Joe Burrow said the Cincinnati Bengals are some way away from championship contention after a botched field-goal attempt saw them suffer a dramatic overtime defeat to the Baltimore Ravens.
Burrow threw for five touchdowns and 392 yards – comfortably his best game of the season – in Sunday's huge AFC North matchup, but it was not enough to lead the Bengals to victory.
They lost a thrilling encounter 41-38 in overtime, Evan McPherson missing a potential game-winning field goal before Justin Tucker did the honours for Baltimore at the other end.
The defeat dropped the Bengals to 1-4, while the Ravens have now won three straight games after opening the season with surprising back-to-back defeats.
Cincinnati's four losses this year have come by a combined margin of just 15 points, but Burrow does not feel their troubles can be explained merely by bad luck.
"We're not a championship-level team right now," Burrow said. "We're not.
"I'd like to think that we'll come back and improve throughout the season to get to that point, but right now we are not and we have to get better.
"I know exactly how we are 1-4. We're not making plays at the end of the game to go and win it. I'm definitely not in disbelief. I know exactly what's happening."
Rookie punter Ryan Rehkow played a role in McPherson's decisive miss, his poor hold causing the kick to skew wide left. Head coach Zac Taylor, however, has backed his team to bounce back.
"People can write us off if they really want to," Taylor said. "I'm not dumb enough to do that."
The Ravens' game-winning field goal was teed up by a 51-yard dash by in-form running back Derrick Henry, who had 92 yards and a touchdown from 15 carries.
Henry also brought up a personal milestone by passing 10,000 career rushing yards in the second quarter, becoming the 32nd player in NFL history to accomplish the feat and the first since Marshawn Lynch (2017). The former Tennessee Titans star also became the 14th running back in league history to reach 100 career scrimmage touchdowns.
Asked what he saw on his huge overtime play, Henry replied: "Just green grass. Green grass and get it as close to the end zone as possible.
"I didn't get in, I should've probably stiff-armed him, but the GOAT got the field goal to win the game, and we're going home with a victory. That's all that matters.
"This win is big because of what happened today. It puts us up two in the division, so we definitely needed this one.
"It was just as important for us as it was for them. We're glad we got the victory. With everything that happened, to show the resiliency of this team. We're going to keep on fighting to the end."
Derrick Henry was described as one of a kind by his Baltimore Ravens team-mates after his 87-yard touchdown run got the ball rolling in their impressive rout of the Buffalo Bills.
The Ravens handed the Bills their first defeat of the season by a comprehensive 35-10 scoreline on Sunday, with Henry continuing his strong start for his new team.
He went all the way from 87 yards on the Ravens' first drive of the game, the longest touchdown run in franchise history, also catching a Lamar Jackson pass for another score in the second quarter.
Henry finished the game with 199 yards on the ground and 10 receiving, while he could also have had a third touchdown if not for a fumble near the goal line, which led to fullback Patrick Ricard falling on the loose ball to further extend the Ravens' lead.
It was the 11th time, including playoff games, that Henry had rushed for at least 180 yards in a game – the most by any player in NFL history.
"He's one of one, I'll say that," Ricard said of the former Tennessee Titans back.
"That's why he's just been one of the best backs in this league. I'm just so happy to have him here and block for him."
Henry has managed 480 yards rushing this term, the most by any player through four games of an NFL season since 2021, with his powerful style taking the pressure off reigning league MVP Jackson.
Reflecting on his early score, Henry said: "It was indescribable.
"I did an interview Friday, talking about starting the game off right with a big play, and that happens. Sometimes you speak stuff into existence."
The Ravens have now managed back-to-back wins after a surprising 0-2 start, with four huge tussles with fellow AFC North teams on the agenda within the next six weeks.
Coach John Harbaugh said: "Now we know we are just getting better. We know what's possible, we know what we're capable of, but we have a long way to go, and we have a lot of work to do.
"We're just four games in, and we have 13 more regular-season games to play. And where the season goes, it's going to be defined by what we do in the next 13 games plus."
Former champions Glenmuir High maintained a positive start to the ISSA/Wata daCosta Cup season, as they outclassed last year’s beaten finalist Central High in a come-from-behind 5-1 win in what turned out to be a lopsided encounter at the former’s base on Saturday.
Nyron Allen (15th), Kyle Gordon (31st), Deandre Johnson (48th), Tajaun Cummings (52nd) and substitute Derrick Henry (69th), were on target for the Andrew Peart-coached Glenmuir side, after James Gallimore gave Central High an 11th-minute lead.
Peart welcomed the win, which was his team second on the trot, putting them in firm control of Zone L on six points.
“The result is very important at this group stage, especially also due to the fact that both teams had some level of success last season so there were a lot of talk around the town about who would win, and we came out on top,” he said in a post-match interview.
“We are just training hard and always seeking to improve, last year we laid down some foundations and we have built on them so far. So there is no pressure, I am just looking at what is in front of me, the players that are in front of me and the direction we want to take the school in,” Peart added.
With Glenmuir being gradually slow to settle, Central capitalised and grabbed the early ascendancy when James dyer sidewined his way between two defenders before playing a pass off to Gallimore, who made no mistakes from close range.
However, their lead was short-lived, as captain Gordon dispossessed a defender and found an unmarked Allen, who fired a firm right-footed effort past Davone Robinson in goal for Central.
Glenmuir suffered a setback as they lost last season’s standout player after he picked up what appeared to be a broken arm in the 25th minute. Watson tallied 17 goals and nine assist last season.
Still, Glenmuir pressed on and found the lead just past the half-hour mark when Gordon converted from the penalty spot, after Johnson was felled inside the danger area by Robinson, to put Glenmuir 2-1 up at the break.
They wasted little time to pick up where they left off on the resumption and extended the lead three minutes in when a defensive mix up, allowed Johnson to arrive on the ball and head past Robinson for his second goal of the season.
And Cummings put further daylight between Glenmuir and Central with a cool, calm and collected finish over a well-advanced Robinson, who was left in no man’s land.
Though Central tried to play their game and had a few openings from which they could have narrowed the gap, Justin Murray, in goal for Glenmuir was not for beating.
While Central’s hunt was fruitless, Glenmuir helped themselves to a fifth, as Allan slipped two defenders, before passing to Henry, who slotted home from deep inside the 18-yard box.
A disappointed Jermaine Douglas of Central High felt his team lost their composure after finding the lead.
“I thought we were playing well in the first 15 to 20 minutes, but my concern was always scoring first and then becoming complacent, it's something we try to guard against but that is exactly what happened. I don’t think we should have lost by this margin we got some chances that we didn’t put away, but such is football,” he said.
The result leaves Central pointless, while the other group contest between Porus and Old Harbour was called off due to bad weather with the latter leading 5-0.
Saturday’s results
Zone A
Cornwall College 0, Irwin High 0
Maldon 4, Green Pond 0
Spot Valley 2, St James 1
Zone D
Mannings 1, Petersfield 0
Zone I
Tacky High 3, Horace Clarke 3
Wycliff Martin 1, St Mary Technical 1
Zone J
Dinthill 6, Ewarton 0
McGrath 1. Enid Bennett 0
Zone K
Yallahs 6, Robert Lightbourne 0
Morant Bay High 1, Paul Bogle 0
Zone L
Glenmuir High 5, Central High 1
Porus 0, Old Harbour 5 (Game called off due to lightning)
Zone M
Kemps Hill 0, Vere Technical 2
Garvey Maceo 8, Tacius Golding 0
The Green Bay Packers' revival stalled before it genuinely began after a 27-17 loss to the Derrick Henry-inspired Tennessee Titans at Lambeau Field on Thursday.
Henry had 28 carries for 87 yards, with one running touchdown and one throwing touchdown when the Titans deceived the Packers' defense in the third quarter to open up a 20-9 lead. He also had two receptions for 45 yards.
The Titans running back became the first player since 1983 with 20 or more carries, two or more completions, a rushing TD and a passing TD in a game.
Titans QB Ryan Tannehill was exceptional against the blitz and made 22 of 27 passes for 333 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Tennessee improved to 7-3, having won seven of their past eight games, with their only loss in that run coming in overtime to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Aaron Rodgers threw two TD passes, both to breakout rookie Christian Watson, on 24-of-39 passing for 227 yards for the 4-7 Packers, who had snapped a five-game skid with last week's 31-28 overtime win over the Dallas Cowboys.
Tannehill passed to Treylon Burks for a 37-yard gain, before linking up with Dontrell Hilliard for a TD on a methodical opening drive. Burks finished the game with seven receptions for 111 yards.
Rodgers caught the Titans defense off guard for Watson's TD to make it 7-6, while the Packers defense thwarted Henry on a fourth-and-one midway after an 18-play drive through the second quarter, but he would not be denied late in the half, opening up a 14-6 half-time lead.
Henry gained 42 yards on a marauding catch-and-run, before flipping a pass over the Packers defense for Austin Hooper to score. After Rodgers found Watson in the same corner again, Hooper added another TD from a 16-yard Tannehill dime early in the fourth.
The Kansas City Chiefs came from behind to defeat the Tennessee Titans 20-17 in overtime on Sunday thanks to more Patrick Mahomes' heroics.
Despite Mahomes proving to be the difference late, he was bottled up early by a sharp Titans defense, holding the Chiefs to just nine points in the first three quarters.
On the back of their strong defense, the Titans built a 14-9 lead at half-time as superstar running back Derrick Henry bulled his way into the endzone for two touchdowns.
Mahomes completed a first-half touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman, but a third-quarter field goal from the Titans had them trailing 17-9 heading into the fourth period.
With the game on the line, needing a touchdown and a two-point conversion to tie, Mahomes manufactured a 13-play, 93-yard drive, culminating in a 14-yard rushing touchdown from the Chiefs quarterback to convert on third-and-nine. He then also ran in the two-point conversion.
Mahomes completed passes to four different players in his one overtime drive, highlighted by a 27-yard jump-ball to Noah Gray to convert a third-and-inches and move into the redzone, before also converting a fourth-and-one to JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Ultimately they settled for a field goal, forcing Titans rookie quarterback Malik Willis to at least mount his own field-goal drive to keep the game alive, but the Chiefs defense rose to the occasion for the game-winning stop.
Mahomes ended up completing 43 of his 68 pass attempts for 446 yards, one touchdown and one interception, while also leading the Chiefs in rushing with six carries for 63 yards and a score to tie the game at 17-17.
That was in stark contrast to what the Titans asked Willis to do, as he finished five-of-16 for 80 yards. Henry was the star for Tennessee, rushing 17 times for 115 yards and two touchdowns, giving him nine touchdowns from eight games this season.
After a busy NFL trade deadline, the focus is back on the field this weekend.
Josh Allen faces Zach Wilson as the New York Jets confront a major test of their defense against the soaraway Buffalo Bills, while the Los Angeles Rams will look to keep up their remarkable record against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Could Derrick Henry have another monumental game in him after last week's big effort, and after he dispelled worries about a foot problem?
Stats Perform has taken a look at the numbers ahead of Sunday's games, beginning with the travails of the Brady bunch.
Los Angeles Rams (3-4) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-5)
The Buccaneers are on the slide, and the Rams are just about the nightmare opponents this weekend, judging by recent games between the teams.
Including Los Angeles' win in last season's Divisional Round, the Rams are 9-1 in their last 10 games against the Bucs, and that includes a 5-0 streak in Tampa.
This game is big for both, and for the Bucs it offers a chance to halt a losing sequence of three. They were beaten 27-22 by the Baltimore last week and are on their longest single-season losing run since a dismal four-game run in the 2019 season.
It remains to be seen whether Tom Brady can get them out of this mess. Brady threw for 325 yards and zero interceptions in last week's loss to Baltimore. Across his stellar career, he is 54-7 when throwing 300 yards and no interceptions, but this season he is 1-2 in such games.
Brady might fancy the job against a Rams team who have scored 14 or fewer points and lost by double-digits four times already this season, including last time out in a 31-14 home loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Rival quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for 187 yards last week on 33 attempts. His team are 2-9 in games where Stafford has thrown the ball at least 30 times and finished with fewer than 200 passing yards.
Buffalo Bills (6-1) at New York Jets (5-3)
The Buffalo Bills are 6-1 for the first time since 1993, the season they last made it through to the Super Bowl. This weekend they go after a fifth win in a row after getting the better of the Green Bay Packers last time out.
What's more, they have strung together a four-game winning streak in road games against the Jets, second only in franchise history to a seven-game streak from 1987 to 1993.
The Bills have outscored this season's opponents by 105 points (203-98) so far, the widest differential in the NFL.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen has urged the Jets to show patience with his struggling counterpart Zach Wilson, who has completed just 54.9 per cent of passes this season, the second-worst rate in the NFL heading into Week 9. Wilson has thrown for 1,048 yards across five games, with three touchdowns and five interceptions, compared to Allen's 2,198 yards for 19 TDs and six interceptions from seven games.
Stefon Diggs has at least 100 yards and a receiving touchdown in three straight games, the longest streak of the Bills wide receiver's career and tied for the longest streak in team history with Elbert Dubenion (1964). The last NFL player with a longer streak was Adam Thielen in 2018 (five). How Diggs fares against Jets rookie cornerback Sauce Gardner will be a factor.
The Jets have already topped last season's four wins, but they are 8-30 against divisional opponents since 2016, the worst record in the NFL.
Tennessee Titans (5-2) at Kansas City Chiefs (5-2)
What does Titans running back Henry have in store for an encore? Henry last week recorded his sixth career 200-yard rushing game, with 219 yards and two touchdowns against the Texans, tying Adrian Peterson and O.J. Simpson for the most all-time. All other active players have combined for just four such games.
The Chiefs will be wary of that threat, and will look to their own WR, JuJu Smith-Schuster, to make his own impact. After failing to reach 90 yards or find the endzone in his first five games this season, Smith-Schuster now has back-to-back games with at least 100 yards and a touchdown. He had not had such a game since Week 8, 2019 and now has eight such games in his career.
The Titans have won four straight regular season matchups with the Chiefs but lost in the 2020 AFC Championship Game in Kansas City.
Their respective 5-2 records this season disguise the fact each of those wins has been relatively close. The Titans and Vikings have only won by single digits this season. Only five teams in NFL history have seen such a streak reach six games – the 2020 Chiefs, 1997 Vikings, 1994 Giants, 1988 Saints and 1986 Giants. Of those, only the Chiefs' streak reached seven.
Elsewhere...
The Miami Dolphins (5-3) will be looking for a fourth consecutive road win against the Chicago Bears (3-5), which would make the Dolphins the first AFC team since the conference came into being in 1970 to have such a streak in Chicago. Miami's Tyreek Hill has gone 52 consecutive receptions without a receiving touchdown. That accounts for the longest streak of his career, nearly doubling his previous career-long streak (27, twice).
Memories of a record-setting 2014 game between the Carolina Panthers and the Bengals will be stoked when the teams meet in Cincinnati on Sunday. The last time these teams met at the home of the Bengals it finished in a 37-37 tie, and entering Week 9 in 2022 that remains the highest-scoring tie in an NFL game since the NFL and AFL merged in 1970.
The New England Patriots are 4-4 for the fifth time in the Bill Belichick era (since 2000) as they approach a home game against the Indianapolis Colts (3-4-1). The other four times the Patriots started 4-4 under Belichick, they made the playoffs three times (2001, 2005, 2021) and missed the playoffs once (2002). Between the regular season and playoffs, Belichick owns an 18-9 career record against the Colts, with only Don Shula (36 wins as coach of the Dolphins from 1970 to 1995) having achieved more such wins.
Christian McCaffrey accomplished a feat not seen in 17 years as he delivered a starring performance in the San Francisco 49ers' 31-14 road win against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
After being acquired in a trade from the Carolina Panthers less than two weeks ago, McCaffrey showed exactly why he is considered arguably the best running back of his generation.
Against the reigning champions, he became the first player since LaDainian Tomlinson in 2005 to score a rushing, receiving and passing touchdown in the same game.
His first score came through a trick play in the second quarter, as what appeared to be a regulation toss play to the right-hand side turned into a halfback pass as McCaffrey dialled up a 34-yard rainbow pass to Brandon Aiyuk in the end zone.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford had his side leading 14-10 at half-time after a one-yard quarterback sneak for a touchdown and a 16-yard toss to Cooper Kupp, but McCaffrey put the 49ers ahead with a nine-yard touchdown catch late in the third period.
It was followed by a quick Rams punt, before McCaffrey put the exclamation point on his day by punching in a one-yard touchdown to begin the fourth quarter.
The 49ers offense fired on all cylinders, with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo completing 21 of his 25 passes for two touchdowns and no turnovers, as Aiyuk and George Kittle also caught touchdown passes.
McCaffrey finished with 18 carries for 94 yards on the ground, eight catches for 55 yards through the air, and completed his only pass attempt for 34 yards.
King Henry continues to own the Texans
Tennessee Titans workhorse Derrick Henry was unstoppable against the Houston Texans, carrying the ball 32 times for 219 yards and two touchdowns in a grinding 17-10 win.
Incredibly, it is the fourth consecutive matchup against the Texans where Henry has posted at least 200 yards and two touchdowns, and the sixth total time of his career against all teams. No other player in the history of the league has more than three career games of at least 200 yards and multiple touchdowns.
With his second touchdown, Henry – who had such a significant workload due to rookie quarterback Malik Willis making his debut start in place of the injured Ryan Tannehill – broke the Titans' career touchdown record with his 75th.
Nashville SC have confirmed three new investors have joined their ownership group, including NFL star Derrick Henry and actor Reese Witherspoon.
Tennessee Titans running back Henry is a two-time All-Pro and has featured in two Pro Bowls, while he was named the NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 2020 and led the league for rushing yards and touchdowns in 2019 and 2020.
The 28-year-old has now, alongside actor and producer Witherspoon and her husband, the technology investor Jim Toth, joined the ownership group of Nashville SC, who had their inaugural season in MLS in 2020 and sit eighth in the Western Conference with three wins so far this season.
All eight of Nashville's games so far in 2022 have been played on the road, but that will change on Sunday when they welcome the Philadelphia Union to their new stadium, GEODIS Park.
With a capacity of 30,000, it is the largest soccer-specific stadium in the United States or Canada.
"As a kid growing up in Florida, I imagined being a professional sports owner and the opportunity to do that with an MLS club is truly a dream come true," said Henry, who was drafted by the Titans in 2016 and becomes the fourth player in NFL history to own an MLS team.
"My investment in Nashville SC is way more than financial, it's truly an investment in the city of Nashville.
"The chance to be part of a club like Nashville SC, especially after seeing what they are accomplishing in the community, was an opportunity I did not want to miss."
Witherspoon added: "As a Tennessee native, it is thrilling to see how much growth and development has come to our home state.
"One of the things that my whole family is most excited about is Nashville Soccer Club! The opportunity to go as a family and watch a world-class team compete has been such an incredible experience."
Witherspoon is not the first A-list film star to have invested in soccer in the United States, with Natalie Portman having founded Angel City FC, who debuted in the National Women's Soccer League this year.
Tennis greats Billie Jean King and Serena Williams, along with a host of huge stars across sports and entertainment, have a stake in Angel City.
Rookie Evan McPherson's last-gasp 52-yard field goal has sent the Cincinnati Bengals into the AFC Championship Game for the first time since 1988 with a 19-16 win over the Tennessee Titans on Saturday.
The Bengals, who claimed their first playoffs win in 31 years last weekend against the Las Vegas Raiders, will take on either the Buffalo Bills or Kansas City Chiefs on the road. Saturday's victory was Cincinnati's first-ever postseason road win and qualifies the franchise for the AFC Championship Game for the third time.
Cincinnati regained possession with 20 seconds left, setting up McPherson's late field-goal chance, when Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill's pass was intercepted by Logan Wilson. Tannehill completed 15 of 24 attempts for 220 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.
Bengals QB Joe Burrow was sacked nine times but kept his side moving, making 28 of 37 attempts for 348 yards with one interception.
Rookie receiver Ja'Marr Chase was key for the Bengals too, making 109 yards from five receptions while Tee Higgins had seven receptions for 96 yards. Joe Mixon rushed Cincinnati's only touchdown after a slick cutback to open up a 16-6 third-quarter lead.
Titans running back Derrick Henry, on his return from a foot injury, scored the only touchdown of the first half in trademark style, finishing with 20 carries for 62 yards for the game.
AJ Brown made some major plays with five receptions for 142 yards for the Titans but none were bigger than his TD from Tannehill's long pass late in the third quarter which forced a tie game.
Scores remained locked until Tannehill's late interception pass, before Burrow drove the Bengals within field-goal range and University of Florida rookie McPherson made himself the hero, completing a perfect four from four for the game.
Derrick Henry is set to make his long-awaited Tennessee Titans return against the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday after he was activated off the injured reserve.
The running back has not played since injuring in his foot in a win over the Indianapolis Colts back in Week 8.
Henry endured a frustrating spell on the sidelines following surgery, but is back for the Divisional Round showdown with the fourth-seeded Bengals at Nissan Stadium.
The 2020 NFL Offensive Player of the Year came through contact training this week and is ready to make a timely comeback.
Henry said: "I felt great. I just wanted to get some pads on. Haven't had them on in a while and got some contact going."
The two-time Pro-Bowler rushed for 937 yards and 10 touchdowns in 219 carries in his eight regular-season games for the top-seeded Titans this season.
Henry was leading the league in rushing when he sustained the injury.
He made 112 yards from 18 carries, scoring one touchdown when the Titans last faced the Bengals in November 2020, a game that was won 31-20 by Cincinnati.
Derrick Henry returned to practice on Wednesday, boosting hopes he could feature for the Tennessee Titans in the playoffs.
Henry was earlier designated to return from injured reserve, opening his 21-day window to be placed back on the active roster.
The star running back suffered a fractured foot in the Titans' overtime win against the Indianapolis Colts back on October 31.
Henry, who won the rushing title in 2019 and 2020, has 937 yards on 219 attempts with 10 touchdowns in the 2021 season.
Despite his return to practice, it appears unlikely he will be ready to feature in the Titans' regular-season finale against the Houston Texans, in which they could clinch the number one seed in the AFC.
However, should Tennessee indeed secure top spot in the conference, it will give the Titans a first-round bye and Henry extra time to recover for a home game in the Divisional Round.
Even with Henry missing half the season, the Titans still rank third in rush yards per game with 142.5 and will hope his return to their ground attack can help propel them to a second Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.
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