A matchup of the last two number one overall picks in the NFL Draft went to the veteran Thursday, as Joe Burrow led the Cincinnati Bengals to a 24-21 victory over Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

Rookie kicker Evan McPherson's 35-yard field goal at the buzzer gave Cincinnati the win after the Bengals went the entire game without a lead. 

Burrow completed 25 of 32 passes for 348 yards and a pair of touchdown passes to C.J. Uzomah as the Bengals improved to 3-1. 

Lawrence was 17-of-24 for 204 yards as he and first-year head coach Urban Meyer will have to wait at least another week for their first NFL victory after falling to 0-4. 

Jacksonville took a 14-0 lead on touchdown runs by James Robinson and Lawrence in the first half, and just missed another TD after they were stopped on fourth-and-goal at the Cincinnati one-yard line just before the break. 

The momentum swung the Bengals' way after the break, though, as Burrow hit rookie receiver Ja'Marr Chase for a 44-yard gain, then found Uzomah for a 22-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the second half. 

Cincinnati's next two drives also ended in TDs, on a one-yard run by Joe Mixon and a 31-yard Burrow-to-Uzomah strike.

After the Bengals' defence got the ball back with 5:40 to play, Burrow bled out the rest of the clock on a 10-play, 73-yard drive that culminated in McPherson's game-winning field goal. 

Daniel Sturridge is back in football after a year and a half away, signing with the A-League's Perth Glory for the 2021-22 season. 

The 32-year-old former Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City striker has not played since being released by Trabzonspor in March 2020 after being handed a four-month ban for breaching the Football Association's betting regulations. 

Sturridge scored seven goals in 16 appearances during his brief stint with the Turkish club after finding the net 97 times in 294 Premier League games. 

"It’s a fantastic opportunity to try a new challenge," Sturridge told the Perth Glory website.

"When the opportunity came about, it felt like the right thing to do, to take my talent somewhere where I can enjoy my football in a competitive league and try and help the team be as successful as they possibly can be.

"I’m going to put my best foot forward, work hard and try and help the team win each game that comes by, and then we’ll see where we end up when the season finishes."

The former England international is a marquee signing for Perth and the entire league, said Glory chairman and owner Tony Sage. 

"His arrival signals in no uncertain terms how determined we are to bring sustained success to the club and the lengths we will go to in order to achieve that goal," Sage said. 

"We know the elite-level quality Daniel will bring to the side and are hugely excited to see him wearing the famous purple this season."

Perth open the A-League season November 20 against Adelaide United. 

PGA Tour rookie Sahith Theegala birdied his first three holes and maintained his impressive form to lead the field after the opening round of the Sanderson Farms Classic. 

The 23-year-old Californian looked right at home in Mississippi, turning in a bogey-free round for an eight-under-par 64 at the Country Club of Jackson. 

His countrymen Nick Watney and Harold Varner III were one stroke back after shooting 65, while Roger Sloan, Kurt Kitayama and Kim Si-woo were at 66. 

Fresh off his Ryder Cup disappointment, defending tournament champion Sergio Garcia was six strokes back after shooting 70 in a round that featured two birdies and 16 pars. 

Among other former major winners in the field, Keegan Bradley shot 72 and Zach Johnson 73 in the opening round. 

The story of the day, though, was Theegala, who hit 11 of 14 fairways and 17 of 18 greens in regulation.

After earning his 2021-22 PGA Tour card with a strong finish in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals last month, Theegala described his round Thursday as "stress-free". 

"I don't think I've had a lot of time to think about all this stuff, so it just feels like I'm kind of just on a roll and I'm not really thinking about big situations or stuff like that, just feels like I'm playing golf," he said. "So that's helped a little bit,not having expectations, kind of just being on a free roll the whole time."

His inexperience on Tour may bode well for Theegala this week. Six of the last seven Sanderson Farms champions have been first-time winners, with Garcia the exception. 

The Super Bowl half-time show has long been a global stage for the biggest stars in music, and the NFL has lined up a formidable cast for this season's showcase event.

Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar will perform at Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles on February 13, the NFL announced Thursday.

The five artists have combined for 43 Grammy Awards during their careers, which date to Dre's role as a foundational member of the West Coast hip-hop scene in the late 1980s.

Jay-Z's Roc Nation is in its third season of a collaboration with the NFL to help organise and produce the 12-minute half-time show, and the mogul called this year's lineup "history in the making".

While all five performers have deep and impressive catalogues, the fact that Dre, Snoop and Lamar are all Los Angeles-area natives is an added bonus for the first Super Bowl to be played in LA since 1993.

"The opportunity to perform at the Super Bowl half-time show, and to do it in my own backyard, will be one of the biggest thrills of my career," Dre said in a media release.

The star-studded gathering figures to have a much different feel than the Super Bowl LV performance in Tampa, a solo effort by The Weeknd.

England boss Gareth Southgate admitted Jadon Sancho has been called up for international duty even though he does not deserve a place based on form.

The 21-year-old winger has struggled since his big-money move from Borussia Dortmund to Manchester United, failing to register a goal or an assist in eight appearances across all competitions.

His numbers are in stark contrast to what he produced for Dortmund last season, for whom he managed 16 goals and 18 assists in 38 games across the Bundesliga, Champions League and DFB-Pokal.

Sancho was also limited to just one start and two substitute appearances as England reached the final of Euro 2020 before losing to Italy on penalties, with United's new signing also missing one of the spot-kicks after being brought on.

Southgate has still named Sancho in his 23-man England squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Hungary, however, and wants to reassure the youngster as he goes through a difficult patch.

"Does he deserve to be in [the England squad] on these performances over the last few weeks? Well, probably not," Southgate said.

"But I think we feel we have invested in Jadon over a period of time, we believe he can get to a high level.

"I would like some time with him to chat with him and help that process that's going on at Manchester United as well and I think for him to feel that we have belief in him at this point is a good message."

Southgate also claimed it was only natural for Sancho to require time to adjust after moving from the German top flight to the Premier League, suggesting that it would be more difficult for him to hit the same numbers in England.

"The Bundesliga is totally different, Dortmund is a big club but Manchester United is one of the biggest in the world," Southgate continued. 

"There's some adaptation to that, there's a definite adaptation to the league. You're not going to get the goals and assists numbers, anywhere near, in our league, that you are in the Bundesliga."

Before joining up with England, Sancho will hope to kick-start his season with a goal if he features when United face Everton on October 2, in their final game before the international break.

Harry Kane insisted now is the time for Tottenham to rally behind Nuno Espirito Santo and get their Premier League season back on track. 

The England striker came off the bench to score a hat-trick and lead his side to a 5-1 win over Mura in the Europa Conference League on Thursday. 

Kane became the first Spurs player to score a hat-trick as a substitute since Ronny Rosenthal in the FA Cup back in 1995, while he is only the third man to hit three goals in a game in three separate major UEFA club competitions. 

Spurs fans will hope he can continue that form against Aston Villa on Sunday, Kane having failed to find the net in any of his first five Premier League appearances in 2021-22. 

With pressure mounting on head coach Nuno after three consecutive league losses and nine goals conceded, Kane said the Villa game will be key to turning around their fortunes. 

"Us as players and staff need to stick together and work hard," he told BT Sport. "Our recent form has not been great, but we need to try to turn it around next game. 

"Every striker wants to score goals. I probably wasn't expecting to come on today, but it's nice to get the minutes. Whenever you see the ball hit the back of the net it's a good feeling. Hopefully, we can take it into the weekend." 

Spurs were 2-0 up after only eight minutes but Nuno opted to bring on Kane, Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura after Ziga Kous scored a stunning volley for Mura early in the second half. 

"We started the game really well, went two ahead, but we lost our way a little bit. They scored a great goal," said Kane. 

"We made it harder than we needed to. The momentum shifted in their favour. It was about coming on and doing a job for the team." 

Nuno himself was happy enough with his side's performance, saying: "We started very well, our dynamic was good. 

"The beginning of the second half, they scored. After that, we played good. A good game. 

"It [the triple substitution] was needed. The best way to prepare the players is to play. The minutes were important for the boys. 

"[There were] a lot of positives." 

Andy Murray and Kim Clijsters have been awarded wildcards for Indian Wells in October. 

Former world number one Murray will take part in the Indian Wells Masters for the first time since 2017. 

The Scot is competing in San Diego after opting to play the Moselle Open last week in a bid to improve his world ranking following a first-round loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas at the US Open. 

Murray has now been handed a chance to improve on his career-best semi-final finish at Indian Wells in 2015, while Clijsters will also feature at the event, which will take place from October 4-17. 

Clijsters, another former world number one, started her comeback in 2019 after a seven-year break from tennis and will return to the tournament for the first time since 2011. 

The four-time major champion underwent knee surgery last year and made her first WTA Tour appearance since the 2020 US Open at the Chicago Fall Tennis Classic this week, losing to Hsieh Su-Wei in the first round. 

A two-time winner of the Indian Wells Open, Clijsters will be joined by Catherine McNally, Claire Liu, Katie Volynets and Katrina Scott. Newly crowned US Open champion Emma Raducanu was already a main-draw wildcard, with Ashlyn Krueger and Elsa Jacquemot also granted a place in the first round. 

A trio of Americans will join Murray in the men's draw, namely Jack Sock, Jenson Brooksby and Zach Svajda, with Denmark's Holger Rune also handed his debut as a main-draw wildcard. 

South Africa will attempt to deny New Zealand a first Rugby Championship clean sweep since 2017 at Cbus Stadium.

The All Blacks beat the Springboks 19-17 last weekend to win the title with a game to spare and Ian Foster's side can complete a Grand Slam in this year’s tournament on the Gold Coast this weekend.

Three defeats in a row ensured South Africa were unable to retain their crown and the world champions slipped to third place when Australia beat Argentina in round five.

The Wallabies were already firm favourites to extend their winning run to four matches against the Pumas in a final-round double-header before six Argentina players were ruled out for breaching COVID-19 regulations.

Pablo Matera, Joaquin Diaz Bonilla, Felipe Ezcurra, Santiago Medrano, Santiago Socino and Sebastian Cancelliere were stopped at the state border when they attempted to return to their Gold Coast base following an unauthorised trip to Byron Bay on Wednesday.

Here, Stats Perform utilizes Opta data to preview the last Rugby Championship matches of the year.

SOUTH AFRICA v NEW ZEALAND

Form

New Zealand have won their last 10 Tests on the bounce and edged out the Springboks in the previous round to seal top spot.

This will be the sixth Test between New Zealand and South Africa on neutral territory; the All Blacks have won each of their past four meetings in that span, though the Springboks won their inaugural fixture.

The All Blacks have gained more metres (618), scored more points (38) and made more clean breaks (14) per game than any other team in the 2021 edition of the Rugby Championship.

Ones to watch

Anton Lienert-Brown returns from injury at centre and will be expected to hit the ground running for the champions.

Wounded South Africa will be looking for number eight Duane Vermeulen to drive them on in what promises to be another almighty battle.

ARGENTINA v AUSTRALIA

Form

Australia's run of three consecutive wins is their longest since they managed four consecutive Test victories from October to November in 2017.

The Pumas have lost their past five Tests, after losing only twice in their 10 matches prior (W5, D3) to this tournament. The last time they went on a longer losing run was a 10-match span from September 2018 to September 2019.

Australia have missed the fewest tackles per game (12.2) and boast the highest tackle success rate (88.2 per cent) of any team in the 2021 edition.

Ones to watch

Greg Holmes is set to become the oldest player to feature for Australia since World War II. At the age of 38, the prop – who has not played for his country since 2016 - was named among the replacements by head coach Dave Rennie.

Emiliano Boffelli had a mixed game last Saturday, gaining 44 metres from seven carries. He was wasteful from the tee, however, and will want to make amends this weekend.

Declan Rice and Said Benrahma were both on target as West Ham won their second successive Europa League fixture, beating Rapid Vienna 2-0 at the London Stadium.

Andriy Yarmolenko and Michail Antonio combined well to set Rice up for a simple, close-range finish in the 29th minute and Benrahma added gloss to the scoreline deep into stoppage time, though the Hammers could have won by an even greater margin.

West Ham manager David Moyes, who made seven changes to the team that snatched a late 2-1 win against Leeds United in the Premier League, saw his men dominate an out-of-sorts Rapid.

The victory sees the London club sit on top of Group H, three points clear of Dinamo Zagreb and Genk.

West Ham started brightly and struck the woodwork twice inside the opening 27 minutes, with Rice glancing Aaron Cresswell's free-kick off one post and Craig Dawson heading the left-back's corner against the other.

Just two minutes after the second of those chances, the Hammers were ahead. Yarmolenko picked out Antonio's run into the box with a ball over the top and the forward squared across goal to Rice, who tapped into an empty net.

Ben Johnson thought he had given a penalty away when Marco Grull went down in the box in the 70th minute, but after a VAR check that lasted nearly three minutes, the original decision was overturned.

Substitute Jarrod Bowen had a golden opportunity to double the advantage with nine minutes of normal time to play, but somehow blasted over after rounding the goalkeeper.

The Hammers' dominance was finally rewarded with a second goal four minutes into added time, however, as Benrahma skipped inside his marker and curled a low shot into the corner to finish the game with a flourish.

Alex de Minaur was again stunned by Marcos Giron as the third seed crashed out of the Sofia Open in the second round. 

Following his success over De Minaur at the Moselle Open last week, Giron beat the world number 26 once more as he battled to a 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-2) victory in two hours. 

The unseeded American, appearing for the first time in Sofia, rallied from a break down in the second set to reach an ATP Tour quarter-final - where he will meet John Millman - for the fourth time this season. 

Millman, who is seeded eighth, lost the first set against qualifier Illya Marchenko but recovered well to comfortably triumph 5-7 7-6 (7-0) 6-3. 

However, it was far more straightforward for the other favourites, with top seed Jannik Sinner avoiding a second-set blip to defeat Egor Gerasimov 6-2 7-6 (7-3) and Gael Monfils getting a walkover against Ilya Ivashka. 

Number five seed Filip Krajinovic coasted past fellow Serbian Laslo Djere 6-3 6-0 in just over an hour to set up a quarter-final tie with Kamil Majchrzak. 

In Thursday's other match, world number 56 James Duckworth smashed Benoit Paire 6-4 6-4 in just an hour and 15 minutes to collect his 11th win in his past 12 outings. 

Duckworth, who reached his first ATP Tour final in Nur-Sultan last week, will now challenge defending champion Sinner in the next round. 

Celtic suffered their second successive Europa League defeat this season as they were comprehensively beaten 4-0 by Bayer Leverkusen.

First-half goals from Piero Hincapie and Florian Wirtz put the Bundesliga side in complete control against Ange Postecoglou's side in the Group G clash at Celtic Park.

Lucas Alario added a third from the penalty spot after the break as Gerardo Seoane's side followed up their opening victory over Ferencvaros, while substitute Amine Adli completed the rout with a thumping strike deep into stoppage time.

The result means Celtic were handed an 11th reverse in their last 18 home European matches, while this was the 16th time in 25 outings they have lost to German opposition.

Both sides had chances to break the deadlock during a blistering start to the contest.

Alario was denied by the offside flag inside the opening minute, then moments later a magnificent last-ditch intervention from Jonathan Tah prevented Kyogo Furuhashi from sliding into an empty net at the other end.

Leverkusen had Lukas Hradecky to thank for a couple of important touches in quick succession, the goalkeeper denying Furuhashi and Carl Starfelt.

However, the visitors broke the deadlock in the 25th minute. An untimely slip from David Turnbull allowed Mitchel Bakker to get into the penalty area, where he cut the ball back for Hincapie to turn home.

The lead was doubled following a quick-fire counter 10 minutes later, with Paulinho picking out an unmarked Wirtz to score his sixth goal in as many games for his club.

Hradecky came to Leverkusen's rescue again with saves to thwart Furuhashi and Jota at the start of the second half, but the visitors put the game to bed in the 58th minute.

Alario calmly sent Joe Hart the wrong way from the spot after Cameron Carter-Vickers was deemed to have blocked Paulinho's shot with his arm.

Adli rounded out the scoring in the fourth minute of stoppage time, rifling into the roof of the net after being set up fellow replacement Nadiem Amiri, capping a rapid counter.

LeSean McCoy will bring an end to his 12-year NFL career as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday. 

The Eagles selected McCoy in the second round of the 2009 draft and he will sign a one-day contract so he can finish his career with Philadelphia. 

McCoy spent four years with the Buffalo Bills after leaving the Eagles in 2014 and won back-to-back Super Bowls with the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the previous two seasons. 

"After 12 years in the NFL, I've decided to retire an Eagle because this is home to me. I still have that green inside my heart," McCoy said in a statement. 

"There are times when I'd see the Eagles on TV, and it just felt weird not wearing that uniform. I instantly think back to all of those big games and the roar of the fans; I've just always seen myself as an Eagle. It's only right to come back home and retire an Eagle." 

McCoy will be honoured at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday when the Eagles take on a Chiefs side overseen by his long-time coach in Philadelphia Andy Reid. 

"I've been texting with him all week. I'm so thankful for him. He took a shot on a 20-year-old kid who people said wasn't big enough, wasn't explosive enough. I thank him so much for that," said McCoy. 

"We've always maintained a strong relationship. I love him. When he left, it was very tough for me because of my belief in him. It all worked out. He helped me get a championship. He's doing great things in Kansas City. I'm happy I'll be able to see him as well as the coaches and trainers and former teammates." 

McCoy became the Eagles' all-time leading rusher (6,792 yards) during his six seasons in Philadelphia. 

The six-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro selection set single-season franchise records for the Eagles with 17 rushing touchdowns in 2011 and a league-leading 1,607 rushing yards in 2013.