Tom Brady added to his own NFL record for career game-winning drives, pulling another rabbit out of his hat to deliver an unlikely 17-16 win against the New Orleans Saints on Monday.

Brady's Bucs had only mustered three points in the first 55 minutes of the 60-minute contest, but produced two clutch touchdown drives late in the fourth quarter to salvage a gutsy win.

He delivered the first touchdown pass to Cade Otton with three minutes remaining, and after getting the ball back 30 seconds later, the two-and-a-half minutes on the clock was more than enough to march down again and find Rachaad White with three seconds to spare.

Brady now has 56 game-winning drives in his career, two more than Peyton Manning in second-place.

It was a crucial win for the Buccaneers, who are now 6-6 and one game clear atop the insipid NFC South.

After the victory, Brady reflected on the rollercoaster of emotions after his initial game-winning touchdown pass to Chris Godwin was negated by a holding penalty.

"Just like we drew it up," he said with tongue-in-cheek to open his press conference.

"It was great. Great route by Rachaad, great catch. [Offensive coordinator] Byron [Leftwich] made a great call. 

"We thought we threw the touchdown to Chris – I thought I threw it in a quarter-second. I was like 'how was there a hold? I caught it and threw it'.

"That put us back to the 15 [yard line], but we still found a way. It was a great team win.

"We've been pretty good in no-huddle and two-minute drills. A lot of games come down to those type of plays – and our guys made them. Our guys made the plays this week."

Since arriving in Tampa Bay ahead of the 2020-21 season, Brady has faced the Saints three times at home, and this is both the first win, and the first time the Buccaneers have been able to score a touchdown in any of those games.

"They're a hard team to beat, and I'm glad we won," he said. "They've got a great defense, they played us very physical, like we thought. 

"We made some mistakes in there, but we made enough plays in the end to win.

"I wish we could score more points against them, they make it really hard. They've got a really good scheme, really good players, they cover well, rush well, really good linebackers.

"Tough game, but a great win."

Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles was thrilled with the result, pointing to his team's "guts".

"They showed guts, they showed grit and they played well together," he said. "It was a complete team effort. 

"The defense got the ball back, the offense cashed it in. We got it back one more time, they cashed it in one more time. It was a good team effort."

Next up on their schedule is the San Francisco 49ers, who present a golden opportunity for a win since it will be the first start at quarterback for third-stringer Brock Purdy after Jimmy Garoppolo's season-ending injury on Sunday.

Brady played his last college game at Michigan four days after Purdy was born.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 45-year-old quarterback showed he still has some magic left in the tank as Tom Brady delivered an unlikely 17-16 home win against the New Orleans Saints on Monday.

Brady's offense struggled all game, and they trailed 16-3 with under five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, before the seven-time Super Bowl champion conjured some more of his famous late-game heroics.

He mounted a 10-play, 91-yard drive in just over two minutes, with a one-yard touchdown pass to tight end Cade Otton cutting the margin to 16-10.

Just 31 seconds later he had the ball back after the Buccaneers' defense forced a punt, thanks in large part to a sack from Carl Nassib, giving Brady two-and-a-half minutes to produce another game-winning drive.

Having broken the record for most game-winning drives in the final five minutes or overtime earlier this season, Brady added one more – the 56th of his career – but not without some controversy first.

With 19 seconds remaining, Brady found receiver Chris Godwin for a five-yard touchdown pass that seemingly won the Bucs the game, but a flag for offensive holding negated the play, and meant Brady would have to now figure it out from the 15-yard line.

A nine-yard completion to Godwin got him back down to the six-yard line, and from there, on third-down, he found backup running back Rachaad White leaking out of the backfield to reach the endzone with three seconds on the clock.

Brady ultimately completed 36 of his 54 passes for 281 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, and the win improved the Buccaneers' record to 6-6 – giving them sole possession of first-place atop the underperforming NFC South.

Trevor Lawrence produced the greatest moment of his brief NFL career to date as the Jacksonville Jaguars fought back to stun the Baltimore Ravens 28-27.

The Ravens led 19-10 early in the fourth quarter after Gus Edwards' one-yard touchdown run, and then appeared destined for victory after surviving a fourth-quarter collapse to retake a 27-20 lead on Josh Oliver's 12-yard touchdown reception and a two-point conversion throw to Mark Andrews.

That left Lawrence, last year's first overall pick, with 75 yards to go for a game-tying touchdown with just over two minutes remaining.

The ensuing drive saw him show the poise and ability that led him to be dubbed as the best quarterback prospect since Andrew Luck, Lawrence expertly leading the Jags down the field in 10 plays.

A pinpoint throw to Marvin Jones Jr. in the corner of the endzone pulled the Jaguars within a point but, rather than going for the game-tying extra point, head coach Doug Pederson elected to try to win the game with a two-point attempt.

His belief in his young quarterback was vindicated as Lawrence connected with Zay Jones to give the Jaguars the lead.

In the dying seconds, Jackson got the Ravens on the edge of game-winning field goal range for Justin Tucker, who owns the NFL record for the longest kick in league history. However, Tucker's 67-yard attempt fell just short of the crossbar as the Jags clung on in a heart-stopping finish.

Baltimore's defeat means they drop to 7-4, ahead of the Cincinnati Bengals only on the head-to-head tiebreaker after the Bengals beat the Tennessee Titans 20-16 in their playoff rematch.

Brady beaten in OT

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers missed a chance to cement their grip on the NFC South as they suffered a dramatic overtime loss to the Cleveland Browns.

David Njoku's spectacular one-handed grab drew the Browns level 17-17 with 32 seconds remaining and the Bucs failed to rediscover offensive fluency in the extra period.

A 45-yard bomb from Tom Brady's former team-mate Jacoby Brissett to Amari Cooper put the Browns deep in the red zone, before Nick Chubb's three-yard plunge sealed the win for Cleveland.

With Tampa Bay's division rivals the Atlanta Falcons losing 19-13 to the Washington Commanders, the Buccaneers let slip an opportunity to go two games up in the loss column at the top of the NFC South.

Jets win without Wilson

Having benched last year's second overall pick Zach Wilson following their dismal offensive performance in defeat to the New England Patriots last week, the Jets got back on track with Mike White under center against the Chicago Bears.

White completed 22 of his 28 passes for 315 yards and three touchdowns as the Jets routed the Justin Fields-less Bears 31-10 to improve to 7-4. They are a game behind the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins, with the latter now 8-3 following their 30-15 win over the lowly Houston Texans.

For all the scrutiny on Tom Brady in what could be his final season in the NFL, the championship hopes of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers may hinge heavily on a running back playing in his first.

Brady and the Buccaneers looked to finally be finding their groove on offense prior to their Week 11 bye, finishing with 419 net yards of offense as they knocked off the Seattle Seahawks in Munich in Week 10 to improve to 5-5.

Though Brady delivered arguably his best performance of the season throwing the ball, a critical development for the Bucs at Allianz Arena was the emergence of rookie running back Rachaad White, who thrived as the lead runner for Tampa Bay after Leonard Fournette suffered a hip injury.

White had 22 carries for 105 yards against Seattle having previously not topped eight carries or 27 yards in any of his first nine games. He became the first rookie running back to rush for 100 yards for Tampa Bay since Mike James in Week 9, 2013.

With Fournette doubtful to face the Cleveland Browns in Week 12, White will likely get the lion's share of the work in the Tampa Bay backfield again. After a breakout performance in Germany, can he blossom into an offensive weapon who can help propel the Bucs to a deep playoff run?

His season-long average of 3.7 yards per carry is not a point in his favour, however, White has demonstrated an encouraging ability to create yardage for himself.

Indeed, White is averaging 2.17 yards after contact per attempt in his first season after being selected in the third round out of Arizona State, that tally above the league-wide average of 2.07 for backs with at least 50 carries this season.

He bounced off defenders consistently in the defeat of Seattle, in which he racked up 2.71 yards after contact per attempt in a performance that was punctuated by his brutal stiff arm on Seahawks safety Quandre Diggs.

Among backs who had at least 10 carries in Week 10, only five backs averaged more yards after contact.

White's value is not just limited to his efforts on the ground, however. He offers significant upside as a receiving threat out of the backfield, as his burn rate, which measures how often a receiver wins his matchup on a play where he is targeted, illustrates.

For running backs with at least 25 targets in the passing game this season, White's burn rate of 64 per cent is the third best in the NFL. Though his tally of 135 receiving yards may not be overly impressive, his success in creating separation when he is utilised as a pass-catcher suggests that number would inflate considerably with more playing time.

White has the skill set to be a dynamic runner for the Buccaneers and serve as an outlet for Brady in the passing game, giving the 45-year-old an easy button when his connection with the likes of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin sputters as it has often done in 2022.

Against the Browns, however, it is the former capacity where White will look to enjoy the most significant influence.

The Browns have allowed a run success rate of 42.6 per cent this season, the fourth-worst in the NFL behind the Kansas City Chiefs (42.9%), Los Angeles Chargers (42.7%) and Detroit Lions (42.7%).

In addition, Cleveland's run defense has given up six rushing touchdowns of at least 10 yards, tied with the lowly Houston Texans for the most in the league.

While Fournette was injured against the Seahawks, White appeared to offer the Tampa Bay running game much more explosiveness when he took the mantle as the Buccaneers' primary tailback, suggesting he could be a better safety net who can alleviate some of the pressure on the arm of Brady by producing as a runner and a receiver in critical moments down the stretch and in the postseason.

That hypothesis will be tested in what should be an extremely favourable matchup for White and the Bucs' ground attack. If White takes advantage of this latest opportunity, Fournette may find himself operating in a supplementary role when he returns from injury.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers strengthened their grip on first place in the NFC South as they survived a fourth-quarter fightback from the Seattle Seahawks to prevail 21-16 in Munich.

Tampa Bay went into the NFL's first regular-season game in Germany having got back on track with a last-gasp 16-13 win over the Los Angeles Rams and on top in their division despite an underwhelming 4-5 record.

For three-and-a-half quarters, there was little sub-par about the Buccaneers' performance at the Allianz Arena, where they led 21-3 with under nine minutes remaining.

Geno Smith threw touchdowns to Tyler Lockett and Marquise Goodwin to cut their advantage to 21-16, but Tom Brady delivered a clock-killing final drive to seal the game for the Bucs, who improve to 5-5, a game ahead of the 4-6 Atlanta Falcons with a tie-breaking head-to-head win in the NFC South. The Seahawks drop to 6-4.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Bucs took the lead at the end of a 13-play drive, Brady connecting over the middle with Julio Jones, who galloped into the endzone for a 31-yard touchdown.

While Smith and the Seahawks' offense continued to struggle, Brady looked increasingly comfortable and led another 13-play drive that was capped by a Leonard Fournette rushing touchdown to put Tampa Bay up 14-0.

Seattle responded in the third quarter with a 55-yard field goal but did not look like stopping the Bucs' offense until a remarkable trick play saw Fournette intercepted by Tariq Woolen while trying to throw to Brady.

But Smith fumbled in the red zone on the subsequent drive and Brady's four-yard touchdown pass to Chris Godwin seemingly put the game beyond doubt.

Smith connected with Lockett to give Seattle hope that was furthered by Goodwin's diving touchdown grab after a Cody Barton interception.

However, the Bucs gained three first downs on the final drive to end any prospect of a turnaround in Bavaria.

Tom Brady’s team is under .500 and he’s had to deal with off-field challenges, but that does not mean the 45-year-old has any regrets about returning for a 23rd NFL season. 

''Zero, no, definitely not,'' Brady told a crowded news conference in Germany ahead of Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks. ''I think I returned because I felt like I wanted to compete. I spoke to the team about it, and they were excited to have me back.'' 

Although just 4-5, Brady and the Buccaneers have the good fortune of playing in the weak NFC South where no team has a better record. Tampa Bay is coming off a come-from-behind 16-13 win over the Los Angeles Rams and can reach .500 with a victory Sunday. 

''This is a very important game for us. We have a bye week after this. It gives you a chance to kind of evaluate where you are at, and I'd much rather evaluate being 5-5 than 4-6,'' he said. ''We've got to win this game and it will take care of that, but Seattle is going to challenge us. They're creating a lot of sacks and turnovers.'' 

Tampa Bay has been hit hard by injuries and is averaging just 18 points per game, the fewest by a Brady-led offense through nine games in his career.  

"I think the frustrating part is we just haven’t played to the way we’re capable of playing – that's for a number of different reasons," Brady said. 

Besides on-field issues, Brady and Gisele Bundchen recently announced that their divorce is finalized. 

He was asked about how he copes with personal and professional challenges. 

''You do the best you can do every day and, yeah, that's what I've been trying to do, be the best I can be for my family and for my teammates,'' he said. ''We all have our challenges. Life is challenging for everybody. We just do our best.'' 

Brady later explained that he loves the daily routine of the job. 

''It's hard for me to believe I'm still playing at this age, but I enjoy it and I love competing,'' he said. ''Certainly, games like last week are reasons why we do do it because there's a thrill of victory that is hard to probably replicate at home on Xbox or something like that.'' 

We are somehow already at Week 10 in the NFL season, all wondering where the time actually does go.

Two of the shining lights of the campaign face off in Buffalo as the Bills host the Minnesota Vikings.

History will be made in Munich as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers face the Seattle Seahawks in the first-ever regular season NFL game played in Germany, while the San Francisco 49ers will look to continue their return to winning ways against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Stats Perform takes a closer look at the numbers behind some of Sunday's NFL clashes.

Minnesota Vikings (7-1) @ Buffalo Bills (6-2)

The Vikings have played eight games at Highmark Stadium and have held the Bills to 23 points or fewer in each one, which is the longest streak of allowing 23 points or fewer by a visiting team in the stadium's history.

Minnesota have won six straight games, all by eight points or fewer, tied for the second-longest streak of one-possession wins in NFL history, behind a seven-game streak by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020.

T.J. Hockenson boasted nine catches on his Vikings debut last week, tying the Bills' Keith McKeller (October 18, 1987) for the most receptions by a tight end on debut with a team in the Super Bowl era.

The Bills have allowed 21 points or fewer in 12 straight regular-season games, the longest streak in franchise history and the second longest by any NFL team over the last 15 seasons (Baltimore Ravens, 13 straight from 2019-20).

Buffalo are allowing just 4.6 points per game in the second half this year. No NFL team has allowed fewer than 5.0 points per game in the second half over a full season since the Carolina Panthers in 1996 (3.5).

Seattle Seahawks (6-3) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5)

It should be a great experience in Bavaria, but the Bucs are 0-3 in games played outside the United States (all in London), having been outscored 96-51 in those games. The Seahawks, meanwhile, are 2-0 outside the U.S. (one in Toronto, one in London), outscoring their opponents, 77-20.

Pete Carroll is in his 17th season as an NFL head coach and has had at least six wins in each campaign. The only other coach to have six or more wins in each of his first 17 seasons was Don Shula, who did so in all 33 seasons of his career.

Kenneth Walker III is the first NFL rookie to rush for a touchdown and have his team win in each of his first four career starts since Robert Edwards for the New England Patriots in 1998.

Tom Brady has thrown at least 40 passes with no interceptions in seven consecutive starts. No other QB in NFL history has done that in more than four straight starts.

The Bucs have rushed for 75 or fewer yards in eight straight games, the second-longest streak in the Super Bowl wera behind a nine-game streak by the Cardinals from 1991-92.

Los Angeles Chargers (5-3) @ San Francisco 49ers (4-4)

The Chargers are looking to win their sixth-straight game against the 49ers, which would make them the first team to do so since the Seahawks (nine games from 2014 to 2018).

Justin Herbert was not sacked in the Chargers' recent win against the Atlanta Falcons. The Chargers have allowed the fewest sacks in the league this season (10), and have not allowed 10 or fewer sacks through eight games since the 2008 season (also 10).

Through 40 career starts, Herbert has played a part in 90 touchdowns (82 passing, eight rushing). Only Patrick Mahomes (107), Dan Marino (95) and Kurt Warner (91) accounted for more scores in their first 40 starts.

San Francisco's last five games have all been decided by at least 14 points (3-2 record). They have not had six consecutive such games since an eight-game streak in 1999.

Christian McCaffrey threw for, rushed for and caught a touchdown in San Francisco's win over the Rams. He was the first player to do so since the Chargers' LaDainian Tomlinson completed the feat in Week 6 of the 2005 season.

Elsewhere...

The Jacksonville Jaguars (3-6) will need a plan to deal with Chiefs (6-2) QB Mahomes, who attempted 68 passes (completing 43) in last week's win over the Tennessee Titans, both of which set single-game team records. The only player to attempt more passes in a win in the NFL since 1950 was Drew Bledsoe with 70 in Week 11 of the 1994 season.

Former Chief Tyreek Hill has 1104 receiving yards this season for the Miami Dolphins (6-3), the most by any player through his team's first nine games in the Super Bowl era. Prior to this year, there had only been 11 times a Dolphins receiver recorded 1100 yards in an entire season, and Hill will look to add to those against the Cleveland Browns (3-5).

Last week was Cooper Kupp's 20th career game with at least 100 receiving yards and a touchdown, the most in the NFL since he entered the league in 2017. The only other players with more than 15 such games in that span are Davante Adams (19) and Hill (18), and the Los Angeles Rams (3-5) will need their star to step up again against the Arizona Cardinals (3-6).

Aaron Rodgers' passer rating is at 89.0 this season after posting 111.9 in 2021. The decrease of 22.9 is the largest by a Green Bay Packers quarterback (min. five games played) since Bart Starr from 1966 to 1967 (105.0 to 64.4). With a record of 3-6, the Packers will hope he can improve that against the Dallas Cowboys (6-2).

Tom Brady made more NFL history in Sunday's thrilling 16-13 Tampa Bay Buccaneers' win over the Los Angeles Rams but he says it was all about the win and not personal records.

Brady became the first player in NFL history to throw more than 100,000 career yards on a 15-yard fourth-quarter completion to Leonard Fournette.

That was before Brady took over to win the game for the Bucs who were down 13-9 with 44 seconds remaining, going five-of-six for 60 yards on the game-winning drive, the record 55th of his career.

Not only did Brady achieve those new feats, but he notched his 43rd career fourth-quarter comeback, tying Peyton Manning for the most by an NFL starting quarterback.

Brady declared "that was awesome, that was f****** awesome" to open his post-game press conference, referring to the come-from-behind win, not the records.

"It's all about the win," Brady added. "It's all about the win, man. I never cared about the [records]. All about the win."

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles was full of praise for 45-year-old Brady who completed 36 of 58 passes for 280 yards and one TD.

"We always have a chance with [Brady]," Bowles said. "We're grateful to have him. He got over 100,000 yards - that's a long-playing career for anybody. He's still playing at a high level. We love the guy to death.

"You run out of things to say about him. I'm sure I can't say anything different than the 50 million people that [have] already commented things on him. He's a great player.

"He's one of the best, if not the best to ever play the game, and he continues to do that."

The win improved the Bucs' record to 4-5 to regain top spot in the NFC South after the Atlanta Falcons lost 20-17 to the Los Angeles Chargers.

Tom Brady made more NFL history in Sunday's thrilling 16-13 Tampa Bay Buccaneers' win over the Los Angeles Rams but he says it was all about the win and not personal records.

Brady became the first player in NFL history to throw more than 100,000 career yards on a 15-yard fourth-quarter completion to Leonard Fournette.

That was before Brady took over to win the game for the Bucs who were down 13-9 with 44 seconds remaining, going five-of-six for 60 yards on the game-winning drive, the record 55th of his career.

Not only did Brady achieve those new feats, but he notched his 43rd career fourth-quarter comeback, tying Peyton Manning for the most by an NFL starting quarterback.

Brady declared "that was awesome, that was f****** awesome" to open his post-game press conference, referring to the come-from-behind win, not the records.

"It's all about the win," Brady added. "It's all about the win, man. I never cared about the [records]. All about the win."

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles was full of praise for 45-year-old Brady who completed 36 of 58 passes for 280 yards and one TD.

"We always have a chance with [Brady]," Bowles said. "We're grateful to have him. He got over 100,000 yards - that's a long-playing career for anybody. He's still playing at a high level. We love the guy to death.

"You run out of things to say about him. I'm sure I can't say anything different than the 50 million people that [have] already commented things on him. He's a great player.

"He's one of the best, if not the best to ever play the game, and he continues to do that."

The win improved the Bucs' record to 4-5 to regain top spot in the NFC South after the Atlanta Falcons lost 20-17 to the Los Angeles Chargers.

Tom Brady showed once again why he is considered the greatest player in the history of the NFL after another miraculous game-winning drive to lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 16-13 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

It was not a good offensive game from either team, with the only touchdown from the first 59 minutes of action coming from a 69-yard pass by Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford to reigning Offensive Player of the Year Cooper Kupp in the second quarter.

But after a fourth-quarter field goal trimmed the margin to 13-9 with eight minutes on the clock, all eyes turned to Brady as he looked to break the all-time record for game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime.

His first attempt saw Brady lead the Bucs 53 yards, before failing to convert a fourth-down at the seven-yard line. Luckily for Tampa Bay, they would get another chance after a quick stop forced the Rams to punt the ball with 50 seconds remaining.

In just 35 seconds, Brady completed four passes and drew a pass-interference penalty to take the ball to the one-yard line with 15 seconds to play.

Brady then swung a quick pass out to tight end Cade Otton, slipping past a potential tackler for the score with nine seconds on the clock.

It was Brady's 55th game-winning drive, breaking his tie with Peyton Manning to take sole possession of the all-time lead.

With the win, the Buccaneers move to 4-5, and now lead the NFC South as they own the tiebreaker against the 4-5 Atlanta Falcons.

Walker carries the Seahawks

Rookie running back Kenneth Walker III was the star of the show in the Seattle Seahawks' 31-21 road win against the Arizona Cardinals.

Walker carried the ball 26 times for 109 yards and two touchdowns, making it five consecutive games where he has found the endzone after also tallying 167 yards and two touchdowns in Week 7 against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Both of the Seahawks' starting receivers also scored, with quarterback Geno Smith completing a four-yard touchdown pass to D.K. Metcalf and a nine-yarder to Tyler Lockett.

Seattle are now 6-3, while Arizona fall to 3-6.

Tom Brady became the first player in NFL history to reach 100,000 passing yards during the first/second/third/fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback was always likely to hit the landmark in the 2022 season, and the 45-year-old did exactly that against the Rams, achieving a feat that may never be matched.

Brady entered the Week 9 clash with 86,787 passing yards in the regular season, adding 13,049 yards in the postseason.

He stands more than 14,000 yards ahead of the second-placed quarterback all-time in that regard, Drew Brees.

Only once in the past 12 seasons has Brady failed to rack up more than 4,000 passing yards for the campaign, finishing with 3,554 in the 2016 season for the New England Patriots after missing the first four games due to his Deflategate suspension. Brady ended that season by leading the Patriots back from a 28-3 deficit to defeat the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI.

Despite the Bucs struggling mightily on offense in 2022, Brady is on pace to hit the 4,000 mark again this season, having entered Week 9 with 2,267 to his name.

Last season, Brady became the first player to throw 700 career touchdown passes, and when he does retire for good after swiftly reversing his decision to hang up the cleats this past offseason, he will undoubtedly do so as the greatest of all time.

The Los Angeles Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers meet in Week 9 in a matchup between two preseason NFC favourites who have spectacularly failed to live up to expectations.

Los Angeles and Tampa Bay produced a thrilling NFC Divisional Round playoff game last season, the Rams prevailing in overtime following a furious Bucs comeback en route to winning Super Bowl LVI.

Such excitement has been thin on the ground for both teams in 2022. They are a combined 6-9, with both of their offenses enduring significant struggles. 

Last week, the Rams (3-4) were thrashed 31-14 by their NFC West rivals the San Francisco 49ers, who completed a fourth successive regular-season sweep of Los Angeles.

That defeat marked the fourth time this season the Rams have scored 14 or fewer points and lost by double-digits. From 2017 through 2021 (head coach Sean McVay’s tenure prior to this season), they had six such games. Five of those 10 games have been against San Francisco.

Quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for 187 yards on 33 attempts against San Francisco. It was the 11th time in his career that he has thrown the ball at least 30 times and finished with fewer than 200 passing yards. His teams are 2-9 in those games.

Stafford averaged 4.71 air yards per attempt in the loss to the 49ers, the Rams' offense relying largely on the screen pass and rendered impotent in the second half after San Francisco succeeded in taking that away.

Los Angeles' lack of counterpunches when the Rams cannot get the ball to Cooper Kupp should offer the Tampa Bay defense, which is allowing the fourth-fewest yards per pass play (5.7) in the NFL, confidence it can contain Stafford and Co. as the 49ers did.

The Rams' distinct lack of a running game -- Los Angeles' run success rate of 24.3 per cent is by far the worst in the league -- will only further Tampa Bay's confidence in that regard, and the Buccaneers appeared closer to solving their problems on offense in Week 8.

Though the Buccaneers (3-5) lost for the third consecutive game, suffering a 27-22 defeat to the Baltimore Ravens, Tom Brady threw for 325 yards and zero interceptions. In his career, he is 54-7 when throwing 300 yards and no interceptions but is 1-2 in such games this season.

Still, Tampa Bay's three-game losing streak is their longest such run since the Buccaneers lost four in a row between Week 5 and Week 9 in 2019. In addition, they have scored 28 points just once this season, in a 41-31 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bucs were 12-0 when reaching that mark last season.

Both offenses appear likely to face plenty of third-and-long situations, and it may be the offense that does a better job of overcoming them that comes out on top.

The Buccaneers are five of 50 (10 per cent) on third down with six or more yards to go. That percentage ranks last in the NFL. The Rams' 17.5 per cent mark (7-for-40) is 28th in the NFL. Last season, the Rams were third at 35.0 per cent while the Bucs were 12th at 25.6 per cent.

It's a tale of two offenses experiencing a substantial downturn, but neither team is dead in the water, with the Buccaneers one game out of the NFC South lead and the Rams a game back in the loss column in the NFC West, which is led by the 5-3 Seattle Seahawks.

But time is running out for these teams to right their respective ships, and the loser of this game will be at significant risk of sinking out of contention even in an open NFC.

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.

Tom Brady says he is out to "do the best you can do" following a trying season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, ahead of this weekend's clash with the Los Angeles Rams.

The veteran seven-time Super Bowl winner, who originally called time on his career at the end of last season before reversing his decision, has endured a tough time on and off the field in recent months.

Brady has seen the Bucs fall to 3-5 following defeat to the Baltimore Ravens, while the 45-year-old has also been finalising his divorce from Gisele Bundchen over the past week.

But speaking ahead of Sunday's encounter with incumbent Super Bowl champions the Rams at Raymond James Stadium, he says he is focused on ensuring he is the strongest possible version of himself in all walks of life.

"I've always tried to do the best I could do here [at the Bucs' facility], and then when I leave here, I try to do the best I can do," he stated. "That's what we all try to do.

"I'm sure everyone sitting in this room, everyone sitting at home, is trying to wake up every day doing the best they could do for their families and their career.

"I'm no different. So just do the best you can do every day. We certainly try to do."

Brady is hoping the Bucs can gain revenge against the Rams, with the quarterback having gone 0-3 against them over the last two years, including an NFC divisional round exit last campaign.

He does not expect an easy campaign over the coming weeks, but insists the team do not want sympathy, adding: "It's not like it gets easier; it's not like it gets any less competitive.

"No one feels sorry for us, nor should they. They're trying to win those games. We're trying to win, and we just haven't done a good job the last six weeks doing that."

Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen are ending their 13-year marriage after announcing they have started divorce proceedings.

Multiple outlets reported that Bundchen filed documents in the couple’s home state of Florida on Friday morning, hours after Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers were dealt a 27-22 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

The pair have reportedly reached a settlement on property and custody of their two children.

"We arrived at this decision to end our marriage after much consideration," Brady wrote in an Instagram post. "Doing so is, of course, painful and difficult, like it is for many people who go through the same thing every day around the world."

The announcement ends months of speculation that the high-profile marriage was close to unravelling. Brady briefly left the Buccaneers’ training camp in August for personal reasons that were rumoured to be related to the couple’s marital problems.

“The decision to end a marriage is never easy but we have grown apart and while it is, of course, difficult to go through something like this, I feel blessed for the time we had together and only wish the best for Tom always,” Bundchen wrote in a statement.

Brady had announced his retirement in February, citing the desire to spend more time with his family, but reversed course 40 days later and re-signed with the Bucs for a 23rd NFL season.

Bundchen admitted her displeasure over her husband’s decision in an interview with Elle magazine in September.

“Obviously, I have my concerns,” she said. “(Football) is a very violent sport, and I have my children and would like him to be more present. I have definitely had those conversations with him over and over again.

“But ultimately, I feel that everybody has to make a decision that works for (them). He needs to follow his joy, too.”

Brady and Bundchen, a successful supermodel born in Brazil, were married in 2009 and had their first child, Benjamin, later that year. Their second child, Vivian, was born in 2012.

The 45-year-old Brady has endured a difficult year on the field as well. The Buccaneers were among the NFC’s preseason favourites but fell to 3-5 with Thursday’s loss – the first time in the seven-time Super Bowl champion’s career his team is under .500 eight games into a season.