In London on Sunday, New Orleans Saints kicker Wil Lutz smashed home a 60-yard field goal against the Minnesota Vikings.

With the last kick of the game, he struck from 61 yards for what would have been a game-tying kick, but the effort bounced back off the post and the crossbar, a double doink.

It presented the latest evidence of the growing importance kickers have for NFL teams, with their field goal range extending significantly and making it harder for the defense to keep the opposition off the scoreboard.

"I don't remember this many kickers in the league having that kind of range," Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said after the game.

"There are a lot of guys in our league now that can swing it and hit from 60+ yards. It definitely is a factor, how you manage those end-of-game situations, how you're going to use your timeouts, use different defensive or offensive calls based upon field position knowing that the 42 or 44-yard line is in field goal range.

"We have got to be aggressive, maybe try to push them out of that range, which is crazy to say when that kick is happening on their side of the 50."

In NFL history, there have been 27 successful field goal attempts from 60 or more yards – six of which have in the last three seasons (since 2020), while 11 have come in the past six seasons (since 2017).

That includes the NFL record of 66 yards set in Week 3 of the 2021 season by Justin Tucker for the Baltimore Ravens against the Detroit Lions, surpassing the previous record of 64 yards set in 2013 by Matt Prater.

While attempts of 60 yards or more may still be a rare occurrence, the effectiveness of kickers from 50 or more yards has grown. In a single season, 11 players have been successful with eight or more field goals from beyond 50 yards – five of which have been since 2020.

In 2022, Chris Boswell (Pittsburgh Steelers), Graham Gano (New York Giants), Brett Maher (Dallas Cowboys) have made four from 50+ already.

While touchdowns remain the premium currency for NFL offenses, kickers can decide tight contests – which have been a trend in 2022, with 50 of 64 games featuring teams separated by just one score in the fourth quarter.

Having a kicker who is prolific from distance can ease the pressure on a misfiring offense, helping to keep them in the game, and could result in more aggressive plays on defense in an attempt to secure a turnover before points can be scored.

Defenses, though, will likely remain largely happy to see offenses settle for the lottery of such long field goals, as Vikings cornerback Patrick Peterson explained.

"At the end of the day if they want to kick a 60 yarder, however far it is, be my guest. That's not a good percentage of a kick," he said.

Could the view of Peterson and defenses change? Perhaps if a few more long-range doinks go the way of the kicker. 

Baker Mayfield has taken the blame for the Carolina Panthers' 1-3 start to the season amid calls for a change at quarterback, but insists he is the man to lead them out of their jam.

Mayfield threw two interceptions in Sunday's 26-16 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, finishing with a season-low passer rating of 61.9.

Under Mayfield's leadership, the Panthers have managed a league-low 262.3 yards per game this season, as well as recording the NFL's third-least passing yards per contest.

Mayfield, who joined the Panthers from the Cleveland Browns in the offseason, and incumbent Sam Darnold had a prolonged battle to be the side's starting quarterback in the preseason, with the 2018 NFL Draft top overall pick eventually given the nod by head coach Matt Rhule.

Rhule insisted that a change at quarterback was "not right to speak on" after Sunday's game before backing Mayfield in midweek amid mounting criticism.

Mayfield said the criticism was "completely fair" but was bullish he could get the Panthers back on track, starting with Sunday's clash against the San Francisco 49ers, who boast the NFL's best defense.

"I pride myself on being a guy that elevates the guys around him and being able to lead at an extremely high level,'' Mayfield told reporters on Wednesday.

"Obviously, that has not happened yet. I'm working really hard on that and it starts with me just doing my job the very best I can and going from there. Yeah, I take a lot of blame for that and I consistently will.

"I've been here before. I'm pretty comfortable in this position, so I have experience at being able to bounce back, being able to handle things the right way and to lead. For me, we'll be just fine."

Mayfield got testy with one reporter who asked about the batted passes on Wednesday, retorting twice: "If you have a drill for me, let me know."

The Panthers' QB's 2022 completion percentage is a career-low 54.7 per cent, but Rhule labelled him as "elitely resilient".

"You don't go from unrecruited out of college to Heisman Trophy to first pick of the draft without having tremendous self-confidence," Rhule said. "Baker, he's been through a lot already as a player. I have no concerns about his resilience.''

Mayfield's likely replacement would be Darnold, who is yet to come back off injured reserve after suffering an ankle sprain in Carolina's preseason. Darnold started at quarterback 11 times for the Panthers last season, going 4-7 after joining in a trade from the New York Jets.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is confident the time zone change for Sunday's game against the New York Giants in London will not impact his side's performance.

Packers head coach Matt LeFleur opted to do the bulk of their preparation in Green Bay before flying to London on Thursday evening, with a Friday morning local time arrival.

LaFleur said the game "feels like a Thursday night game" for the coaches in terms of preparation turnaround, but Rodgers laughed that off from a player's perspective.

"Listen, coaches are creatures of habit, even more than players," Rodgers told reporters on Wednesday.

"Anytime there's a minute adjustment to the schedule, it throws them all out of whack, so I wouldn't read too much into that.

"Obviously the time we're leaving might put a little stress on the schedule, but that's way down at the bottom of the concerns… We'll be ready to go."

Rodgers had no complaints about the decision to travel late in the week, although he admitted he would have liked to take in London for a cultural experience.

"We're all excited," he said. "I think the reason I said I wanted to go over early was just to experience a little bit of that culture, to be able to get out and see some sights and interact with fans, go to a pub and have a Guinness or whatever the local brew is.

"That's what we all want to do, those of us that want to go over early."

The four-time NFL MVP said he had his own techniques to deal with jetlag, preferring to keep them secret for a "competitive advantage", but offered some insight into the coming days.

"You knock yourself out," he laughed. "You've got to stay up as late as you can Friday and then it starts to fall into place. But there's no excuses, we'll be trying to sleep on the way out.

"We'll go through the process on Friday, trying to sleep Friday night, hoping for a bit more rest Saturday, have a normal day, get some sleep but both teams are dealing with the same issues."

The Packers have won three straight games to hold a 3-1 record and sit second in the NFC North, while the Giants are also 3-1.

Rodgers has made 89 of 129 attempts with a completion rate of 69 per cent for six touchdowns with three interceptions across four games this season.

This will be the first of the 32 NFL games held in London to feature both teams with winning records.

Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel is not interested in the widespread negative reaction to the franchise's handling of young quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, saying "everything's reactionary anyway".

Tagovailoa has been at the centre of the NFL news cycle the past couple weeks after suffering an ugly concussion in his side's loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. 

It followed an incident the previous week when Tagovailoa was visibly struggling to stand after appearing to hit his head on the ground against the Buffalo Bills, before being cleared to return and lead the Dolphins to the win.

The decision to allow Tagovailoa to return to the Bills game was met with stern criticism by concussion experts who believed he was incorrectly evaluated, which was further supported by the firing of that particular independent neurotrauma consultant on the basis that he made mistakes in clearing the 24-year-old.

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh was vocal about his disappointment in the situation, saying "I've been coaching for 40 years in college and the NFL – I've never seen anything like it before". Meanwhile, legendary New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick shared that he has often withheld players who have been cleared by medical tests for their own safety.

When asked on Wednesday how he felt about the growing chorus of NFL voices speaking out against the Dolphins' handling of the situation, McDaniel was mainly dismissive, saying he does not waste his time reading or listening to football media.

"Everything's reactionary anyway," he said. "So if people want to [give their opinion], whatever.

"If I'm spending time thinking about that, let's say Monday night for five seconds – that's five seconds that I'm not thinking about all the other things that relate to the team and the upcoming game.

"I fully have way too much respect for the game, for everyone involved, for everybody that's counting on me that, I mean, I'm actually the anti-T.O. [Terrell Owens]. 

"You know [the Owens quote] 'talk good about me, talk bad about me, just talk about me' – I'd be cool if no one talked about anything. That's how I've been operating my whole career. 

"But [I'm] fully expecting that they're going to have all sorts of opinions because that's the nature of the beast, that's what happens when you watch it and are fan of it for your entire life. You see it happen over and over, and nothing I guess in that avenue would really surprise me."

McDaniel maintains that there was no way to know Tagovailoa may have suffered an initial concussion against the Bills after numerous discussions with the team's medical personnel.

"[Tagovailoa and I are] talking about high-level football conversations about progressions and defenses and recalling stuff from two weeks previous," he said. "And then him having to reiterate a 15-word play call. 

"All things, absolutely no signs. There was no medical indication, from all resources, that there was anything regarding the head.

"Beyond an eyeball test, which I know for a fact you guys would not be very comfortable if I was just relying on that – I mean, it's the reason why we have tests.

"He did not have a head injury. So guys hit their heads all the time, and that's why I was adamant [that] he was evaluated for having a head injury, and he did not have one."

Tom Brady did not take part in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' practice on Wednesday as the 45-year-old quarterback deals with nagging injuries to his right shoulder and finger.

Brady acknowledged he played through some shoulder soreness during the Buccaneers' 41-31 home loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday when speaking on his weekly radio show on SiriusXM. The seven-time Super Bowl champion appeared to be in a bit of discomfort after taking a hit on a second-quarter sack that resulted in a fumble the Chiefs recovered.

"My shoulder's doing OK," Brady said on Monday’s Let's Go! broadcast. "You know, just some bumps and bruises, and I kind of took a hit there on it. Got some treatment [Monday].

"This week will be very similar to a lot of the other ones, just getting on the mend, getting back to practice and trying to improve and be ready to go for next week."

Brady was listed on last week's injury report with the finger issue, which is considered minor and did not prevent him from practising in full. The three-time NFL MVP threw for a season-high 385 yards and three touchdowns while completing 39 of 52 passes against Kansas City.

NFL.com reported in September that the Buccaneers were planning on having Brady take Wednesday practices off throughout the season in an effort to reduce wear and tear on his body during his 23rd NFL campaign.

Brady is still expected to make his 323rd career regular-season start when the Buccaneers host the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

Myles Garrett returned to practice with the Cleveland Browns on Wednesday, nine days after the star pass rusher sustained multiple injuries in a single-car accident.

It was the first day he was back on the field since September 26, when the 26-year-old lost control of his Porsche while speeding, veered off the road and flipped it over.

The two-time All-Pro suffered a sprained shoulder, strained biceps, cuts, bruises and a broken eye blood vessel in the accident, forcing him to miss last Sunday's 23-20 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

''Good to have Myles even in the walkthrough, just having his presence and having him in the meetings,'' Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said before practice.

''He's a big part of what we do, so good to have him back out there. I haven't seen him practice yet. He's worked out, obviously off to the side. But I get to watch practice today and get a good feel for where he is.''

Stefanski said the team will monitor his progress throughout the week before deciding if he can suit up for Sunday's home game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

While Garrett was back practicing, fellow All-Pro defensive end Jadeveon Clowney remained sidelined.

Clowney has missed the last two games with an ankle sprain, and without their two formidable defensive ends in Week 4, the Browns were gashed for 202 yards rushing after allowing an average of 83.7 yards on the ground in their first three games combined.

Stefanski remains hopeful Clowney will be able to practice later in the week.

"I think they are both on two different progressions, and we'll treat them as such," Stefanski said. "See how Myles looks today and then obviously just kind of wait and see with Jadeveon.

In fantasy football, it’s often the ones you least suspect.

Every week, there are surprise stars who seemingly come out of nowhere to deliver performances that prove decisive in fantasy matchups.

Unexpected contributors are the theme of this week’s fantasy picks.

The players mentioned are not unknowns, but they either have matchups that would not be expected to deliver fantasy success or feature for teams that have surprisingly become relevant in both the NFL and fantasy worlds.

As usual, Stats Perform has backed up its selections of four offensive players and a defense with advanced data that supports their case for inclusion in fantasy lineups this week.
 

Quarterback: Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans @ Washington Commanders

Tannehill is approaching the end of his time as the Titans' starter, but he still holds value for a Tennessee team looking to recover from a slow start to win a bad AFC South and for fantasy players eyeing a matchup to exploit this week.

That matchup comes in the form of a Commanders defense that has allowed over seven yards per pass and has given up 10 passing touchdowns, tied for the most in the NFL.

With Tannehill delivering an accurate, well-thrown ball on 87.6 per cent of his pass attempts – the third-best ratio among quarterbacks with at least 50 attempts – he is in a strong position to see his consistent accuracy rewarded on Sunday despite the relative lack of playmaking talent around him.

Running Back: Saquon Barkley, New York Giants @ Green Bay Packers

Most in the NFL world will be anticipating the Giants to come back down to earth against the Packers in the second London game of the season.

While the Packers are heavy favourites to slow New York’s fast start to the season, the odds of them halting Barkley's renaissance look slim.

No player in the NFL is averaging more yards per game than Barkley's 115.8, while a Packers defense that has traditionally struggled against the run is surrendering 4.97 yards per rush, the 11th-most in the league.

Hopes of progress for the Packers on run defense have yet to be realised, and Barkley should take advantage of their fallibility on the ground.

Wide Receiver: George Pickens, Pittsburgh Steelers @ Buffalo Bills

This is less about the matchup, which is an awful one for Pittsburgh, and more about opportunity for rookie receiver Pickens, who figures to be one of Kenny Pickett's favourite targets as the rookie quarterback makes his first career start.

Over the last two weeks, Pickens has been targeted 15 times, and he enjoyed the best game of his young career so far against the New York Jets, catching six of his eight targets 102 yards in a game Pickett entered for the second half.

The Buffalo defense is substantially better than that of the Jets, allowing only 4.75 yards per pass play. Yet the Bills are still dealing with injuries in the secondary and Pickens, whose big-play rate of 38.6 per cent is 10th among receivers with at least 20 targets, has the all-round game to turn the attention he will get from Pickett into production regardless of the difficult matchup.

Tight End: Tyler Conklin, New York Jets vs. Miami Dolphins

There's such a lack of depth at tight end for fantasy football purposes that it's necessary to take a few swings if you're stuck for an answer at the position.

Conklin represents such a swing but is one you can have more confidence in after his impressive Week 4.

He demonstrated chemistry with Zach Wilson on the quarterback's return from a knee injury, hauling in three catches for 52 yards in the Jets' surprise win over the Steelers. Conklin was targeted five times and registered a burn, which is when a receiver wins his matchup with a defender when targeted, on all five.

This week, the Jets face a Miami defense that has conceded 7.43 yards per pass play this season. Only the Seattle Seahawks (8.24) have fared worse by that measure. If Wilson and Conklin continue to build their rapport, the latter could prove an astute fantasy play by those managers who take a chance on him.

Defense/Special Teams: Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Houston Texans

The Jaguars being competitive with the unbeaten Philadelphia Eagles a week after stunning the Los Angeles Chargers illustrated just how far they have come in so little time under Doug Pederson.

Very few thought the Jags would quickly be in the mix for the AFC South but that is where they stand, with a diverse and aggressive defense playing a huge role in Jacksonville's progress.

The Jags have forced 27 negative plays this season, tied for the eighth-most among NFL defenses. The winless Texans, meanwhile, have seen their offense suffer 26 negative plays for minus 121 yards. Only four teams have lost more yardage on those plays this season.

Tied third in the NFL for takeaways with nine, look for a defense nobody saw coming to make the most of a favourable matchup and get Jacksonville back on track.

The Indianapolis Colts have ruled running-back Jonathan Taylor out of contention for Thursday's clash against the Denver Broncos due to an ankle injury.

Taylor suffered a twisted ankle in Sunday's defeat to the Tennessee Titans but was hopeful that he would be able to feature in the opening game of Week 5.

"I definitely do plan to play, but if you can't go you can't go. That's why you have to get as much treatment as you can," he said on Tuesday.

However, the Colts announced on Wednesday that Taylor was among four players officially listed as out for the meeting in Denver, alongside safety Julian Blackmon (ankle), linebacker Shaquille Leonard (concussion/nose/back) and defensive end Tyquan Lewis.

Nyheim Hines is likely set to see increased usage on the ground in Taylor's absence, having largely been an aerial presence for the Colts this season – just 11 of his 124 yards in 2022 coming from rushing plays.

The Colts stand 1-2-1 for the season ahead of facing the Broncos, who they boast a 7-3 record against from their last 10 meetings.

Veteran wide receiver Cole Beasley has decided to retire from the NFL after 11 seasons.

His agents told NFL.com on Wednesday that Beasley was bringing an end to his career just two weeks after signing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

After going unsigned as a free agent this offseason, Beasley joined the Bucs on September 21 with the team hit by a rash of injuries at receiver. 

The 33-year-old played in two games but only contributed 17 yards on four receptions.

"He is ready to be with his family after playing in 11 seasons, and it's time to be a full-time dad and husband," Beasley's agent Justin Turner said.

Beasley had been coming off two productive seasons with the Buffalo Bills. 

After recording career highs of 82 receptions and 967 receiving yards in 2020, the Texas native matched that catch total last season while posting 693 yards.

Considered undersized by most scouts, the 5-foot-8, 174-pound Beasley went undrafted despite producing two 1,000-yard seasons in college at SMU. 

He made Dallas' roster in 2012 and spent his first seven seasons with the Cowboys before signing a four-year, $29million contract with the Bills in 2019.

Beasley finishes his career with 554 receptions, 5,726 yards and 34 touchdowns in 151 regular-season games.

He also played in 11 postseason games during his time with Dallas and Buffalo.

Blake Bortles, the former number three overall pick, has revealed he has "quietly" retired from the NFL.

Bortles was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2014 draft, becoming the first quarterback taken that year.

Despite largely not living up to his draft stock, Bortles helped the Jags, who had a famed defense in the 2017 season, to reach the AFC Championship Game where they narrowly lost to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.

Bortles signed a three-year, $54million deal to remain with the Jags beyond his rookie contract but was released a year later after a poor 2018 season.

With his starting days behind him, the 30-year-old has since spent time in backup roles with the Los Angeles Rams, Denver Broncos, New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers.

But when asked if he was still in shape to sign for an NFL team during the 2022 season, he told the Pardon My Take podcast he had decided to call time on his career.

"I quietly... I didn't tell anybody, I retired," he said, per ESPN.

"I guess you guys are kind of the first to hear it publicly."

Russell Wilson and Jonathan Taylor are both hopeful of being able to feature in Thursday's clash between the Denver Broncos and the Indianapolis Colts.

Broncos quarterback Wilson has been listed as 'limited' for team training at the start of the week with a shoulder injury but is "super confident" he will be able to take to the field against the Colts.

"I'm doing good, hanging in there. You get banged up a couple times here and there," he said.

Asked whether he feels he will be able to take to the field against the Colts, he added: "Yeah, I'm super confident."

Wilson has begun his Broncos career with a 61.1 per cent completion percentage, the lowest of his NFL career, throwing for 980 yards and four touchdowns.

Meanwhile, Colts running back Taylor was not as resolute with his fitness, having suffered a badly twisted ankle in Sunday's defeat to the Tennessee Titans.

"I definitely do plan to play, but if you can't go you can't go. That's why you have to get as much treatment as you can," he said on Tuesday.

Taylor has rushed for 328 yards in the opening four games of the season, scoring one touchdown, while adding 44 receiving yards.

Both sides have fallen beneath expectations at the start of the season, the Broncos 2-2 while the Colts are 1-2-1.

Dak Prescott cannot grip a football, according to Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, but as soon as he is healthy enough to play, Cooper Rush will be headed back to the bench – regardless of how many wins he has racked up.

Rush will reportedly make his fourth straight start since Prescott suffered a fracture near his right thumb in the fourth quarter of the Cowboys’ 19-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the season opener.

Jones said during an interview with 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday that Prescott’s surgically repaired thumb is improving but he cannot grip a football “well enough to play.”

So that means Rush will get the call against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

The Cowboys have won all three games with Rush under center, and although just less than two weeks ago Jones said he would welcome a quarterback controversy between the two because that meant the team was winning, he walked back on that idea Tuesday.

Jones was asked when Prescott is deemed healthy, would the Cowboys stick with Rush if he continues to pile up victories.

"No. No. As I see it right today," Jones said.

The undrafted Rush has completed 55 of 89 passes (61.8 percent) for 673 yards while throwing four touchdowns and no interceptions in those three consecutive victories. 

With Sunday’s 25-10 win over the Washington Commanders, Rush became the first quarterback in franchise history to win his first four career starts.

Jones admitted that he never thought the Cowboys would have beaten the Cincinnati Bengals, New York Giants and Commanders in the last three weeks.

“No. No, I did not,” he said.

Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said on Monday that Prescott would need to put in an entire week of practice before he could play, and Jones remains hopeful he will be back practicing before long.

"I don't know that you could ask for better news technically, physically in how it's responding, how it's healing so to speak," Jones said.

"So all of those things are on go and I don't know that as we bid bye to each day if considering the injury, considering the location of the injury, I don't know that you could make any more progress.

"There's some things here about healing that again I often say only the man upstairs knows how that works, but he'll have a big week and he'll be hard on himself getting it ready to go."

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is excited to see the team progress with Kenny Pickett as the starting quarterback, confirming the change ahead of their Week 5 game against the Buffalo Bills.

Pickett replaced Mitch Trubisky at half-time of Sunday's defeat to the New York Jets and, despite the loss, caught the eye with a display that included two rushing touchdowns – making him the first QB since 1970 to score multiple rushing TD's in his first game.

Tomlin was initially coy on Pickett's future following the game against the Jets but, ahead of a challenging trip to face the Bills, he confirmed that the rookie will get his chance to start.

"There are a lot of things to be excited about, there are a lot of things to have urgency with. We have no reservations of what Kenny is going to be capable of in terms of our schematics," he said in Tuesday's press conference.

"We have a level of concern about the environment we are taking him into, you have concerns about any quarterback you take into that environment against that defence and at that venue.

"Kenny has shown us maturity at every moment throughout this process. He's older than most rookies and that was obvious to us leading up to the draft process. The things we value in him from a draft perspective, he's fluid and quick, his decision-making, a pro-like anticipation and things of that nature have proven to be true.

"That's why we took him when we were given the opportunity to do so. Since we acquired him, he has done nothing but fortify that thought process and make some plays, during team development and in pre-season.

"He has continually got better even after the regular season started. We can see the progress; we can see his maturity and readiness. We're excited for him and about him, but we have work as a collective, so we prepare with an edge knowing that."

Tomlin made it clear that while Trubisky's display against the Jets in the first half was a factor in the decision, the blame does not lie solely at the feet of the number two overall draft pick in 2017, who penned a two-year deal with the Steelers in March.

"Often QB gets too much credit, too much blame. We haven't moved the ball fluid enough to our liking, we haven't put enough points on the board, the QB is a component of that but not the only one," he added.

"We've all got to absorb the responsibility and what we haven't done, including myself. When you make a QB change, you're sensitive to that component of it. I don't want to dump responsibility of what transpired at Mitch's feet, that's not fair to him.

"In an effort to be better, to score more points, to move the ball more fluidly, we decided to go to Kenny in hopes that he would provide a spark for us. Hopefully that's a catalyst for us."

Miami Dolphins linebacker Jaelan Phillips has described the controversy surrounding Tua Tagovailoa's concussion as "complicated" following fierce criticism of the team.

Dolphins quarterback Tagovailoa sustained a concussion in Thursday's loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, ruling him out of week five's meeting with the New York Jets.

Tagovailoa also suffered a head injury when he took a heavy fall following a challenge from Matt Milano in week three, but only missed three snaps against the Buffalo Bills despite appearing unsteady on his feet after the incident.

The Dolphins have faced scrutiny for allowing Tagovailoa to return in that game, although defensive tackle Christian Wilkins has since defended the team's practices. 

Phillips joined Wilkins in preaching caution when discussing the NFL's concussion protocols, but said injury concerns were not always "black and white". 

"It's always better to be overcautious when it comes to head injuries," he said.

"I also think that you've got to take the players' and training staff and doctors' words for it. So it's obviously a complicated situation. 

"I think that the league and the PA [National Football League Players Association] doing everything they can to keep us safe is in the best interest, for sure."

Asked about the risks of concussion in football, Phillips added: "It's an assumed risk. It's obviously something that is prevalent in the game, not just with head injuries, but just injuries all around. I think that's kind of what we sign up for.

"Ultimately, it happens. At that point, you just pray for a speedy recovery. But I feel like that's what we signed up for playing this game. 

"It's a violent game. We all know that. We wouldn't play it if we didn't know that. We're compensated well for it. 

"Health is the most important thing, and longevity. So I think that especially with head injuries, you've got to be cautious with that. But at the same time, people do recover from those types of things.

"We're competitors and we love this game and we want to be out there for our team-mates, for our families, for the fans, for everybody. So it's a sliding scale. 

"It's not black and white when it comes to injuries at all. Sometimes you might try to play through something. If you're able to perform, you always want to perform. I mean, that's just the nature of the game that we play. 

"Ultimately, it just depends on the severity of the injury and depends on the person, the situation and all of that."

Phillips has suffered several concussions during his own career, and sympathises with Tagovailoa's condition, adding: "To be honest, that seems like a lifetime ago for me when I had those issues. 

"But I definitely sympathise with Tua and just hope for the best for him. You never want to see your team-mate, your brother, hurting like that."

Sean McVay accepted he made "some bad play calls" and declared the Los Angeles Rams brought defeat upon themselves as they fell to the San Francisco 49ers.

Monday night's 24-9 loss saw the Rams fail to capitalise on several touchdown opportunities, with McVay pointing to "self-inflicted wounds".

San Francisco's Deebo Manuel caught six passes for 115 yards and a highlight-reel touchdown, and when the Rams were still in the game, at 17-9 in arrears, quarterback Matthew Stafford was intercepted by Talanoa Hufanga. That pick-six summed up the Rams' night.

"I liked the way our guys battled, they competed and got it to a one-possession game," said McVay.

"But the story of the night from an offensive perspective was self-inflicted wounds, above-the-neck errors where we're not doing things we're capable of, and I expect us to be better than that.

"Defensively, I know we continue to battle, we gave ourselves a chance. We can tackle better, you credit them for making the plays, and I thought special teams hung tough, but overall we didn't do enough to win the football game.

"I'm not going to make any excuses. We've got to play better. A lot of it was just things where guys we were counting on didn't do what they were supposed to do."

McVay took his share of the blame, saying: "I put us in some bad spots.

"However you want to cut it, we have to be better collectively, coaches and players.  There's no other way around it and no way I know how to fix it other than go back to work."

The Rams will face the Dallas Cowboys, who are on a three-game winning streak, in Week 5.

"Everybody needs to be able to look inward," said McVay. "In the red area, to have three good drives and only come away with nine points in a game that was a back-and-forth battle like that, that ended up being the difference.

"And when you do make it a one-possession game and you've got some momentum, a couple of game first downs and we throw an interception for a touchdown on a screen, those are the things that don't help you win games."