Manchester United are a better side without Cristiano Ronaldo and need to offload the forward at the earliest possible opportunity, according to Gary Neville.
Ronaldo was left out of the squad for Saturday's 1-1 draw with Chelsea after refusing to come on as a substitute and heading for the tunnel early in the 2-0 win over Tottenham.
Despite finishing as United's top scorer last season, the Portugal international has started just two of United's 11 Premier League matches under Erik ten Hag this term.
United have shown encouraging signs in the absence of Ronaldo, and former team-mate Neville believes the time is right for the player and the club to mutually part ways.
"Cristiano Ronaldo is going to have to go somewhere else and play every week because he can't accept being on the bench," Neville told Sky Sports.
"That's fine, but end it this week or create a truce to get to the World Cup and then end it. It has to end."
United have failed to win or indeed score in both league matches Ronaldo has started this season, losing 4-0 at Brentford and drawing 0-0 with Newcastle United.
That compares to six wins in the nine league games Ronaldo has not started, with United scoring 16 times at an average of 1.8 per game.
"There aren't many Manchester United fans who would now have Ronaldo in their starting eleven," added Neville, who spent two decades on United's books.
"They are better without him – they score more goals without him and they win more points without him. Manchester United are a better team without him.
"For me, Erik ten Hag had no other option. That's the second time Ronaldo has left Old Trafford before his team-mates have got into the changing room. That is unacceptable.
"When you look at whether Ronaldo should be selected, as great a player as he's been, Manchester United are better without him.
"Erik ten Hag knows that, so I think the only thing the club and Ronaldo can do is get together in this next week or so and end the relationship.
"Cristiano is too good a player, too fantastic a character and the club have got to move on.
"Ronaldo can't accept not being the star man in Manchester United's team so he's going to have to leave – that's it."
Ronaldo has been directly involved in three goals this season (two goals and one assist), a tally bettered only by Jadon Sancho (4), Anthony Martial (5) and Marcus Rashford (8).
He has played 691 minutes, which is only the 12th most of all United players, but another former United favourite in Roy Keane insists Ronaldo is being unfairly treated.
"I'm trying to see this from the player's point of view – he's obviously had enough," Keane said. "He lost his head [against Spurs]. That's been brewing over the last few weeks.
"I'm going to try and defend him. He's a human being and has got flaws, feeling frustrated that he's not getting opportunities and he's had enough.
"He walked down the tunnel but players have done worse things at Manchester United – it happens, it's human nature.
"Everyone was saying after the Spurs game it was United's best performance in years. Absolute rubbish. Spurs were terrible.
"Ronaldo got a hat-trick when United beat Spurs last season at home, so he's more than capable of getting on the pitch and making a difference."
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola wants more from Kevin De Bruyne who he says is not playing at his top level despite a stunning goal in Saturday's 3-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion.
The two-time Premier League Player of the Season fired in City's third goal with a curling right-foot shot from just beyond the box to seal the points in the 75th minute.
Since De Bruyne's Premier League debut for City in September 2015, he has scored more goals from outside the box than any other player in the competition in this period (24).
The goal was the 31-year-old Belgian's second of the Premier League season while he has also contributed nine assists, yet Guardiola is expecting more.
"He can be better. He's not playing at his top level, not yet," Guardiola told reporters.
"He made a fantastic goal but he's not playing his best. He knows. I don’t have to tell him. His dynamic still is not perfect, he knows that. I spoke with him. The goal is outstanding.
"Thanks to him we didn’t suffer in the last 15, 20 minutes when the game was more open… Kevin made a masterclass action so we win the game."
Erling Haaland continued his remarkable form with a first-half double, meaning he became the first City player to score in seven consecutive home games in all competitions since Sergio Aguero in February 2018.
The Norwegian showcased his pace and physicality to open the scoring in the 22nd minute, before emphatically converting a 43rd-minute penalty with a powerful strike.
"I would say that [Haaland]] has the quality in bigger spaces, he can do it and in smaller spaces he can do it," Guardiola said. "This is the reality.
"He is fantastic. The numbers and everything, the way he kicked the penalty, the quality, he did it."
Haaland's goal which made it 2-0 was City's 600th in the Premier League under Guardiola, making him the third manager to achieve that feat behind Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.
Joel Embiid scored 40 points but it was not enough to prevent the Philadelphia 76ers from slumping to a 0-3 start to the new NBA season after a 114-105 home loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.
James Harden had minimal impact in the second half as Spurs small forward Doug McDermott took control with an eight-point burst, capping his 14 points, which all came in the second half.
The 76ers, who had been beaten by contenders, the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks, to open their season, squandered Embiid's huge game where he shot 14-of-25 from the field and hauled down 13 rebounds with two blocks.
Harden only added 12 points on four-of-18 shooting, making one-of-six three-point attempts. The former MVP provided 12 assists with nine rebounds and two blocks, but was inconspicuous in the second half with the game up for grabs, with the Spurs defense denying him good looks.
Tyrese Maxey contributed 25 points for the 76ers, including three triples, but Philadelphia slumped to their first 0-3 start since 2016-17.
Devin Vassell (22 points with nine-of-14 field shooting, including four three-pointers) and Keldon Johnson (21 points with eight rebounds) were San Antonio's most productive offensive players.
Mitchell betters LeBron start for Cavs
Donovan Mitchell scored 32 points as he claimed his first win as a Cleveland Cavaliers player in their 128-96 victory over the Chicago Bulls in their home season opener.
Mitchell achieved a feat that not even LeBron James could, becoming the first Cavs player with back-to-back 30-point games to open a season.
The All-Star, who made a high-profile trade from the Utah Jazz to the Cavs in the off-season, landed four-of-six from beyond the arc with nine rebounds and eight assists.
Zach LaVine returned after off-season knee surgery that forced him to miss Chicago's opening two games to top score for the Bulls with 23 points.
Giannis powers Bucks past Rockets
Giannis Antetokounmpo only needed 28 minutes to put on an MVP-like display as the Milwaukee Bucks routed the Houston Rockets 125-105 in their home opener at Fiserv Forum.
Antetokounmpo scored 44 points, shooting 17-of-21 from the field with two three-pointers, along with 12 rebounds and three assists.
The Greek forward became Milwaukee's all-time free throws leader, shooting eight-of-13 from the stripe to exceed Sidney Moncrief's 3,505 record, before sitting out with 8:08 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Jayson Tatum also scored 40 points to lead the 3-0 Boston Celtics past the 0-3 Orlando Magic 126-120, while Paul George had 40 in the Los Angeles Clippers' 111-109 win over the Sacramento Kings.
Manchester United scrambled a draw at Chelsea without Cristiano Ronaldo as Casemiro's late heroics saved the day for Erik ten Hag.
That was the climax to a four-game Premier League programme on Saturday, and it was one that saw Liverpool slip up at their bogey ground, Manchester City go past 600 Premier League goals in the Pep Guardiola era, and Everton finally find some scoring form at Goodison Park.
City have closed the gap on leaders Arsenal to one point, ahead of the Gunners' trip to Southampton on Sunday.
Here, Stats Perform picks out the best facts from the day's Premier League action.
Chelsea 1-1 Manchester United: Casemiro saves the day for Red Devils
Jorginho's 87th-minute penalty looked set to be the winner, but Casemiro had other ideas, heading home to earn a point for United in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
Only Arsenal (12) and Chelsea (9) have had more different Brazilians score a Premier League goal for them than United, after Casemiro became the eighth on their list. The goal, time at 93:28, was United's latest equaliser in a league game since Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored at the death in April 2017 against Everton (93:41).
Jorginho has now scored 19 of his 22 penalties in the Premier League for Chelsea, with only Frank Lampard having netted more spot-kicks for the Blues in the competition (41).
Setting aside the late drama, the outcome should come as little surprise. No Premier League fixture has been drawn as often as Chelsea against United (26 draws). Seven of the past nine such meetings have finished level now, including each of the past five.
Chelsea are now winless in their past 10 Premier League games against United (D7 L3) – only against Blackburn Rovers (12 games between 1992 and 1998) and Arsenal (19 between 1995 and 2005) have they ever had a longer winless run in the competition.
Raheem Sterling lasted 79 minutes before being replaced. He has now faced United 24 times in all competitions in his professional career, more than any other opponent, but has never scored past them, despite attempting 38 shots across those games (15 on target).
Nottingham Forest 1-0 Liverpool: Klopp rattled by City Ground slip-up
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp picked fault with his team's finishing after this painful defeat, pointing to misses by Roberto Firmino and Virgil van Dijk, but this was just the latest in a line of disappointments in Nottingham for the Anfield giants.
Liverpool have never won in six Premier League away games against Forest (D3 L3), making the City Ground the only stadium where the Reds have played more than once in the competition and never won.
Taking in results from the pre-Premier League era, Liverpool have failed to win on any of their past 13 league trips to Forest (D7 L6).
This was their first visit on league duty since 1999, with a once-fierce rivalry having been on hold during Forest's time outside the top flight. The outcome gave Forest a first home success in the competition over Liverpool since a 1-0 victory in March 1996.
Liverpool have cause for concern: they have failed to win any of their first five away games in a Premier League season for the first time since 2006-07 under Rafael Benitez, and they have three league defeats in 2022-23 already, one more than in the whole of the 2021-22 campaign.
Match-winner Taiwo Awoniyi became the first Forest player to score in each of his first three Premier League starts at the City Ground, lifting Steve Cooper's team off the foot of the table.
Manchester City 3-1 Brighton and Hove Albion: Haaland matches Aguero, De Bruyne goes level with Silva
Erling Haaland has gone off hat-tricks, but doubles will do fine for now. With two goals against Brighton, he became the first City player to score in seven consecutive home games in all competitions since Sergio Aguero in February 2018. The Norwegian has 15 goals in those seven matches. His second goal was City's 600th in the Premier League since Guardiola took charge for the 2016-17 season.
Kevin De Bruyne was no bystander in this victory, putting the seal on the success with a fine second-half strike after Leandro Trossard closed the gap. De Bruyne has been directly involved in 153 Premier League goals for City (59 goals, 94 assists), with Saturday's effort putting him level with David Silva's goal involvements tally for the club (60 goals, 93 assists) and behind only Aguero (231 – 184 goals, 47 assists).
City have won 10 consecutive Premier League games at the Etihad Stadium, including all six this season. This is the fifth time they have begun a Premier League campaign by winning their opening six home matches (also 2007-08, 2011-12, 2013-14 and 2018-19).
While City thrive, Brighton are fading. Roberto De Zerbi has become the fourth manager/head coach to fail to win any of his first five league games with the club, after Barry Lloyd (first 12), Don Welsh (first 8) and George Curtis (first 5).
The Seagulls remain winless away to City in all 13 league visits in their history (D2 L11), losing their last nine.
Everton 3-0 Crystal Palace: Toffees end slide, pass goals milestone
After consecutive losses to Manchester United, Tottenham and Newcastle United, Everton got back on track thanks to goals from Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Anthony Gordon and substitute Dwight McNeil.
Calvert-Lewin's opener was Everton's 1,500th goal in the Premier League, making the Toffees the seventh side to reach that total and the first since Manchester City in January 2021.
It was raining goals by recent Everton standards, with Frank Lampard's team having only managed three goals in total across their five previous Premier League games this season.
Graham Potter accepted Manchester United deserved their late equaliser in Saturday's 1-1 draw as Chelsea did not do enough to take all three points.
Casemiro's 94th-minute header – United's latest equaliser in the Premier League since Zlatan Ibrahimovic struck against Everton in April 2017 – cancelled out Jorginho's 87th-minute penalty at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea were second best for most of the first half, but Potter's decision to bring on Mateo Kovacic for Marc Cucurella and switch to a back four before the break helped stem the flow.
While fourth-placed Chelsea did improve and finished with an expected goals (xG) value of 1.07, compared to 0.85 for United, Potter did not feel hard done after a draw that kept his side a point ahead of the Red Devils.
"I can't stand here and say we deserved to win. The two teams had a go and a point is about right," the Blues head coach told BBC Sport. "It wasn't from a lack of trying – the boys gave everything.
"When you score as late as you do there's a feeling you've dropped points but over the course of the game a point is about right.
"There are lots of positives in terms of the amount of effort the boys put into the game. United were better than us for the first 30 minutes and we had to respond and I felt we did.
"When we scored, because of how hard fought it has been it is hard to control things going into the box. We have to accept the point and dust ourselves down to go again."
Chelsea have now played out five successive stalemates with United in what is the most drawn fixture in Premier League history (26 in total).
Kepa Arrizabalaga fell just short of keeping a sixth straight clean sheet, and what would have been a fourth in a row in the league for Chelsea for the first time since March 2021.
The Spain international got a hand to Casemiro's header but the ball came back off the frame of the goal and landed over the goal-line.
"Kepa was a bit unlucky but it's only just gone in and the first goal we have conceded in a while. We have to take the positives," Potter added.
"I thought we could've attacked a bit better at times. We had chances, they had chances, so a point is about right."
Casemiro ended Chelsea's defensive resilience with a 94th-minute header to rescue a dramatic 1-1 draw for Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Jorginho put the Blues in front by converting a penalty with three minutes of normal time remaining following Scott McTominay's foul on Armando Broja.
But United, who left Cristiano Ronaldo out of their squad for disciplinary reasons, found a leveller through Casemiro's first goal for the club in the dying embers after defender Raphael Varane had limped off in tears.
The Red Devils remain a point behind fourth-placed Chelsea, who were unable to hold on for what would have been a sixth consecutive clean sheet, in the Premier League table.
Brahim Diaz, Divock Origi and Rafael Leao fired Milan to a 4-1 win over Serie A new boys Monza – the club run by Silvio Berlusconi and Adriano Galliani.
The off-field power-brokers at Milan for over 30 years, owner Berlusconi and CEO Galliani have succeeded in taking Monza into the Italian top flight, but this was a reminder of how far they still have to come.
Diaz scored twice in the first half to put Scudetto holders Milan in charge at the break, and former Liverpool striker Divock Origi opened his account for the club to extend their lead.
Filippo Ranocchia reduced the deficit with a spectacular strike, but Leao had the final say, with Monza unable to reprise the level of performance that earned them a shock win over Juventus last month.
Diaz waltzed through the Monza defence in the 16th minute to open the scoring, surging from halfway before skilfully directing the ball past Michele Di Gregorio when coming under a last-ditch challenge.
Monza's Dany Mota should have levelled in the 28th minute but sent his close-range flying header straight at Milan goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu.
Diaz doubled Milan's lead in the 41st minute when he collected a pass from Origi, stepped past defender Luca Caldirola and lashed a fierce right-footed strike across Di Gregorio and inside the left post.
Suffering with an apparent hamstring problem, Diaz was substituted early in the second half and was replaced by Charles de Ketelaere. Origi rifled the third goal in fine style in the 65th minute, lashing into the top-right corner from the edge of the penalty area.
Ranocchia pulled one back with a 30-yard free-kick in the 65th minute that Tatarusanu reached but could not keep out, before Leao swept home Milan's fourth from 15 yards in the 84th minute.
Russell Wilson has been ruled out of the Denver Broncos' plans for Sunday's Week 7 clash with the New York Jets.
The quarterback suffered a hamstring injury in the 19-16 overtime defeat to the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday.
He played through the pain barrier in the late stages of that game but will not be risked this weekend, the Broncos confirmed.
It means Brett Rypien will play against the 4-2 Jets, making just his second start in the NFL. Coincidentally, his first also came against the Jets, with Rypien throwing two touchdown passes for the Broncos in a 37-28 win in October 2020.
On Friday, the Broncos listed Wilson as questionable for the clash with the Jets, while head coach Nathaniel Hackett said the team would make a "game-time decision" on his involvement.
That situation has now progressed, with Wilson unavailable as the Broncos look to improve on their 2-4 start to the season.
Nine-time Pro Bowl QB Wilson has completed just 58.6 per cent of his passes since arriving in a March trade with the Seattle Seahawks, landing a five-year, $245million contract.
Against the Chargers, Wilson finished the first quarter with a perfect 10 completions, including a touchdown, but he completed just five of his subsequent 18 passes.
The San Francisco 49ers' running game hasn't quite performed at the standard they would have hoped so far in 2022, but they made a blockbuster move to address that on Thursday by trading for two-time All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey
San Francisco traded a second, third and fourth-round pick in the 2023 draft as well as a fifth-rounder in 2024 to prise McCaffrey from the Carolina Panthers.
At his best, McCaffrey can be one of the most devastating playmakers in the NFL. Back in 2019, he became only the third player after former 49ers great Roger Craig and Marshall Faulk to rack up 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in the same season.
In the two subsequent seasons, however, McCaffrey played only 10 games because of injury and will carry a cap hit of at least $12million in each of the next three seasons.
While he has played every game so far in 2022, giving up that level of draft capital and committing to pay that contract -- though it could be restructured in the offseason -- for a player with McCaffrey's durability problems represents a significant risk.
The 49ers' average of 4.43 yards per carry is 14th in the NFL, though they rank ninth in Efficiency versus Expected -- which compares the projected yards to the actual yards gained or prevented in specific situations -- on run plays.
San Francisco's run game has not produced at an elite level so far in 2022, but it is among the most efficient in the NFL.
The level of compensation paid to land McCaffrey suggests the 49ers believe he can lift their rushing attack to the very top of the league, but can he do enough to justify the outlay spent on him?
Still a potent running threat
Despite playing behind an offensive line in Carolina that ranks 30th in run block win rate, McCaffrey has, through the first six weeks, produced a compelling argument that he is one of the most dangerous running backs in the NFL.
While his 393 rushing yards are only good enough for 14th in the NFL, his advanced numbers illustrate his value running the ball.
His yards before contact average of 2.29 yards is below the league average of 2.5, with that figure a reflection of the disappointing blocking of the offensive line in Carolina.
However, McCaffrey did an impressive job of overcoming the Panthers' futility in the trenches, putting up 2.44 yards after contact per attempt, above the average of 2.05.
Additionally, he is also averaging 3.36 yards per carry on runs where there is a disruption by a defender, again above the league-wide mark of 3.05 and just below that of Saquon Barkley (3.37), who is second in the NFL in rushing yards with 616.
Though the Niners, who possess a young interior offensive line, are just 16th in run block win rate, that still represents a marked improvement on Carolina's performance in that area, indicating McCaffrey will benefit from blocking that will enable him to rack up more yardage in the backfield, rather than having to limit the negative impact of defenders taking advantage of blown blocks to break into the backfield.
Yet his rushing production is just part of the appeal with McCaffrey, with the potential added dimension offered by his significant receiving upside surely a huge factor in the 49ers' decision to part with such a substantial package of draft picks.
The receiving gold standard
Despite battling injuries for each of the past two seasons, McCaffrey still has an extremely strong claim for being considered the premier receiving running back in the NFL.
Since 2017, when he was drafted eighth overall by the Panthers, only the New Orleans Saints' Alvin Kamara (3,454) has racked up more receiving yards among running backs than McCaffrey (3,292).
However, Kamara has played 78 games to McCaffrey's 64 in that time and the per game numbers skew heavily in the latter's favour. McCaffrey has averaged 51.4 receiving yards per game across his career, the most among running backs since 2017, compared to 44.3 for Kamara in second. No running back has more receptions for first downs than McCaffrey (174) in that span while only Austin Ekeler (26) and Kamara (20) have more receptions for touchdowns than his 18.
This season, though the Panthers targeted him 43 times in the passing game -- only Ekeler (48) has more among backs -- McCaffrey's production through the air has not been efficient.
He has produced a burn, which is when a receiver wins his matchup on a defender on a play where he is targeted, on 17 of his 43 targets. His burn rate of 39.6 per cent is below the league average at his position of 47.6, and he has delivered a big play on 11 per cent of targets (the average this season for backs is 12.7).
Yet his final weeks in Carolina were ones with a team clearly ill-equipped to maximise his talents.
San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan should have no such problems, with McCaffrey likely to benefit from his new play-caller's ingenuity and from playing alongside another of the league's most versatile offensive weapons.
Doubling up on wide backs
McCaffrey may be the NFL's best pass-catching running back, and he is joining the league's top ball-carrying wide receiver, Deebo Samuel, on the San Francisco offense.
Last season, Samuel set the NFL record for rushing touchdowns by a wide receiver in a single season, eight of his 14 touchdowns coming on the ground.
When lined up as a running back for a downhill carry in 2021, Samuel averaged 6.58 yards per rush. He recorded 4.11 yards before contact per attempt, 2.67 yards after contact and averaged 4.77 yards per attempt on carries where there was a run disruption by a defender, his remarkable proficiency in the self-termed 'wide back' role fuelling San Francisco's surge to the NFC Championship Game.
This season, Samuel has 19 carries from the running back spot and is averaging 6.53 yards per rush and 4.61 yards after contact per attempt.
Erling Haaland got back on the goal trail as his first-half double helped Manchester City to a 3-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
The Norwegian was kept quiet as City fell to their first defeat of the Premier League season at Liverpool last Sunday, but he bounced back in convincing fashion by putting the Seagulls to the sword.
Haaland was the beneficiary of an Ederson assist when he tapped into an empty net for his first, then rifled home a penalty to double up shortly before half-time.
Leandro Trossard dragged Brighton back into contention after the break, but Pep Guardiola's champions weathered the storm before Kevin De Bruyne made the points safe with a trademark long-range strike.
City toiled as Brighton kept things tight in the opening 20 minutes, but the hosts benefitted from a more direct approach when Haaland latched onto Ederson's lofted ball before shrugging off Aaron Webster to score the opener.
Lewis Dunk denied De Bruyne with a last-ditch block following a give-and-go with Jack Grealish 10 minutes later, but the Brighton defender was at fault when Haaland extended City's lead.
After a lengthy VAR review ruled Dunk had tripped Bernardo Silva in a crowded penalty area, Haaland blasted the spot-kick into the bottom-right corner, giving Robert Sanchez no chance.
However, Brighton needed just eight minutes to half the arrears after the break, as Trossard cut inside from the left before beating Ederson at his near post from 18 yards out, Solly March with the assist.
Trossard then forced Ederson into a reflex save as Brighton continued to push, but their efforts were undone when De Bruyne picked out the top-left corner with 15 minutes remaining, having been teed up by Silva.
Defending Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich kept up the pressure on surprise pacesetters Union Berlin with a 2-0 win at Hoffenheim.
Julian Nagelsmann had been disappointed his side did not score more in Bayern's 5-2 win at Augsburg in the DFB-Pokal in midweek.
Bayern were also guilty of letting chances go begging in this league clash against his former club, but goals from Jamal Musiala and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting proved enough for them to come through a tricky test.
They are now a point behind Union, who will be expected to restore a four-point advantage when they visit bottom side Bochum on Sunday.
Serge Gnabry and Choupo-Moting forced Oliver Baumann into early saves and Bayern soon made their superiority count when Leon Goretzka headed a corner into the path of an unmarked Musiala at the far post to tuck home a simple finish.
Goretzka was then too casual with his close-range effort after being teed up by Choupo-Moting, with Musiala's follow-up from Baumann's save cleared off the line.
Gnabry saw his effort from a tight angle kept out by Baumann before Sven Ulreich was tested for the first time at the other end following good work from Georginio Rutter.
Musiala hit the side-netting at the end of a well-worked move but the similarly impressive Choupo-Moting made no mistake with an emphatic finish after ghosting into the box to receive a pinpoint return pass from Gnabry.
Bayern took their foot off the gas in the second half, though substitute Marcel Sabitzer might have added a third if not for a fine save with his legs by Baumann.
Not every NFL week is going to be filled with great games. The law of averages says there will be some clunkers.
But it only takes one game to spice up a Sunday, and Week 7 has such a contest in the form of a Super Bowl rematch.
The Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV three seasons ago, the Niners failing to finish the job in Miami having led 20-10 with seven minutes remaining.
San Francisco's first chance for a measure of revenge comes on Sunday, when the 49ers host the Chiefs in a game SmartRatings sees as the best of the week.
SmartRatings is a Stats Perform AI-based platform that provides excitement ratings for sporting events, teams and players. The excitement scale, ranging from 0-100, is powered by complex algorithms that are predicated upon six primary variables: pace, parity, novelty, momentum, context and social buzz.
The weight of each variable is dynamic and adapts as a season progresses. The excitement scale translates to the following general sub-ranges: 0-39 (Dull Game), 40-64 (OK Game), 65-84 (Good Game), 85-100 (Great Game).
Here, we take a look at Chiefs-49ers clash in the Bay Area and two other games viewed as the most exciting of Week 7 and the key matchups that could decide them.
Green Bay Packers @ Washington Commanders
SmartRating: 54
Win Probability: Packers 74.2%
Key Matchup: Allen Lazard vs. Washington cornerbacks
Randall Cobb's injury means Aaron Rodgers has even fewer receivers he can trust, so Lazard can expect plenty of targets to come his way as the Packers look to end a two-game losing run.
The numbers suggest Lazard will be able to find joy against a vulnerable Washington secondary.
Lazard has won his matchup with a defender, which Stats Perform labels as a 'burn', on 21 of his 32 targets. His burn rate of 65.6 per cent is above the league average of 60.6 for receivers with a minimum of 20 targets.
He has produced a big play on 12 of those targets, good for a big play rate of 37.2 that is 10th among wideouts (min. 20 targets).
Washington's starting corners, Benjamin St. Juste and Kendall Fuller, have allowed 12.27 and 13.15 burn yards per target respectively -- the average for corners with at least 20 targets is 10.05.
Both have given up a big play on over 30 per cent of their targets -- St. Juste (31.3%), Fuller (36%) -- at a position where the average is 25.5. In other words, Rodgers and Lazard should theoretically be able to thrive against both starting corners. If they do, the Packers' passing game might finally get on track and boost Green Bay's hopes of a deep playoff push many anticipated before their underwhelming start.
Indianapolis Colts @ Tennessee Titans
SmartRating: 60
Win Probability: Colts 54.4%
Key Matchup: Jeffery Simmons vs. Quenton Nelson
The AFC South is turning into a dogfight, with the 3-2 Titans leading the 3-2-1 Colts by half a game going into this divisional clash.
For the Colts to make sure the tie with the Houston Texans that separates them and the Titans does not prove costly down the stretch, they need to knock off Tennessee.
Doing that will involve stopping Jeffery Simmons, who has been a force on the interior of the Tennessee defense.
Simmons has beaten a pass protector on 18 of his 23 pressures this season. Only four interior defensive linemen have defeated a blocker on a pressure more often.
However, the Colts have a left guard in Quenton Nelson who has once again been one of the NFL's elite at his position in 2022.
Nelson has allowed a pressure on just 3.1 per cent of his pass protection snaps, giving him the sixth-best pressure rate among guards with at least 100 snaps this season.
The Colts will at least need to slow down Simmons for their passing game to prosper as it did against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the heavyweight battle between two former first-round picks in the heart of the trenches could well decide who takes command of the division.
Kansas City Chiefs @ San Francisco 49ers
SmartRating: 71
Win Probability: Chiefs 50.7
Key Matchup: Fred Warner vs. Chiefs offense
A Super Bowl rematch between two teams coming off losses was made spicier with the news of San Francisco's blockbuster trade for running back Christian McCaffrey on Thursday.
But McCaffrey is unlikely to have much of an impact if he does play on Sunday given the limited time he has had to absorb the 49er playbook.
More key to the 49ers' hopes of at least partially avenging their Super Bowl collapse is the performance of a player who intercepted Mahomes in that game, Fred Warner.
The 2020 first-team All-Pro is the organisational heartbeat of the 49er defense, the man who plays a pivotal role in ensuring DeMeco Ryans' group is ultra-disciplined and consistently in the right position to make plays.
That discipline fell down in Week 6 defeat to the Atlanta Falcons, in which an extremely banged-up defense struggled to handle the Falcons' array of motions and zone-read runs involving quarterback Marcus Mariota.
San Francisco will get back a host of players from injury this weekend and the defense must do a better job of handling motion against an offense that heavily relies on it and will have to be alert to Mahomes' running threat, which for defenses is a frustrating complement to the wondrous things he can do throwing the ball.
Still, with no Tyreek Hill, the Chiefs' avenues to explosive plays are not as plentiful as they once were, and the 49ers will likely approach Kansas City in a similar way to the Buffalo Bills defense last week, leaning on two-high safety zone coverages in an attempt to force Mahomes to attack underneath.
Warner has allowed receivers to get open in zone coverage on just 10.87 per cent of his zone plays, his zone open rate the best in the NFL among linebackers. With his acumen in that area of the game and the athleticism he possesses to run downfield with Mahomes' primary target Travis Kelce, a bounce-back effort from Warner will be crucial to San Francisco's hopes of overturning odds that are slightly in Kansas City's favour.
Sam Curran proved a cut above as England launched their T20 World Cup challenge with a five-wicket win against Afghanistan.
Curran took 5-10 from 3.4 overs at Perth Stadium on Saturday, a haul that included four wickets in six balls spread across his final two overs to become the first England bowler to take five wickets in a T20I.
Afghanistan crumbled to 112 all out as Curran tore through their lower order, with England reaching the victory target in 18.1 overs to move level on points with New Zealand in Group 1.
Left-arm seamer Curran was excellent with the ball in a recent series win over Australia and made another big impact in an Afghanistan innings that never got going.
Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali held excellent catches for Jos Buttler's side, before Curran took centre stage. Mark Wood (2-23) and Ben Stokes (2-19) also impressed with the ball in a strong start for England.
Ibrahim Zadran top scored with 32 for Afghanistan, while England had four batters in double figures, Livingstone finishing with an unbeaten 29.
Classy Curran
Curran's previous best T20I bowling performance was the 3-25 he took against Australia just 10 days prior to this match. His economy rate of 2.72 in this five-star performance was his meanest in the short format, and he told Fox Sports: "At the start of the game, I did not expect to be walking off like that."
The all-rounder bowled 16 dot balls and conceded just one boundary, putting the squeeze on and reaping the rewards.
England record haul shows catches win matches
As Afghanistan fell short with the bat and dropped catches in the field, England's sharp fielding effort meant this was the first time in a T20 World Cup match that all 10 dismissals in an innings were catches.
The result also means England have won all three of their T20Is against Afghanistan, each meeting coming at World T20 level, at the 2012 and 2016 editions.
Taiwo Awoniyi's goal handed Nottingham Forest a famous Premier League win over Liverpool at the City Ground, as last season's runners-up saw their dismal away form continue.
Jurgen Klopp's side struggled to carve out openings in an even opening period and fell behind when former Liverpool youngster Awoniyi tapped home his third Premier League goal shortly after half-time.
Virgil van Dijk went closest to equalising for desperate Liverpool, who have failed to win a single away league game this season after once again falling short of last term's lofty standards.
While the result lifted Forest off the foot of the table, it left Liverpool 11 points adrift of leaders Arsenal, dealing another blow to the Reds' increasingly forlorn title hopes.
Dean Henderson stood firm to deny Fabio Carvalho from a tight angle as Liverpool controlled possession early on, before Roberto Firmino headed narrowly wide from the resulting corner.
Forest grew into the contest as the half progressed, though both Cheikhou Kouyate and Jesse Lingard failed to seriously test Alisson from promising positions.
The Reds' below-par performance continued after the break and they were duly punished by Awoniyi after 55 minutes.
The Nigeria striker initially prodded Steve Cook's right-wing delivery against the right-hand post but was on hand to convert the rebound, sending the City Ground into raptures.
Henderson denied Liverpool a quickfire equaliser when he turned Harvey Elliott's powerful effort away from the top-right corner.
Forest were indebted to Henderson once more when the Manchester United loanee stopped Van Dijk's point-blank header in stoppage time, before Brennan Johnson clipped the post with Alisson up the other end during a frantic finish.
Ronaldo Nazario ranks himself alongside the likes of Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona as part of a "very special group" of football's greatest ever players.
Legendary forward Ronaldo led Brazil to their most recent World Cup triumph 20 years ago, scoring eight goals as Luiz Felipe Scolari's team sealed the country's fifth title in Japan and South Korea.
No Brazilian has ever bettered Ronaldo's tally at a single edition of the tournament, while his total return of 15 World Cup goals has only been beaten by Germany's Miroslav Klose (16).
While Ronaldo believes his exploits put him in the pantheon of footballing greats, he told the Guardian it was difficult to compare his abilities to those of players from different generations.
Asked to choose between seven-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi and another Argentina icon in Maradona, Ronaldo said: "That's unfair!
"I think there is a very, very special group where you have Diego, Messi, [Johan] Cruyff, [Franz] Beckenbauer, Pele, [Marco] Van Basten, Ronaldinho. I would include myself.
"Let the fans say, let them debate it in the bars. But you can't rank them, can't compare generations.
"People call me the 'original' Ronaldo but there were others – and they weren't false.
"I'm not the only one, and more will come along and be better than me in everything. I did what I could, the best I could."
Brazil's hopes of repeating their 2002 World Cup win will depend largely on the form of Neymar, who has been involved in 42 per cent of the Selecao's World Cup goals since making his tournament debut in 2014 (8/19 – six goals, two assists).
Ronaldo compared the abilities of the Paris Saint-Germain forward to those of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, insisting no football fan could fail to enjoy watching him play.
"People love him a lot," Ronaldo added of Neymar. "If we talk specifically about football, I doubt there's anyone who doesn't love him. His private life transcends football, but I'm not interested.
"He's daring, has skill, variety, is quick, scores goals, has personality. You could compare him to Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, even though they are from a different planet.
"On the pitch Neymar is one [thing], then people mix in all the other stuff."
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