB change, you're sensitive to that component of it. I don't want to dump responsibility of what transpired at Mitch's feet, that's not fair to him.

"In an effort to be better, to score more points, to move the ball more fluidly, we decided to go to Kenny in hopes that he would provide a spark for us. Hopefully that's a catalyst for us."

Miami Dolphins linebacker Jaelan Phillips has described the controversy surrounding Tua Tagovailoa's concussion as "complicated" following fierce criticism of the team.

Dolphins quarterback Tagovailoa sustained a concussion in Thursday's loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, ruling him out of week five's meeting with the New York Jets.

Tagovailoa also suffered a head injury when he took a heavy fall following a challenge from Matt Milano in week three, but only missed three snaps against the Buffalo Bills despite appearing unsteady on his feet after the incident.

The Dolphins have faced scrutiny for allowing Tagovailoa to return in that game, although defensive tackle Christian Wilkins has since defended the team's practices. 

Phillips joined Wilkins in preaching caution when discussing the NFL's concussion protocols, but said injury concerns were not always "black and white". 

"It's always better to be overcautious when it comes to head injuries," he said.

"I also think that you've got to take the players' and training staff and doctors' words for it. So it's obviously a complicated situation. 

"I think that the league and the PA [National Football League Players Association] doing everything they can to keep us safe is in the best interest, for sure."

Asked about the risks of concussion in football, Phillips added: "It's an assumed risk. It's obviously something that is prevalent in the game, not just with head injuries, but just injuries all around. I think that's kind of what we sign up for.

"Ultimately, it happens. At that point, you just pray for a speedy recovery. But I feel like that's what we signed up for playing this game. 

"It's a violent game. We all know that. We wouldn't play it if we didn't know that. We're compensated well for it. 

"Health is the most important thing, and longevity. So I think that especially with head injuries, you've got to be cautious with that. But at the same time, people do recover from those types of things.

"We're competitors and we love this game and we want to be out there for our team-mates, for our families, for the fans, for everybody. So it's a sliding scale. 

"It's not black and white when it comes to injuries at all. Sometimes you might try to play through something. If you're able to perform, you always want to perform. I mean, that's just the nature of the game that we play. 

"Ultimately, it just depends on the severity of the injury and depends on the person, the situation and all of that."

Phillips has suffered several concussions during his own career, and sympathises with Tagovailoa's condition, adding: "To be honest, that seems like a lifetime ago for me when I had those issues. 

"But I definitely sympathise with Tua and just hope for the best for him. You never want to see your team-mate, your brother, hurting like that."

Sean McVay accepted he made "some bad play calls" and declared the Los Angeles Rams brought defeat upon themselves as they fell to the San Francisco 49ers.

Monday night's 24-9 loss saw the Rams fail to capitalise on several touchdown opportunities, with McVay pointing to "self-inflicted wounds".

San Francisco's Deebo Manuel caught six passes for 115 yards and a highlight-reel touchdown, and when the Rams were still in the game, at 17-9 in arrears, quarterback Matthew Stafford was intercepted by Talanoa Hufanga. That pick-six summed up the Rams' night.

"I liked the way our guys battled, they competed and got it to a one-possession game," said McVay.

"But the story of the night from an offensive perspective was self-inflicted wounds, above-the-neck errors where we're not doing things we're capable of, and I expect us to be better than that.

"Defensively, I know we continue to battle, we gave ourselves a chance. We can tackle better, you credit them for making the plays, and I thought special teams hung tough, but overall we didn't do enough to win the football game.

"I'm not going to make any excuses. We've got to play better. A lot of it was just things where guys we were counting on didn't do what they were supposed to do."

McVay took his share of the blame, saying: "I put us in some bad spots.

"However you want to cut it, we have to be better collectively, coaches and players.  There's no other way around it and no way I know how to fix it other than go back to work."

The Rams will face the Dallas Cowboys, who are on a three-game winning streak, in Week 5.

"Everybody needs to be able to look inward," said McVay. "In the red area, to have three good drives and only come away with nine points in a game that was a back-and-forth battle like that, that ended up being the difference.

"And when you do make it a one-possession game and you've got some momentum, a couple of game first downs and we throw an interception for a touchdown on a screen, those are the things that don't help you win games."

Christian Wilkins is content with the level of care shown by the Miami Dolphins' staff after the team was heavily criticised following Tua Tagovailoa's head injury.

Tagovailoa has been ruled out of the Dolphins' game against the New York Jets in Week 5 after sustaining a concussion in last Thursday's loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Dolphins have come under scrutiny for allowing the quarterback to feature in that game after he suffered a head injury in week three against the Buffalo Bills.

In that game, Tagovailoa missed just three snaps after his helmet slammed into the turf following a tackle from Matt Milano, despite appearing groggy and losing his balance in the aftermath of the incident.

While Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel has insisted concussion protocols were followed correctly, the NFL and National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) conducted a joint review of how the decision was made to allow Tagovailoa to return against the Bengals.

Asked whether he felt the Dolphins demonstrated a duty of care towards their players, defensive tackle Wilkins said: "Oh, absolutely, yeah. We've got a great training staff. 

"We've got great coaches, people who care about the players on this team, and our health and safety, our personal lives, all that stuff. 

"This is our home away from home, so we've got a lot of people who care and it's bigger than just football around here and winning games.

"There's a process to how things need to be handled and need to be done, and there's protocols in place for a reason – to protect the players."

With Teddy Bridgewater set to replace Tagovailoa against the Jets, Wilkins said the Dolphins' "next man up mentality" will help them cope without their starting QB.

"That's obviously tough to see and tough to deal with, but we all had each other's backs. We all had Tua's back and just wishing him well," he added.

"A lot of guys were praying for him and things like that, obviously. He's better now, so we're all happy for that and that he’s feeling better and that he's himself and he's around here. 

"He's being himself and Tua and bringing great energy. So that's obviously the most important thing.

"Tua is a heck of a player. He's a big part of our team and obviously a great leader and a great team-mate. But fortunately for us, we have a lot of great players, a lot of good team-mates. 

"Other guys have just got to step up, other guys got to do their job, and we'll be just fine from that standpoint. 

"We're definitely going to have to come together as a team and just do our jobs, do what we do. It's the next man up mentality and we'll just handle our business."

Deebo Samuel described his tackle-breaking abilities as "second nature" after his outstanding 57-yard catch-and-run touchdown helped the San Francisco 49ers beat the Los Angeles Rams.

Samuel provided the standout moment of an accomplished 49ers performance on Monday, as they prevented the Rams from scoring a single touchdown in a dominant 24-9 home win.

Jimmy Garoppolo looked destined to throw an interception late in the second quarter, only for Samuel to turn a fine catch into a touchdown as he skipped past several Rams challenges.  

The wide receiver caught six passes for 115 yards as the 49ers moved to 2-2 for the season.

"My mentality, it's just me and the ball out there. What happened after that is something that I work on all the time and I got in the box," Samuel said.

"Every time I get the chance to get the ball in my hands, it's just my mentality of trying to make it a big play, but it's just second nature to me right now.

"When I go out there it's just me and the ball. Breaking tackles is just something I do all the time."

Head coach Kyle Shanahan said of Samuel's run: "It was impressive. 

"At first it looked like a pick. It was close, that corner was teeing off on it. 

"We had to wait a little bit because the guy inside, they ran into each other. We had to hesitate just a hair for Deebo to come down with that throw, then he did the rest. 

"When you get the ball in his hands, I think he's shown he does some pretty cool things."

The San Francisco 49ers kept the Los Angeles Rams from scoring a single touchdown as they secured a convincing 24-9 home win on Monday night.

Deebo Samuel was the star on the offensive side of the ball for the 49ers, catching six passes for 115 yards and one highlight-reel touchdown.

After Jeff Wilson Jr scored the first touchdown of the game for the 49ers, Samuel caught a short pass on third-down and ended up breaking three tackles, gaining 50 of the 57 yards on the play after the catch to put his side up 14-6 heading into halftime.

A missed field goal in the fourth quarter at 17-9 meant the Rams would get a chance to tie the game, but a poor showing from quarterback Matthew Stafford was punctuated with a 52-yard pick-six as he was intercepted by Talanoa Hufanga.

Fittingly, the 49ers forced another turnover on the next drive as well, capping off a spectacular performance from their defense in a game where quarterback Jimmy Garropolo only needed to complete 16 passes.

Samson Ebukam and Nick Bosa both collected a pair of sacks each as the 49ers brought down Stafford seven times, and Bosa was credited with five hits on the quarterback in total, while the Rams had one as a team.

Despite the poor offensive game from the Rams, top receiver Cooper Kupp and tight end Tyler Higbee had big days, with Kupp catching 14 of 18 targets for 122 yards while Higbee caught 10 of 14 targets for 73 yards.

The concussed Tua Tagovailoa has been ruled out for the Miami Dolphins' Week 5 game against the New York Jets on Sunday.

After coming under significant scrutiny for the handling of Tagovailoa's Week 3 injury and then the concussion he suffered four days later, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel decided to make it clear on Monday that his starting quarterback won't be suiting up this weekend.

McDaniel told reporters it's still too early to formulate a timeline for when Tagovailoa could return.

Teddy Bridgewater will get the start against the Jets after completing 14-of-23 passes for 193 yards with one touchdown and one interception in relief of Tagovailoa in Thursday's 27-15 loss at Cincinnati.

Tagovailoa was hospitalised in that game after being whipped around and flung to the ground by the Bengals' Josh Tupou, causing his head to snap back onto the turf.

He then laid flat on his back with his hands in front of his face while his fingers bent at awkward angles in a "fencing response" caused by a traumatic blow to the brain.

He was diagnosed with a concussion and McDaniel said he had a headache Thursday night and Friday morning.

The Dolphins have been heavily criticised for having Tagovailoa on the field for that game after what transpired on September 25 in a 21-19 win over the Buffalo Bills.

After being pushed to the ground by linebacker Matt Milano, Tagovailoa's helmet slammed into the turf. He managed to get back on his feet quickly, but after shaking his head and looking woozy, he appeared to lose his balance as he stumbled back to the ground.

He went to the locker room to be assessed by the team's medical staff, with the team announcing a head injury that made him questionable to return.

He only missed three snaps, however, returning for the start of the third quarter – a decision that prompted the NFL and National Football League Players Association to conduct a joint review of how the decision was made to allow Tagovailoa to return.

McDaniel maintained, however, the proper protocols were followed and that Tagovailoa was cleared by the team and the independent neurologist.

The neurotrauma consultant who evaluated and cleared Tagovailoa was fired by the NFLPA on Saturday.

"One thing you can be sure about in life: just when you think that things are never ever going to get better, they suddenly get worse."

The mantra of Victor Meldrew, the curmudgeonly lead character of British sitcom 'One Foot in The Grave' is one that has long since applied to the New York Jets.

As such, it was difficult to envisage anything other than a painful ending to the Jets' Week 4 game with the Pittsburgh Steelers, which saw Zach Wilson – returning from a preseason knee injury that once looked as if it would end his 2022 campaign before it started – given three minutes and 35 seconds to drive his team down 65 yards for a game-winning touchdown. 

The fact he succeeded in doing so and the manner in which he achieved that feat suggests head coach Robert Saleh may soon be able to start pulling out the receipts he so emphatically spoke of in the face of questions about criticism of his team following a meek season-opening 24-9 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Wilson's raw numbers – a completion percentage of 50, 252 passing yards, one touchdown and two interceptions – along with a well-thrown percentage of 77.4 (below the average of 79 for the week) do not illustrate an overly impressive performance from a quarterback the franchise is hoping and praying will make the leap in his second year in the NFL.

And in many ways, Wilson's display was a 'greatest hits' of everything that makes observers doubt his ability to make the grade at the highest level. He struggled under pressure, missed throws, attempted dangerous desperation heaves and, unsurprisingly, committed turnovers that on another day might have proved backbreaking.

Yet Wilson never lost the confidence he exuded on the Jets' first touchdown drive, which saw him hit Elijah Moore on a perfectly timed deep comeback and go back to the same receiver on the deep dig before he then caught the ball for the score from Braxton Berrios on a trick play he celebrated with the 'gritty' dance.

There was both grit and that same confidence on show as Wilson then led the Jets on successive touchdown drives to turn around a 20-10 deficit to secure the victory.

He hit Corey Davis in stride on fourth down to keep the first of those drives alive before connecting with Davis again on the whip route for a five-yard touchdown after a succession of red-zone penalties threatened to stall the Jets' progress.

Wilson was six for six passing on the final drive, producing another pinpoint downfield throw to Davis to help set up Breece Hall's two-yard touchdown run to stun a Steelers crowd ready to crown Kenny Pickett as their saviour after he replaced Mitchell Trubisky at half-time.

Both Wilson and the Jets still have a long way to go, the downs that came with the critical ups in this game reiterated as much. Yet his showing also demonstrated how effective he could become with a talented supporting cast around him.

The Jets' offensive line has been hit by injuries, but between Hall, Davis, Moore and standout rookie namesake Garrett Wilson, last year's second overall pick has the skill position players around him to make significant strides in 2022.

Garrett Wilson (two receptions for 41 yards) was kept relatively quiet by his early-season standards, but Davis (five for 74 yards and a touchdown) and Moore (three for 53) shone when it mattered for the Jets, while Hall's 66-yard effort contained flashes of the upside on the ground that convinced the Jets to take him in the second round.

A big-ticket signing in free agency last year, Davis is repaying the Jets' investment in him by registering a burn, which is when a receiver wins his matchup with a defender on a play where he is targeted, on 18 of his 24 targets. His burn rate of 75 per cent is the best among receivers with at least 20 targets. He also leads all wideouts in burn yards per target (17.16) and big-play rate (56.1 per cent).

Garrett Wilson is averaging 3.7 burn yards per route, well above the average of 3.0, and all three of the Jets' top trio of wideouts have double-digit receptions for first downs. Davis has racked up 13, Garrett Wilson has 12 and Moore 10. Hall, meanwhile, is averaging 4.7 yards per attempt and has put up 3.24 yards before contact per rush (the average for backs with at least 10 attempts is 2.51), showing burst that was doubted by some draftniks prior to his selection by the Jets.

On the other side of the ball, however, there are still doubts about a defense that has allowed 12 offensive touchdowns, tied for the third-most in the NFL, even after a performance in which they picked off Trubisky once and Pickett three times.

While the Steelers were missing star edge rusher T.J. Watt and dealing with sub-par play at quarterback, a win on the road in Pittsburgh is one that should breed confidence in the ecosystem and in Wilson.

Games against the Miami Dolphins, Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos present a challenging immediate road ahead for Wilson but after his fourth-quarter heroics in Pittsburgh, there is room for confidence that this time, with this quarterback and this surrounding cast, things will finally get better for the Jets.

The Denver Broncos have lost Javonte Williams for the rest of the season after the second-year running back tore his ACL, LCL and PCL in his right knee in Sunday's 32-23 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.

Tests on Monday revealed the severity of the injury for Williams, who was carted off the field following the first play of the third quarter on Sunday after being tackled by Maxx Crosby for a one-yard loss.

It’s a significant loss for a Denver team off to a sputtering start to the season offensively that will now have to rely more on Melvin Gordon.

Williams and Gordon have been sharing the workload in Denver's backfield, but Williams has been outperforming his counterpart.

A second-round pick in the 2021 draft, the 22-year-old Williams has rushed for 204 yards on 47 attempts for an average of 4.4 yards per carry. Gordon, who is in his eighth pro season, has run for 139 yards on 37 carries for an average of 3.8 yards per attempt.

Gordon has also had trouble holding onto the ball, fumbling for the fourth time on Sunday.

He has twice as many fumbles than any other running back in the NFL and his fumble rate of 8.7 fumbles per touch is the worst in the league among the 92 running backs with at least 10 carries.

Off to a 2-2 start, the Broncos have a short week with a Thursday game against the Indianapolis Colts.

Jonathan Taylor's knee injury is reportedly not thought to be serious, though the Indianapolis Colts' star is a doubt for their clash with the Denver Broncos on Thursday.

Taylor was injured as the Colts' uneven start to the season continued with a 24-17 defeat to AFC South rivals the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

The defeat dropped the Colts to 1-2-1, with Indianapolis once again struggling to justify considerable offseason hype.

An extended absence for Taylor, who last year led the NFL with 1,811 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground, would deal another substantial blow to the Colts' hopes of returning to the postseason.

NFL Media's Ian Rapoport calmed fears of Taylor being out for the long term, but pointed out that the tight turnround could make it difficult for him to feature in Week 5.

The Colts are only half a game back in the AFC South race, but another defeat to a conference opponent in the Broncos would leave them in a potentially much more significant hole.

For Taylor's part, he was unsure whether he would be healthy to feature in Denver.

He told reporters of his ankle injury: "It just tweaked up a little bit, but I'm feeling good now.

"It was a lot of commotion going on. Things just happen so fast on the field. It's crazy."

Asked about his status for the meeting with the Broncos, Taylor replied: "I'm not sure yet, but we'll see how things are tomorrow [Monday] morning."

Dan Campbell vowed to "look at everything" after the Detroit Lions' defense produced a miserable performance in a 48-45 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

While few anticipated the Lions to emerge as contenders in Campbell's second season as head coach, there were expectations of a significant upturn after a talent-poor team stayed competitive throughout 2021, a campaign that was followed by a strong offseason.

Yet such expectations look misplaced after a 1-3 start in which the Lions have scored an NFL-high 140 points but conceded 141, also more than any other team in the league. They are the first team in NFL history to have scored and conceded at least 140 points in their opening four games.

The Seahawks and Lions combined for 93 points and 1,075 total yards of offense (Seattle – 555 yards; Detroit – 520 yards). It marked the second game in NFL history in which two teams combined for at least 90 points and 1,075 total yards of offense, joining the Cincinnati Bengals at the Cleveland Browns in Week 2 of the 2007 season. 

The Lions allowed 10.7 yards per pass play and 7.1 yards per rush in a game in which Seattle converted nine of their 12 third downs.

Campbell showed last season he is not afraid to make mid-season coaching changes, taking over play-calling duties from then offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn after an 0-8 start in 2021.

But he defended defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn despite that unit's ineptitude seeing a sensational offensive performance go to waste.

"I just don't feel our swagger," Campbell said. "I mean, we knew if we could get this team in second-and-long that would go a long way and then, we would — you would need to produce because it's been an area where that team has not been as good. And boy, we didn't make the most of it.

"Now look, they got us in a couple of third downs there late, third-and-longs that we have not been exposed to yet. And they gutted us. They got us good. And it was good designs by them, good play designs and in critical moments, they — it was good. It was real good by them.

"I've got a lot of faith in Aaron Glenn," Campbell said. "I've got a ton of faith in those assistants, and I think it's just — I think we sit down and I think we look at everything together.

"Because really, I think more than anything maybe it's time for a deep dive, a real deep dive into it. Players, everything that we're doing, but I also trust what he's doing.

"And there's a reason why I hired him, and so I want to let him do his job. But certainly, I'm going — I mean, I've got to look a lot deeper than I have."

New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh lauded returning quarterback Zach Wilson following Sunday's 24-20 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Jets looked set for a third loss of the season when Steelers rookie Kenny Pickett scored two rushing touchdowns to hand the hosts a 20-10 second-half lead in Pennsylvania.

However, the first-round draft pick threw three interceptions as the Jets had the last laugh, with Breece Hall sealing victory when he ran for a two-yard touchdown with 16 seconds remaining.

Wilson – featuring for the first time since he suffered a knee injury in the Jets' preseason opener – was crucial to their revival, completing 10 of his 12 passes for 128 yards and a touchdown in a brilliant fourth quarter.

Speaking after the win, Saleh hailed Wilson's ability to handle pressure, declaring: "Zach doesn't flinch.

"I'm sure there were a couple of plays he wishes he had back. But he got us out of a lot of bad situations with his mobility. I thought he played a pretty good game, [for] his first game back."

Wilson himself, meanwhile, was delighted by the Jets' late show, adding: "All the ups and downs of trying to overcome adversity, it was just such a good win.

"I think there was so much growth those last two minutes as an offense, executing a drive as clean as it was and punching it in. It was just awesome

"It's just the NFL, man. We had some good things early, we scored, then things got stalled out. 

"My mentality is just keep doing my job, keep chipping away. That was my message and that's what everybody did. 

"There was some frustration, but it was the right frustration. That was a cool opportunity for us to lose a lead like that and come all the way back for the win."

Asked whether he was convinced the Jets would get over the line on their decisive late drive, Wilson added: "Yeah, 100 per cent from the beginning. 

"I think there was no doubt in our minds, especially when I hit a couple of quick passes, we hit a couple of runs as an offense. You could just feel it."

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."