Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is unsure if he will be able to play at the age of 45, but said his aim is to replicate Tom Brady by playing at the highest level for as long as possible.

The Chiefs travel to Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, where Mahomes will come up against his legendary counterpart for the first time since the Bucs beat Kansas City at Super Bowl LV.

Both teams are 2-1 in 2022, and coming off Week 3 defeats after the Chiefs were beaten by the Indianapolis Colts, while Tampa Bay lost to the Green Bay Packers.

Brady is the NFL's all-time leader in passing yards (85,193) and touchdown passes (627), while he also led the league in passing yards (5,316) and TD passes (43) last season.

Speaking ahead of Sunday's clash at Raymond James Stadium, Mahomes said he wants to emulate the 45-year-old – who retired at the end of last season before changing his mind – by maintaining a high level for as long as possible.

"I want to play as long as I can play, and I can still have a chance to help the team get better," he said.

"Obviously, it's hard to play until you're 45 years old, and I don't want to be out there just hanging on. You see what Tom is – he's still playing at a very high level.

"I think that's why it's hard for him to kind of give it up – when you're playing at a high level you don't want to leave it.

"For me, I'm going to try to keep my body in the best shape possible and as long as they'll let me play and I can play at a high level, I'll be out there."

Mahomes was fourth in the league for passing yards in 2021 (4,839) and tied fourth for TD passes (37), and credited the impact Brady continues to have in the NFL.

"It's special to see the things that he's done in this league," the 27-year-old added. "The way he was able to change the position, the longevity of great success – I mean that's the crazy part – you look at his career and there's never really been a down year.

"He's always been great and had a great season and found ways to get even better.

"He's done stuff off the field that hasn't impacted him on the field, but still made his legacy even greater, so it's always a great opportunity for me and our team to go up against a great quarterback and really [see] where our team is at."

Kylian Mbappe is a smart enough player to create space and play with freedom alongside Lionel Messi and Neymar, according to Paris Saint-Germain coach Christophe Galtier.

France international Mbappe appeared to question the tactics used at PSG when admitting last week he has "a lot more freedom" when playing for his country.

The 23-year-old was speaking on the back a 2-0 win over Austria in which he and strike partner Olivier Giroud linked up throughout, with both players on the scoresheet.

But while Galtier agrees that PSG could do with a Giroud-type player in their squad, he does not believe his side have a problem getting the most out of Mbappe in attack.

"I don't think he has less freedom," Galtier said ahead of Saturday's Ligue 1 clash with his former club Nice. "With Giroud, he has someone who opens up spaces for him.

"We don't have that player profile but he's just as smart to find other moves with Leo and Neymar giving him the ball in his preferred space.

"Kylian's analysis is correct. He's not in the same system for his club and national team. This is a discussion I've had with the president and Luis Campos about our attack.

"We were all convinced we needed a fourth player in that position with a different profile, but that player did not come [in the transfer window]. It's a shame but that's how it is.

"The technical relationship between Neymar, Leo and Kylian is different to what he has with the national team."

The relationship between PSG's star-studded front three was again in the spotlight this week when Neymar declined to comment on his relationship with Mbappe.

Speaking earlier this month, Mbappe admitted he has "hotter and colder moments" with the Brazil international, though added they have a strong mutual respect.

But when probed on the pair's relationship on Thursday, Galtier insisted he is more than happy with the chemistry in the dressing room.

"I am surprised I have to always repeat the same thing," he said. "Since I arrived here, to the current day, all I've experienced is normal things in the life of a locker room.

"There is nothing that's surprised me, nothing that has challenged me. The players here want to win together and they are also in competition [for a place in the side].

"They are all great champions with competitiveness, with egos. We have a pleasant dressing room. There is a discrepancy between what you hear and the reality."

The Parisians enter the contest with Nice top of Ligue 1 with seven wins and a draw from the opening eight matches of their latest title defence.

However, PSG have scored only one goal in both of their past two league outings – not since September 2020 have they failed to score more than once in three straight games.

Galtier said during the international break that his side need to show more of a "killer" instinct in front of goal, having managed 12 shots on target across the two matches.

"I want to remind the players that it would be beneficial to us to hurt teams quickly," Galtier added at Thursday's press conference.

"It will help with the management of the squad and playing time. But it must be said that opposing goalkeepers have also performed well against us."

PSG are unbeaten in their past 17 Ligue 1 games ahead of their return to action this weekend, which is the longest current run in the division.

Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith Rowe has been ruled out of action until December after undergoing an operation on his groin.

The 22-year-old played in 33 of Arsenal's 38 Premier League games last season – only three outfield players featured more regularly – but he has struggled for minutes this term.

Smith Rowe has not started any of league leaders Arsenal's opening seven matches in the competition and has totalled just 48 minutes on the pitch.

He has been struggling with a persistent groin issue, which was aggravated in the 3-1 loss to Manchester United earlier this month, and it was decided he would undergo surgery.

Arsenal confirmed on Thursday that Smith Rowe is facing a long spell on the sidelines, effectively ruling him out until the final fortnight of the year due to the break for the World Cup, a tournament the England international is now certain to miss.

"In recent months, Emile Smith Rowe has been experiencing discomfort in his groin, which has limited his training and match appearances," the club statement read.

"Following a significant setback at our Premier League match against Manchester United at Old Trafford on September 4, and after further specialist consultations and discussions with our medical team, Emile underwent surgery to repair a damaged tendon in his groin.

"This successful surgery took place in London in the past few days and Emile’s rehabilitation programme is already under way. We are hopeful that Emile will return to full training in December.

"Everyone at the club will now be supporting and working hard with Emile to get him back on the pitch as soon as possible."

Smith Rowe has played 86 games for Arsenal in all competitions and has scored 18 times.

The three-cap England international's shot conversion rate of 23.81 is the fourth best of any Premier League player to have scored at least 10 times since the start of last season.

Arsenal return from the international break with a north London derby showdown against Tottenham on Saturday.

The Cleveland Browns have not ruled defensive end Myles Garrett out for their Week 4 visit to the Atlanta Falcons, despite the star pass rusher sustaining multiple injuries in a car accident on Monday.

Garrett sprained his shoulder and biceps in the one-vehicle crash and was hospitalised for several hours after his car went off the road and flipped over.

The Browns said the No. 1 overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft will be evaluated during the week to determine if he can take the field in Atlanta on Sunday.

''In the grand scheme of life the best thing is that's he's OK,'' Cleveland quarterback Jacoby Brissett said. ''When I texted him, I was like, 'Man, I'm just glad you're all right'.''

Garrett had a career-best season in 2021 with 16 sacks, 33 quarterback hits and 17 tackles for loss.

He has gotten off to a solid start this year, as he leads the Browns (2-1) with three sacks and five quarterback hits, while being tied for the team lead with four tackles for loss and one forced fumble.

''I know he probably wants to [play],'' Browns safety John Johnson III said. ''But if you asked me, I think he just personally should just sit it out. But I have no idea.

“Just knowing him, he probably wants to play. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he did, but that's a tricky situation. I think he should just take it easy, man.''

Debutant Aamir Jamal helped Pakistan to a six-run victory over England in an absorbing contest as the hosts opened up a 3-2 lead in the seven-match T20I series.

The hosts were all out for 145 in 19 overs in Lahore, with Mark Wood (3-20) leading the way for England, who fell just short despite Moeen Ali's half-century off 35 balls.

Jamal claimed his maiden international wicket on just the second ball of his career and, under immense pressure, the youngster held his nerve to steer Pakistan to a tense win.

Wood's fierce pace had put England in command as he removed half of Pakistan's top six, with Babar Azam (9), Haider Ali (4) and Asif Ali (5) failing to reach double figures.

Mohammad Rizwan top-scored for Pakistan with 63 from 46 – his fourth half-century this series – but David Willey (2-23) and Sam Curran (2-23) restricted the home side's total.

Chris Woakes, making his first appearance since March, wrapped things up thanks to a swipe from Haris Rauf (8) as England were set a more-than-gettable target of 146.

However, opener Alex Hales went inside five balls for just a single run and fellow opener Phil Salt (3) pulled a short ball straight into the hands of Rauf soon after.

The tourists struggled for momentum, with Harry Brook (4) and Dawid Malan (36) trapped lbw after Ben Duckett (10) spooned Mohammad Wasim's short ball to Shan Masood.

Curran (17) sliced Jamal's second ball to Wasim as England chased boundaries, with Woakes (10) close behind, but Moeen kept his side ticking along.

England required 15 from the final six balls and would have forced a super over had David Willey cleared the boundary off the last ball, but it was not to be as Jamal held his nerve.

India capitalised on a blistering start to post an eight-wicket win over South Africa in their first T20I on Wednesday, becoming the first team to capture five wickets in the opening three overs of a game in the format.

The Men in Blue wasted no time in decimating the South African batting order in Kerala, with Arshdeep Singh and Deepak Chahar combining to reduce the Proteas to 9-5. 

The stunned tourists set a target of just 106, one India experienced little trouble in surpassing courtesy of half-centuries from KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav.

South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma failed to lead from the front on his return from injury as he was dismissed six balls in, and that was a sign of things to come as Arshdeep produced an incredible second over.

Arshdeep accounted for Quinton de Kock (1), Rilee Rossouw and David Miller – the latter duo for ducks – in the space of five deliveries as South Africa crumbled, before Chahar handed him a catch from Tristan Stubbs (0).

South Africa avoided further loss until Harshal Patel bowled Aiden Markram (25) lbw in the eighth over, but they made slow progress towards their score of 106-8 through Wayne Parnell (24) and Keshav Maharaj (41).

India joined South Africa in losing their captain early as De Kock caught Rohit Sharma for a duck following Kagiso Rabada's delivery before doubling up to fell Virat Kohli (3).

That was the extent of the Proteas' response, however, with the efforts of Rahul (51 not out) and Yadav (50 not out) ensuring India brought up 110 runs with 20 balls remaining as they seized the initiative in the three-match series.

South Africa run ends in dramatic fashion 

South Africa came into Wednesday's match having won their last four completed T20Is away from home, looking to post seven wins on tour in a calendar year for just the second time in the format (after winning 14 in 2021).

However, their hopes of extending that fine run were left in tatters by India's fast start with the ball, as Arshdeep and Chahar ensured they became the first bowling side among full-member teams to scalp five wickets in the first three overs of a T20I.

Rahul and Yadav ease India to victory

South Africa's tally of 106 runs is the seventh-lowest score they have managed in the format, with their worst such performance also coming in India this year (87 all out in Rajkot in June).

India made a slow start to their chase, posting their lowest score (17-1) in a six overs powerplay in the format. However, the patience of Rahul and Yadav ultimately paid dividends as India cruised to a routine win.

As in the NFL, if you don't have a win by Week 3 of the fantasy football season, it's probably time to be concerned.

Well as concerned as it's healthy to be about a game played for fun with no real-world consequences.

Still, should you still be staring at a goose egg in the win column, then it is clear you need to nail your lineup selections in Week 4. 

Thankfully, Stats Perform is here to help, using its advanced data to pick out four offensive players and a defense who are primed to deliver fantasy production this weekend.

Quarterback: Russell Wilson, Denver Broncos @ Las Vegas Raiders

Wilson managed to lead a game-winning drive on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers despite being throttled for much of the game by their outstanding defense.

The defense of the Raiders, despite the best efforts of impressive edge rusher Maxx Crosby, presents nowhere close to the same challenge, allowing 7.15 yards per pass play - the fourth-most in the NFL. The Raiders' nine touchdown drives allowed are tied for the fifth-most in the league.

In short, this is a game where Wilson can finally have hope of thriving in a Denver offense to which he has so far struggled to adapt. Have faith that Wilson will deliver in this AFC West clash.

Running Back: Khalil Herbert, Chicago Bears @ New York Giants

With David Montgomery suffering a knee injury in the Bears' narrow win over the Houston Texans, Herbert stepped up, compiling 157 rushing yards at a rate of 7.85 yards per carry and scoring two touchdowns on the ground.

Herbert is taking advantage of the holes the Bears' offensive line is opening, averaging 4.76 yards before contact per attempt, the third-most among running backs with at least 20 carries, per Stats Perform data.

Bears quarterback Justin Fields has attempted just 45 passes through three games, with the Bears running the ball 57 per cent of the time. The usage will clearly be there for Herbert, assuming Montgomery cannot play, and that should translate to another impressive statistical day against a Giants defense allowing 5.3 yards per rush.

Wide Receiver: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions vs. Seattle Seahawks

St. Brown is enjoying one of the breakout years in the NFL through three weeks. He is fourth in the NFL in receptions with 23 and has 253 yards and three touchdowns to his name.

He has a huge opportunity to add to that against a dismal Seahawks defense.

Unsurprisingly, the Seahawks' performance in Week 1 against the Broncos, in which they consistently stood firm in the red zone, proved a mirage, with Seattle shredded by the 49ers and Atlanta Falcons in successive weeks.

The Seahawks are allowing 7.84 yards per pass play, only their division rivals the Arizona Cardinals have given up more. With such a favourable matchup at home, St. Brown is a bona fide fantasy WR1 this week.

Tight End: David Njoku, Cleveland Browns @ Atlanta Falcons

Njoku produced his best game of the season so far in the Browns' Week 3 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, hauling in nine of his 10 targets for 89 yards and a touchdown.

He is excelling at creating separation, winning 12 of his 16 matchups with a defender so far this season, and this week gets to face a Falcons defense that has allowed a touchdown or field goal on 15 of the 30 offensive drives it has faced in 2022.

With Njoku second in the pecking order behind wide receiver Amari Cooper in terms of pass-catchers on this Browns offense, he is in a prime spot to enjoy another excellent game.

Defense/Special Teams: Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New York Jets

The Steelers might have struggled to stop Njoku and the Browns, but their defense should be salivating at the thought of facing the Jets.

Zach Wilson is set to return for the Jets, but he is unlikely to change their struggles holding on to the ball.

The Jets have already committed seven giveaways this season. Last year, Wilson threw 19 interceptable passes in 13 games. 

Even without star pass rusher T.J. Watt, the Steelers have the defensive talent to take advantage of the Jets' carelessness and make it a difficult 2022 debut for Wilson.

Alvaro Morata's late goal gave Spain a 1-0 victory over Portugal and snatched a place at the Nations League Finals from their hosts in Braga.

Spain needed to win to leapfrog Fernando Santos' side atop Group A2 but had looked set to be frustrated, with Portugal enjoying the better of the first-half opportunities.

However, substitutions from Luis Enrique after the break changed the game, and Nico Williams' header across goal was smashed in by Morata to steal a precious victory.

The dramatic win means Spain will join Croatia, Italy and the Netherlands at next year's tournament, with Portugal left to rue missed chances and sloppy defending in the closing stages.

Neymar closed in on Pele's all-time Brazil goalscoring record as the Selecao eased to a commanding 5-1 win over 10-man Tunisia at the Parc des Princes.

Playing on his home ground at club level, the Paris Saint-Germain forward netted his 75th senior international goal from the penalty spot – moving two shy of equalling the tally of legendary striker Pele.

Raphinha struck twice, while Richarlison and Pedro were also on target as Tite's side completed their World Cup preparations in emphatic fashion.

Montassar Talbi scored what proved a consolation for Tunisia, who had Dylan Bronn sent off as they suffered their first defeat in eight games.

Brazil led in the 11th minute when Casemiro's floated ball into the box was met by Raphinha, who sent a looping header beyond the dive of Aymen Dahmen.

Tunisia responded as Talbi nodded in from Anis Ben Slimane's free-kick, but the Selecao regained the lead less than two minutes later with Richarlison latching onto Raphinha's neat throughball and drilling through Dahmen's legs.

Neymar made it 3-1 when he calmly converted from 12 yards after Aissa Laidouni dragged down Casemiro, before Raphinha fired home his second goal of the game from Richarlison's lay-off.

Tunisia were reduced to 10 men before the break with Bronn shown a straight red card for a rash challenge on Neymar.

Antony and Vinicius Junior went close to increasing the advantage in the second half, before Pedro scored Brazil's fifth 16 minutes from time – the Flamengo forward brilliantly volleying in his first international goal.

Casemiro and Thiago Silva each almost made it six, but the Selecao had already done more than enough to stretch their unbeaten streak to 15 matches.

Fit-again captain Temba Bavuma is not interested in "sideshows" as he prepares to lead South Africa in a three-match Twenty20 International series against India.

Bavuma has not played for his country since suffering an elbow injury during a T20I series in India three months ago which ended 2-2.

The batter has since spoken of feeling "let down" after he was not selected for the inaugural SA20 auction this month.

Questions have been asked over Bavuma's credentials in the shortest format less than a month before the T20 World Cup in Australia begins.

The Proteas skipper is ignoring such "distractions" ahead of the opening T20I against the top-ranked side in the world at Greenfield Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.

He said: "I've tried to put all those things behind me. My biggest focus is on the role that I have, which is to lead and serve the team as best as I can, make sure that the guys are in the best place possible going into that big World Cup tournament.

"All other distractions, all other sideshows, that's stuff that I'll deal with on a personal level, but now, here, being within the team, as long as I'm still wearing that shirt, it will be to lead and serve the team as best as I can."

Bavuma added: "This is our last series before the World Cup. Obviously we will be looking for this series to fill whatever gaps we feel there are in the team. We have guys who have been playing a lot of cricket and I guess we will be managing their intensity.

"We also have guys who need some cricket under their belts. It will be to give those guys some game time because this is our last preparation in different conditions compared to Australia but still match time nevertheless.

"The last time we were here, we were tested in all departments of our game and I think we answered well."

South Africa have beaten England and Ireland since drawing with India, who come into this series on the back of a 2-1 triumph over Australia.

The two sides will also meet in Group 2 at the World Cup in Perth on October 30.

Kohli to reach another landmark

Virat Kohli finally ended his long wait for an international hundred against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup this month.

The former skipper is set to bring up another century, as his next T20I innings will be his 100th. Kohli will be only the 10th player to be at the crease 100 times in the shortest format on the international stage.

Kohli has scored 3,660 runs from 99 innings, 684 more than the next best aggregate for any batter in their first 100 innings in men's T20Is (Martin Guptill – 2,976 runs).

Proteas enjoying life on the road

South Africa have won each of their past four completed T20I games away from home.

The Proteas have been victorious six times on tour in 2022. Only in 2021, when they won 14 times away from home, have they bettered that tally in a calendar year.

Gareth Southgate hailed the "tremendous spirit" demonstrated by England, who he feels have come together and grown following their entertaining Nations League draw with Germany.

The Three Lions head coach has come under pressure recently following a difficult spell of form that culminated in relegation from League A after defeat by Italy on Friday.

Indeed, England have now gone six matches without a win for the first time since 1993. But they showed brilliant character against Germany on Monday, recovering from 2-0 down to lead 3-2 at Wembley, before Kai Havertz denied them victory.

And Southgate is confident the sticky patch will benefit his players as all eyes turn towards the World Cup, which sees the 1966 winners face Iran in their Group B opener on November 21.

"As a group, they have really come together this week," he told Channel 4. "It has been a tough period for team, but they have grown.

"To an extent, we are always going to face pressure, so we need to be exposed to pressure. We played a friendly against the Ivory Coast in March and they went down to 10 men, and it became a non-event and we learnt nothing.

"This week, we've learnt a huge amount. They've had to step forward and come together. It will benefit us in the long run.

"In the end, a couple of errors have cost us the goals, but I'll focus on the fact they played with tremendous spirit and showed a belief that we haven't shown in the last few games. I thought the crowd saw that and rose to that."

Meanwhile, captain Harry Kane insisted there were plenty of positives for he and his team-mates to build on heading into Qatar.

The Tottenham forward marked his 50th start as England captain – becoming the fifth player to achieve the feat – with his 51st international goal, which moves him two away from equalling Wayne Rooney's all-time Three Lions record.

"The mentality and fight of the team was shown out there today. We didn't get the win, but we can be proud of what we did," Kane said.

"The boys have been under pressure with recent results and we all came out here with a point to prove. But there are lessons; we can still learn from the mistakes we made, but we scored three goals and I feel like this will put us in a positive mindset ahead of the World Cup.

"We've upped our game as we've gone along in the last two major tournaments. We dust ourselves down. We know we have to improve but there isn't that much time now with England before that first game [against Iran].

"But we'll go away with our clubs and hopefully everyone goes away fit, strong and is ready to come back in November."

All the talk prior to the Week 3 contest between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Los Angeles Chargers surrounded the health of Justin Herbert, the quarterback viewed as having ascended to the superstar level of Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen.

By the end of an eye-opening afternoon at SoFi Stadium, the performance Herbert produced while battling fractured rib cartilage was completely overshadowed by that of a man crowned as a future great as early as high school as Trevor Lawrence's blistering start to his second season in the NFL reached new heights.

Freed from the shackles of working with the overmatched and underprepared Urban Meyer, Lawrence has quickly flourished in year two under the tutelage of former Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl-winning head coach Doug Pederson.

And his evisceration of a seemingly improved Chargers defense in a 38-10 rout served as a compelling reminder that – for all the talk of Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, Justin Fields and Mac Jones – he is, and always was, the best quarterback from the much heralded 2021 draft class at the position.

Furthermore, even on a day when the Indianapolis Colts shocked the Kansas City Chiefs, it rubber-stamped the Jaguars' status as the most exciting and dangerous team in an AFC South division ripe for the taking.

It is the long-term picture that is more important for the Jaguars, though, and that is suddenly very bright after the clearest demonstration yet of the potential Lawrence has to take his place alongside the NFL's elite quarterbacks.

The raw numbers – a 71.8 per cent completion percentage, 262 passing yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions and a passer rating of 115.5 – are impressive enough on their own.

Yet they do a poor job of illustrating how accurate, how composed and how devastatingly brilliant Lawrence was in helping deliver a result nobody outside of the Jacksonville facility would have thought possible three weeks ago.

There was little in a slightly underwhelming first quarter and a pair of red zone failures from the Jaguars to suggest Lawrence would outplay Herbert, and certainly not to the extent that he did.

But Lawrence finished the game delivering an accurate, well-thrown ball on 89.5 per cent of his 38 pass attempts, from which he threw just one pickable pass. Only four quarterbacks had a better well-thrown rate in Week 3 as of Sunday.

After twice coming up short from inside the 20, Lawrence then produced some of his best throws from inside the tight confines of the red zone, showing his incredible ability on the move for the Jaguars' first touchdown when he rolled to his right to evade the interior push of Otito Ogbonnia and produced a laser to find Zay Jones in the back of the endzone.

Zay Jones was the recipient of another superb deep throw over the middle on third down on the next drive, aided by Travis Etienne's blitz pickup of Derwin James, before Lawrence then hit Christian Kirk down the right sideline.

Lawrence showed his effectiveness rolling to both sides – a skill beyond many quarterbacks – when he looked to have finished that drive with a pinpoint throw to Evan Engram while moving to his left. Though that touchdown was overturned when a replay deemed Engram to have stepped out of bounds, the second half saw Lawrence punctuate the Jags' dominance in equally spectacular fashion.

James Robinson's 50-yard run put the Jaguars firmly in command and the running back duo of Robinson and Etienne allowed Jacksonville to play ball control before Lawrence hit Kirk on a high-velocity throw on a designed rollout for his second touchdown pass.

The final flourish was the defining moment of Lawrence's display. Having converted a third down by climbing the pocket under duress to deliver a dart to Marvin Jones Jr, Lawrence added the finishing touch on the Jags' final scoring drive by lofting a perfect throw over the head of Michael Davis and into the arms of the same receiver running a corner route to back of the endzone.

Marvin Jones deserves praise for a spectacular catch, but the stunning throw was yet another example of the ease with which Lawrence can dissect defenses with the physical gifts he has at his disposal.

Those attributes were wasted during Meyer's short stint in the NFL but Pederson has swiftly negated any damage done by the false start to Lawrence's career and seemingly put the man seen as the best quarterback prospect since Andrew Luck back on the path to stardom.

Through three weeks, Lawrence has a well-thrown rate of 85.8 per cent that is eighth in the NFL and he has a supporting cast that is quickly silencing critics of the Jags' team-building strategy.

All of Robinson's three touchdown runs have come on carries of 10 yards or more, giving him the most such scores in the NFL. Etienne, meanwhile, is eighth in yards after contact per attempt (min. 10 carries) among running backs with 2.73.

Kirk, after receiving a much-maligned $72million contract from the Jags, is justifying that deal by producing a big play on 45.8 per cent of his targets, the sixth-highest ratio among wide receivers with at least 10 targets, he and fellow free-agent acquisition Zay Jones combining for 37 catches, 22 of which have gone for a first down.

On defense, the Jaguars have registered 21 quarterback hits, a tally topped by just five teams, with the athleticism and versatility of their defensive front causing Herbert and other quarterbacks consistent problems. Edge rusher Josh Allen, a first-round pick in 2019, has registered a third of those hits and recorded two sacks and three tackles for loss while the Jaguars have also succeeded in quickly harnessing rookie first overall selection Travon Walker's freakish athleticism.

At the second level, another first-round rookie, Devin Lloyd, helped make Herbert's life miserable on Sunday with his skills in coverage. Lloyd had three pass breakups and an interception, providing help to a secondary that does not lack depth of talent. 

The Jags' strides on defense are reflected by them allowing opponents to score just six times in 33 drives, increasing Lawrence's room for error on the other side of the ball.

Yet such errors have been few from the former Clemson star and, while ups and downs are to be expected from a quarterback of his still limited experience at the highest level, Lawrence is playing with the confidence and assuredness of a man who may have already been through the worst of his pro career and survived unscathed.

Now with a head coach who understands how to make the most of his outstanding skill set and backed up by a talented if expensive supporting cast, Lawrence looks poised to grow into an even more dynamic and explosive playmaker at the game's most important position. For a franchise desperate to finally climb out of the doldrums, that development is priceless.

Kai Havertz's late equaliser denied England a stunning comeback victory as Germany concluded their Nations League campaign with an entertaining 3-3 draw at Wembley.

After a goalless first half, Ilkay Gundogan broke the deadlock from the penalty spot, before Havertz doubled the lead with a stunning 25-yard effort.

But the Three Lions turned the contest on its head with three goals in the space of 12 minutes. Luke Shaw and substitute Mason Mount dragged the hosts level, before Harry Kane's penalty completed the turnaround.

However, Germany ensured a share of the spoils with three minutes remaining when Havertz tucked home from close range following a goalkeeping error from Nick Pope.

Goals from Giacomo Raspadori and Federico Dimarco steered Italy through to the Nations League finals at Hungary's expense, as the visitors claimed a 2-0 win in Budapest.

Heading into Monday's final fixture in Group A3, Hungary needed only a draw to complete a remarkable run through the competition to next year's four-team fight for the top prize.

But Roberto Mancini's European champions, still smarting from their failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, delivered a composed performance to break their opponents' hearts in a taut encounter.

Marco Rossi's side can nevertheless take pride in their achievements, following a campaign that saw them defeat England twice and Germany once to finish second in the end.

Amid raucous home support urging them on to make history, they had looked bullish from the off, with Dominik Szoboszlai offering an early threat for the hosts.

But Hungary were undone by their lacklustre awareness at the back, and when Wilfried Gnonto pressed Adam Nagy's soft back-pass off Peter Gulacsi, Raspadori was able to round the prone keeper for a simple finish.

Italy held a one-goal lead through to the interval, and it took just seven minutes for them to double it afterwards, with Dimarco getting across Loic Nego at the far post to crash Bryan Cristante's cross into the roof of the net.

Hungary pushed for a response late on, but none was forthcoming – and with the full-time whistle, it was the Azzurri who booked their spot alongside Croatia and the Netherlands for next year's finale.

Lionel Messi wishes he could have played alongside Neymar for longer at Barcelona but is loving being reunited with the Brazilian again at Paris Saint-Germain.

Neymar and Messi struck up a friendship and immense on-field relationship during their four years together at Camp Nou.

They were part of a Barca team that won two LaLiga titles, three Copa del Rey crowns and the Champions League, among other trophies, before PSG broke the world transfer record to bring Neymar to Paris for €222million.

Despite such a cash injection, Barca's financial issues eventually caught up with them and prevented the club from signing Messi to a new contract last year as their LaLiga salary limit was reduced significantly.

Messi followed Neymar to Paris, and while few would consider either to have enjoyed their best seasons last term, both have begun the 2022-23 campaign in electric fashion under Christophe Galtier.

Neymar's 19 goal involvements across all competitions is more than anyone in the top five leagues, while Messi's 14 has him ranked third, and the latter is relishing every minute.

"With Neymar, we have known each other for a long time, by heart, since Barcelona," he told TUDN.

"I would've like to have been able to enjoy him much more in Barcelona.

"But now I meet him again in Paris and we are happy to be together. I love playing with him."

Of course, Neymar is not the only superstar Messi is playing alongside at PSG.

Kylian Mbappe renewed his stay at PSG at the end of last season after flirting with Real Madrid, and Messi has no doubt the France star will be a leader of the next generation in the sport.

"Kylian, he's a different player," Messi added.

"He is a beast who is very strong, goes from space to space. He's fast, scores a lot of goals, is very complete and has been proving himself for years.

"In the coming years, he will be among the best, for sure."