Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert re-aggravated an ankle injury in Sunday's 20-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Herbert left after being sacked by linebacker Elandon Roberts midway through the third quarter and was replaced by Tyler Heinicke.

Herbert was uncertain to play in this matchup of 2-0 teams after having his ankle rolled up on in Los Angeles' 26-3 victory over the Carolina Panthers last Sunday. He went through pre-game warm-ups, however, and was deemed good to go.

The score was tied at 10-10 when Herbert exited and the Chargers offence only managed one first down on their final two possessions with Heinicke.

 

Herbert finished the game 12-of-18 for 125 yards with a touchdown, while Heinicke completed his only two pass attempts for 24 yards, but was sacked three times.

In 13 games last season, Herbert averaged 241.1 passing yards with 20 touchdowns and seven interceptions, but for the run-heavy Chargers in 2024, he entered Week 3 with 274 total passing yards with three TDs and one pick.

Los Angeles averaged 197.5 rushing yards in its first two games, but managed just 61 on the ground against the Steelers.

Aaron Rodgers threw for 281 yards and two touchdowns in a stellar performance as the New York Jets rolled to a 24-3 rout of the New England Patriots in their home opener on Thursday night.

Rodgers started his first game at MetLife Stadium since leaving the field just over a year ago with a torn Achilles tendon in New York's opener. The 40-year-old quarterback showed no signs of the injury - or playing in his third game in 11 days - while scrambling several times and making off-balance throws all night, slicing through New England's defence with surgical precision.

Rodgers finished 27 of 35 for 281 yards with TD tosses to Garrett Wilson and Allen Lazard and heard chants of “Aa-ron! Rod-gers!” throughout as the Jets (2-1) ended an eight-game home losing streak against the Patriots (1-2).

New York, which stopped a 15-game skid against New England in Bill Belichick's final game as the Patriots' coach, sacked Jacoby Brissett five times. Drake Maye, the No. 3 overall pick in April, made his NFL debut when he replaced Brissett with 4:24 left in the game.

Breece Hall ran for a score for the Jets, who also snapped a six-game skid in Thursday night games.

In the first half, the Jets outgained the Patriots 252 yards to 40 and had 17 first downs to New England's four. It was the fewest first downs for the Patriots in any half since 2000.

New York made it 21-3 with 6:18 remaining in the third quarter when Rodgers zipped a pass to his right and found Garrett Wilson, who toe-tapped in the front corner of the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown.

It marked the third straight game the Jets had at least three touchdowns on offence.

The Miami Dolphins will place quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on injured reserve, multiple media outlets reported Tuesday.

The move ensures that Tagovailoa will be out at least until Week 8, with Skylar Thompson slated to start Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks.

On Monday, the Dolphins signed Tyler Huntley from the Baltimore Ravens’ practice squad, giving them a possible alternative to Thompson in the coming weeks.

Tagovailoa’s latest concussion came during Thursday’s 31-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Tagovailoa scrambled for a first down in the second half before colliding with Bills safety Damar Hamlin.

The impact left Tagovailoa dazed on the ground as he appeared to undergo a fencing response – the stiffening of limbs after a traumatic brain injury – before he was helped off the field.

Tagovailoa had two previously diagnosed concussions in the 2022 season, including one which required him to be carried off the field on a stretcher.

The 2023 Pro Bowler’s third head injury sparked an outpouring of concern from the football world, with some calling for Tagovailoa to retire.

Miami’s players and coaches were visibly shaken up by Tagovailoa’s most recent concussion, but last year’s passing yards leader has yet to speak publicly since the injury.  

NFL Network reported Sunday that Tagovailoa has no plans to retire.

“As far as Tua's career is concerned, I think it's an utmost priority of mine for Tua to speak onto his career,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel told reporters this week.

“I think as far as I'm concerned, I'm just worried about the human being and where that's at day to day. I'll let Tua be the champion of his own career and speak on that.”

While there is no firm timeline for Tagovailoa’s return, his placement on IR ensures that the earliest he could be back is Oct. 27 against the Arizona Cardinals.

While Miami’s (1-1) play-off hopes took a sizeable hit with Tagovailoa’s injury, the upcoming schedule appears manageable with games against the Seahawks, Tennessee Titans, New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts.

Kirk Cousins earned his first win at the Atlanta Falcons with a comeback win in the final minute of the game, and he believes it will only build their resolve.

The Falcons beat the Philadelphia Eagles 22-21, with Cousins picking out Drake London with 34 seconds left to snatch the victory.

At 21-15 down with less than two minutes on the clock, the quarterback completed 5 of 6 passes on a six-play, 70-yard drive before London finished it off. Younghoe Kim then converted a lengthy extra point to ensure they would not need to go to overtime.

And while Cousins was pleased to get off the mark with his new team, he thinks the nature of the win will benefit the Falcons in the long run.

"It's really, really important for us to be able to come in here and get a win," Cousins said. "Just proud of the way we kept playing, kept fighting.

"Coming from behind. Finding a way on the road in a tough environment against a good football team [makes it special].

"That builds resolve, builds some grit, builds some character that we're gonna have to lean on as the year goes on. This is how NFL football is.

"We've got to kind of get used to this and get comfortable in this because that's how these games tend to go.

"The more we can be battle-tested and have these moments, I think it will set us up well for what's coming down the road."

The game could have gone much differently if Philadelphia had completed a play with five-and-a-half minutes on the clock, but Saquon Barkley failed to catch Jalen Hurts' short pass inside the Atlanta 10.

The Eagles then settled for Jake Elliott's 28-yard field goal to take a six-point lead, before the Falcons' late show denied them a second win of the season.

"I dropped the ball," Barkley told reporters. "Let my team down today. Shouldn't have put the defense in that position.

"If I make the catch, game's over. Relax, get back to my old habits, and just gotta go back and get to work.

"I thought it was a great play call. I just gotta make that catch."

Both teams now hold a 1-1 record for the season. Atlanta face Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs next time out, while the Eagles travel to the New Orleans Saints.

Kirk Cousins threw two second-half touchdown passes, including the go-ahead score to Drake London with 34 seconds remaining, to earn his first win as an Atlanta Falcon with a 22-21 comeback victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday.

With his new team down 21-15 with under two minutes left, Cousins completed 5 of 6 passes on a six-play, 70-yard drive he capped with a 7-yard strike to London in the final minute. Younghoe Kim then converted a lengthy extra-point try from 48 yards out, with the distance increased due to a 15-yard penalty called on London after the touchdown, to break a 21-21 tie.

Jessie Bates sealed the win for Atlanta (1-1) by intercepting Jalen Hurts with 19 seconds left to send the partisan crowd at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field home stunned.

Cousins finished with 241 yards on 20-of-29 passing in his second start since signing a four-year, $180 million contract with the Falcons in March. Darnell Mooney, another of Atlanta's offseason additions, caught a 41-yard touchdown pass from Cousins in the third quarter and ended with 88 yards on three catches.

Hurts threw for 183 yards and a touchdown and added another TD on the ground while recording 85 rushing yards. His 1-yard touchdown run on the Eagles' patented "Tush Push" quarterback sneak play gave Philadelphia (1-1) an 18-15 lead with 6:47 remaining after Saquon Barkley successfully ran in the ensuing 2-point conversion.

The Eagles appeared headed for a third straight 2-0 start after stuffing Atlanta's Bijon Robinson on a 4th-and-1 run on the following possession to get the ball back at the Falcons' 39-yard line with 5:38 to go.

Philadelphia then moved to the Atlanta 10, but Barkley dropped a short pass from Hurts on third down and the Eagles settled for Jake Elliott's 28-yard field goal and a six-point lead with 1:39 left.

Cousins responded by quickly driving the Falcons inside the Eagles' 10 with four consecutive completions, including gains of 21 and 26 yards to Mooney.

Mooney had given the Falcons a 15-10 edge late in the third quarter when he got behind Philadelphia's defence and hauled in a deep pass from Cousins for a 41-yard score. Atlanta failed to convert the resulting 2-point attempt.

The Eagles also came up empty in the red zone early in the contest, passing up a short field goal try from the Atlanta 9-yard line and throwing an incomplete pass on 4th-and-4 that kept the game scoreless after one quarter.

Atlanta opened the scoring on Koo's 39-yard field goal with 11:22 left in the second, but the Eagles answered with an 11-play, 70-yard drive culminating in Hurts' 7-yard touchdown pass to Devonta Smith.

The Falcons pulled within 7-6 at half-time after Koo's 22-yard field goal ended a 15-play series. Another Koo field goal, a 34-yard kick, put Atlanta in front early in the third quarter before Philadelphia took a 10-9 lead on Elliott's 29-yard field goal with 4:28 left in the period.

Barkley rushed for 95 yards on 22 attempts in his first home game since leaving the NFC East-rival New York Giants for the Eagles in the offseason. Robinson had 97 rushing yards for Atlanta on 14 carries.

 

The Carolina Panthers are making a quarterback change following their 0-2 start, benching 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick Bryce Young in favour of veteran Andy Dalton for Sunday’s road matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Young has struggled mightily in his NFL career after Carolina acquired the top overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft from the Chicago Bears and used it to pick the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner out of the University of Alabama.

The 23-year-old Young has gone 2-16 in 18 starts while completing 59.3 percent of his pass attempts and throwing for 3,122 yards with 11 touchdowns and 13 interceptions for a passer rating of 70.9.

Since the beginning of the 2023 season, Young’s completion percentage is the worst among qualifying quarterbacks and his passer rating ranks second-to-last.

The decision by first-year Panthers coach Dave Canales to switch quarterbacks comes after Young posted a 44.1 rating and passed for 245 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions in a pair of losses to open 2024.

Carolina has been outscored 73-13 and scored just one touchdown on a three-yard run by Young in Week 1.

Dalton started in Week 3 last season with Young out due to an ankle injury and threw for 361 yards with two touchdowns in a 37-27 loss at the Seattle Seahawks.

Six weeks shy of his 37th birthday, Dalton ranks 26th in NFL history with 38,511 passing yards and 28th with 246 touchdowns through the air.

The Kansas City Chiefs will place leading rusher Isiah Pacheco on injured reserve due to a fractured fibula sustained in Sunday’s 26-25 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Pacheco’s right foot got trapped underneath him, and he was bent backwards while being tackled. He exited in the final minute of the game and was seen in a walking boot with crutches leaving the stadium.

A seventh-round pick in 2022, Pacheco rushed for 135 yards and a touchdown and caught seven passes for 54 yards in helping the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs win their first two games.

Pacheco led Kansas City with 830 rushing yards and five TDs on the ground as a rookie in 2022 and did so again last season with 935 rushing yards and seven rushing scores.

Carson Steele and Samaje Perine are expected to lead the way in Kansas City’s backfield with Pacheco sidelined.

Aaron Rodgers says his first win with the New York Jets has been "a long time coming" after their comeback victory over the Tennessee Titans.

The 40-year-old’s first season in New York ended in the fourth snap of the first game as he tore his left Achilles tendon.

Returning to action in 2024, he began the year with a 32-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday, but finally managed to get off the mark with the Jets on Sunday as they beat the Titans 24-17.

Rodgers threw for 176 yards and two touchdowns, with one of those to 20-year-old Braelon Allen, making it a score between the NFL's oldest and youngest players.

And the quarterback was pleased to avoid the first 0-2 of his 20-year career.

"It was great. It was a long time coming," he said.

"These are kind of the games you look back on late in the season, and you're thankful you won these, because if we want to be a great team, we have to win in these type of environments against a team like that."

The Jets made a slow start to the game but rallied in the third quarter to take the lead, only to be pegged back at 17-17 going into the fourth.

However, Allen once again found his way to the end zone after a 20-yard run to make sure the Jets would be heading home with the win.

Rodgers admitted he was not happy with the first-half performance, but credited the team for staying patient to get it over the line.

"A lot of times people freak out," Rodgers added. "You have to be a calming force in there.

"I felt like the whole game we were frustrated at times, but we never got on each other. I was frustrated not getting [Garrett Wilson] balls. Didn't run the ball very well the first 2 1/2 quarters.

"We stayed confident. The defense came up with some really big plays to keep it a one-score game."

The Jets are back in action on Thursday against the New England Patriots. 

Giving Patrick Mahomes another chance rarely works out well for the opposition.

A pass interference call on the Cincinnati Bengals on a fourth-and-16 with 38 seconds left allowed the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs to keep the ball, setting up Mahomes and company to steal a win.

Harrison Butker delivered the winner, kicking a 51-yard field goal as time expired to send the Chiefs to a 26-25 victory over the Bengals on Sunday.

Butker's game-winning kick came four plays after it appeared Kansas City turned the ball over on downs at their own 35-yard line, but Cincinnati safety Daijahn Anthony was called for pass interference, giving the Chiefs a fresh set of downs on the 29-yard penalty.

 

The game featured five lead changes in the second half, with the Chiefs taking their first lead on Mahomes' one-yard TD pass to offensive tackle Wanya Morris at 8:21 in the third quarter to make the score 17-16.

The Bengals then went back in front 22-17 on a three-yard touchdown pass from Joe Burrow to Andrei Iosivas with just over two minutes remaining in the quarter.

The game's final touchdown came when Chamarri Conner returned a Burrow fumble 37 yards for a touchdown to put Kansas City ahead 23-22 just 20 seconds into the final period.

Evan McPherson's fourth field goal of the game gave the Bengals a 25-23 lead with 5:12 to play, but Cincinnati couldn't hold on and dropped to 0-2 while Kansas City improved to 2-0.

Burrow finished with 258 yards passing, two touchdowns without an interception, while Mahomes completed 18-of-25 passes, but only threw for 151 yards - the second fewest of his career - with two TDs and two picks.

Mahomes had a 44-yard touchdown pass to Rashee Rice, who finished with 75 yards on five receptions.

Isiah Pacheco also had five catches for 21 yards, and rushed for 90 yards on 19 carries.

 

Kamara has 4 TDs as Saints make statement by demolishing Dallas

Beating a woeful team by 37 points at home in Week 1 was one thing.

Winning by 25 on the road against a reigning division champ in Week 2 is another.

The New Orleans Saints put the rest of the NFL on notice with an impressive 44-19 trouncing of the Dallas Cowboys, with Alvin Kamara scoring four touchdowns.

A week after setting a franchise record by starting the season with points on nine consecutive possessions in last Sunday's 47-10 dismantling of the lowly Carolina Panthers, the Saints scored touchdowns on their first six drives against the Cowboys and were in control all the way as they led 35-16 at half-time.

 

Derek Carr threw for 243 yards on just 11 completions with two touchdowns - including a 57-yard screen pass to Kamara and a 70-yarder to Rashid Shaheed.

Kamara finished with 115 rushing yards and another 65 yards receiving, while Shaheed led New Orleans with 96 receiving yards on four receptions.

The Saints racked up 432 total yards of offence against Dallas (1-1) and became the first NFL team to score 44 or more points in each of their first two games since the 2009 Saints did it on the way to winning the franchise's only Super Bowl.

Paulson Adebo and Tyrann Mathieu each intercepted Dak Prescott once and the New Orleans defence sacked him three times en route to snapping the Cowboys' home winning streak in the regular season at 16 games.

 

Buccaneers win at Detroit to avenge play-off loss

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers earned a measure of revenge, beating the Detroit Lions 20-16 in a play-off rematch.

Baker Mayfield put the Buccaneers (2-0) ahead with a dazzling 11-yard touchdown run in the final minute of the third quarter for the game's final score and Tampa Bay's defence stepped up late.

 

Christian Izien intercepted Jared Goff at the Tampa Bay nine-yard line midway through the fourth quarter, and the Lions (1-1) turned the ball over on downs at the Bucs' six-yard line with 53 seconds remaining and again at their 26 with two seconds to play.

Detroit also had an opportunity late in the first half to score points but couldn't get a play off after Goff completed an eight-yard pass to Amon-ra St. Brown in the middle of the field without a timeout remaining.

The Lions, who ended Tampa Bay's 2023 season with a 31-23 win in the divisional round of the play-offs, outgained the Buccaneers 463-216 in total yards but only scored one touchdown on a David Montgomery one-yard run.

Goff completed 34-of-55 passes for 307 yards but threw a pair of costly interceptions.

Mayfield was 12 of 19 for 185 yards with a 41-yard touchdown to Chris Godwin, who finished with seven catches for 117 yards.

 

Rodgers gets first win with Jets

Aaron Rodgers threw for 176 yards and two touchdowns as the New York Jets beat the Tennessee Titans 24-17.

The four-time league MVP earned his first win with the Jets after his 2023 season ended when he tore his left Achilles tendon on his fourth snap of the year and this year began with a 32-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday.

The 40-year-old quarterback threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to a 20-year-old Braelon Allen, making it a score between the NFL's oldest and youngest players. At 20 years and 239 days, Allen is the youngest NFL player to score a scrimmage touchdown since Arnie Herber was the exact same age in 1930.

Allen also scored on a 20-yard run, while Breece Hall rushed for 62 yards and had 52 yards receiving with a 26-yard touchdown reception.

 

New York took advantage of some sloppy play by the Titans, including another head-scratching decision by Will Levis.

A week after throwing a pick-6 while being sacked in a season-opening loss to the Chicago Bears, Levis tried to shovel a backward pass to Tyjae Spears and Jets defensive lineman Quinnen Williams ended up recovering the loose ball at the New York 12-yard line.

 

Fairbairn's big leg, Texans' defence leads way in win over Bears

In a matchup between two of NFL's most highly regarded young quarterbacks, C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans got the better of Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears, holding on for a 19-13 win.

Stroud threw for 260 yards with Nico Collins on the receiving end of eight of those passes for 135 yards as the Texans improved to 2-0.

The two hooked up for a 28-yard touchdown on the first play of the second quarter, and Houston got the rest of its scoring from kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn.

The kicker with the big leg connected from 47, 53, 56 and 59 yards after drilling field goals from 50, 51 and 51 yards in Houston's 29-27 win over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1.

Fairbairn is the first player in NFL history to have two games with three field goals of at least 50 yards in his entire career, and he's done it in the first two games of this season.

 

The Texans' defence harassed Williams all night in his second career start. Houston intercepted this year's No. 1 overall draft pick twice and sacked him seven times.

Williams completed 23-of-37 passes for 174 yards and ran for 44 yards, while running back D'Andre Swift was limited to 18 rushing yards on 14 carries.

The Bears (1-1) finished with just 205 total yards of offence after being held to a mere 148 total yards in their comeback win over the Tennessee Titans in Week 1.

 

Darnold leads surprising Vikings over 49ers

The Minnesota Vikings took out the defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers, winning 23-17.

Taking over the offence after rookie J.J. McCarthy suffered a season-ending knee injury last month, Sam Darnold helped the Vikings improve to 2-0.

Darnold was 17 of 26 for 268 yards with a pair of touchdowns, including a 97-yarder to Justin Jefferson.

Jefferson finished with 133 yards receiving on four catches, and Ty Chandler rushed for 82 yards on just 10 carries for a Minnesota team that compiled 146 yards on the ground.

 

Jordan Mason led the 49ers (1-1) with 100 yards rushing and scored on a 10-yard run in his second start in place of All-Pro Christian McCaffrey, who has been placed on injured reserve and will miss at least two more games with lower leg injuries.

Brock Purdy completed 28-of-36 passes for 319 yards, but only one throw went for a touchdown - a seven-yarder to tight end Geroge Kittle in the second quarter.

The San Francisco 49ers placed star running back Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve Saturday, ensuring that he will miss at least the next four games with calf and Achilles injuries.

The move is a shocking departure from the optimism of less than two weeks ago, when McCaffrey was a last-minute scratch for the 49ers’ season-opening win over the New York Jets.

McCaffrey missed the entire pre-season with what was reported as calf soreness. In the regular season, teams are required to submit official injury reports, and McCaffrey’s designation included Achilles tendonitis.

Last year’s rushing champion will miss a minimum of four more games, with the earliest possible return date coming on Oct. 10.

The 49ers face the Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals over their next four, but there is no guarantee that McCaffrey will return when first eligible.

San Francisco ruled McCaffrey out for Sunday’s game in Minnesota on Friday, with head coach Kyle Shanahan publicly acknowledging for the first time that the 2023 Offensive Player of the Year could end up on IR.

“Yesterday was his worst day,” Shanahan told reporters. “It's on and off, but with yesterday having the most pain. It's something we're going to be discussing together in the next 24 hours.”

The loss is a massive one for the reigning NFC champions, who went 12-5 in McCaffrey’s first full season with the team last year.

With Elijah Mitchell already placed on IR before the start of the season, the only trusted running back on San Francisco’s roster is Jordan Mason, who ran the ball 28 times for 147 yards and a touchdown.

McCaffrey’s extended absence could also result in Deebo Samuel getting more snaps at running back, a look that was more common before the 49ers traded for McCaffrey during the 2022 season.

This is McCaffrey’s first IR stint since joining the 49ers. The Stanford product played a combined 10 games in the 2020 and 2021 seasons due to ankle and hamstring injuries.

McCaffrey led the NFL with 2,023 yards from scrimmage last season and tied with Raheem Mostert for the league lead at 21 touchdowns.

The San Francisco 49ers are considering placing star running back Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve as he continues to battle calf and Achilles issues.

McCaffrey missed the Niners' season-opening victory over the New York Jets on Monday, having struggled with soreness in his right calf and tendinitis in his Achilles. 

On Thursday, head coach Kyle Shanahan ruled McCaffrey out of the team's Week 2 trip to face the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, and conversations are now taking place about placing him on the injured reserve list.

If they do so, he will have to sit out at least four more games, leaving San Francisco without one of their foremost offensive weapons for a significant period of the season.

"It's something we're considering now," Shanahan told reporters. "Yesterday was his worst day. 

"It's on and off, but with yesterday having the most pain. It's something we're going to be discussing together in the next 24 hours."

McCaffrey won the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year award for 2023 after helping San Francisco reach Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas, where they suffered a dramatic overtime defeat against the Kansas City Chiefs.

He led the NFL in rushing with 1,459 yards with 14 touchdowns in his first full season with the 49ers, having arrived in a blockbuster trade from the Carolina Panthers in 2022.

McCaffrey admitted his injury problems were causing him plenty of frustration earlier this week, telling reporters: "My mindset every week is that I'm going to play.

"There's been weeks when I'll go the full week, not even feeling good enough to do the walk-through, and then I wake up and the body's capable of a lot of cool things. 

"Mentally, I'm always prepared to play, and then I woke up and it was a group decision, a very tough one. 

"I hate not playing, but I look at it as a chess move and something that hopefully you can benefit from the rest of the season."

Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel has said the team will bring in another quarterback in the absence of Tua Tagovailoa.

Tagovailoa suffered a concussion in Thursday's 31-10 loss to the Buffalo Bulls in the third quarter, the third of his career with all of them occurring in the past 24 months. 

The 26-year-old was 17-for-25 passing for 145 yards against the Bills, with one touchdown and three interceptions, one of which was returned for a Buffalo score, before he got hurt.

Until they can bring in a new recruit, Skylar Thompson will be considered the Dolphins' starter, and McDaniel believes he can perform well in the absence of his main man.

He said: "The team and the organisation are very confident in Skylar."

McDaniel was unsure about whether to place Tagovailoa on injured reserve, suggesting his chances of featuring in their next match against the Seattle Seahawks on September 22nd were very slim.

"I have no idea, and I'm not going to all of a sudden start making decisions that I don't even see myself involved in the most important parts of!" McDaniel said.

"There won't be any talk about where we're going in that regard, none of that will happen without doctors' expertise and the actual player."

 

Thompson feels ready to step up in Tagovailoa's absence and be an important member of the side for the foreseeable future.

He said: "I feel like I'm ready for whatever's to come. I'm going to prepare and work hard and do everything I can to lead this team and do my job."

 

 

 

Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Austin Jackson said he was "crushed" after seeing Tua Tagovailoa suffer another concussion in Thursday's loss to the Buffalo Bills.

The Dolphins were beaten 31-10 at Hard Rock Stadium, with Tagovailoa throwing for 145 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions before his third-quarter exit.

Tagovailoa collided with Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin on a fourth-down keeper before hitting the back of his head on the turf, staying down for two minutes as several Dolphins players crowded around him.

The quarterback was able to walk to the locker room but was swiftly ruled out as Skylar Thompson finished the game in his place, throwing for 80 yards and no scores.

Tagovailoa previously suffered two concussions during the 2022 season, when the NFL and NFLPA opened a joint investigation into how one of Tagovailoa's injuries was handled.

Asked about the mood in the Miami locker room after the game, Jackson said: "Crushed. I hate to see him like that. Even with his history already with that type of stuff, I hate to see it. 

"I hate that it was him rushing out of the pocket. Wish I could get that back for all of us. I could have been better."

Tagovailoa previously missed two games after being concussed in a 2022 game versus the Cincinnati Bengals, then was shut down for the rest of the season when he sustained another concussion in a Christmas Day meeting with the Green Bay Packers.

Coach Mike McDaniel was in no mood to think about the timeline of his recovery after the game, saying: "Right now it is more about getting a proper procedural evaluation tomorrow and taking it one day at a time.

"The furthest thing from my mind is what the timeline is. We just need to evaluate him and I just worry about my team-mate. 

"We'll get more information tomorrow and then take it day by day from there."

McDaniel added Tagovailoa's past head injuries will not inform the way Miami handle his latest blow, saying: "I think it's important to approach each and every situation with the mindset of, 'we're going to handle this particular situation with this particular player'. 

"Every situation is unique. I am not worried about anything that's out of my hands, I'm just worried about the human being, and he'll drive the ship when we get the appropriate information. But it's day-by-day health, particularly with concussions."

Tua Tagovailoa threw three interceptions before leaving with a concussion and James Cook had three touchdowns as the Buffalo Bills rolled to a 31-10 rout of the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night.

Tagovailoa, who has a history of dealing with head injuries, collided with Bills defensive back Demar Hamlin in the third quarter on a fourth-down keeper and hit the back of his head against the turf.

He remained down for about two minutes before getting to his feet and walking to the sideline. Tagovailoa made his way to the tunnel not long afterward, looking into the stands, appeared to smile and departed for the Dolphins' locker room.

The Dolphins needed almost no time before announcing it was a concussion.

Tagovailoa positioned himself for a big pay bump with an injury-free and productive 2023. He threw for 29 touchdowns and a league-best 4,624 yards.

Cook caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Josh Allen and scored on runs of 1 and 49 yards in the first half, flipping into the end zone when he gave the Bills a 24-7 lead.

Allen, playing with a glove on his left non-throwing hand after hurting it in Buffalo's opener, completed 13 of 19 passes for 139 yards. He's 12-2 against the Dolphins and the Bills are 14-2 against Miami since coach Sean McDermott’s first year as head coach in 2017.

Miami’s star receiver Tyreek Hill was held to three catches for 24 yards during a week in which he dominated national headlines.

Hill was pulled from his sports car by Miami-Dade County police officers, pushed face-first onto a street and handcuffed during a traffic stop outside the Dolphins’ home stadium hours before their season opener. 

Tua Tagovailoa threw three interceptions before leaving with a concussion and James Cook had three touchdowns as the Buffalo Bills rolled to a 31-10 rout of the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night.

Tagovailoa, who has a history of dealing with head injuries, collided with Bills defensive back Demar Hamlin in the third quarter on a fourth-down keeper and hit the back of his head against the turf.

He remained down for about two minutes before getting to his feet and walking to the sideline. Tagovailoa made his way to the tunnel not long afterward, looking into the stands, appeared to smile and departed for the Dolphins' locker room.

The Dolphins needed almost no time before announcing it was a concussion.

Tagovailoa positioned himself for a big pay bump with an injury-free and productive 2023. He threw for 29 touchdowns and a league-best 4,624 yards.

Cook caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Josh Allen and scored on runs of 1 and 49 yards in the first half, flipping into the end zone when he gave the Bills a 24-7 lead.

Allen, playing with a glove on his left non-throwing hand after hurting it in Buffalo's opener, completed 13 of 19 passes for 139 yards. He's 12-2 against the Dolphins and the Bills are 14-2 against Miami since coach Sean McDermott’s first year as head coach in 2017.

Miami’s star receiver Tyreek Hill was held to three catches for 24 yards during a week in which he dominated national headlines. Hill was pulled from his sports car by Miami-Dade County police officers, pushed face-first onto a street and handcuffed during a traffic stop outside the Dolphins’ home stadium hours before their season opener.