The Philadelphia Eagles maintained their perfect start to the season, proving too strong for previously unbeaten Tampa Bay.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts led his team to a 25-11 win as he masterminded a game-deciding drive that lasted nine minutes.

Hurts threw for 277 yards and scored a touchdown while running back D’Andre Swift racked up 130 yards on 16 carries.

The Eagles are 3-0 for the second successive season and join Miami and San Francisco as the only unbeaten sides.

Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow shook off a calf injury to throwing for 259 yards to beat the Los Angeles Rams 19-16 for the Bengals’ first win of the season.

Burrow, who picked up the injury in pre-season and aggravated it against Baltimore last week, only returned to training on Thursday.

Running back Joe Mixon’s 14-yard touchdown run in the third quarter gave the AFC North champions their first lead of the season.

Logan Wilson intercepted Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford twice and he was sacked six times.

The Los Angeles Chargers will be without star wide receiver Mike Williams for the remainder of the 2023 season after an MRI confirmed he tore his ACL in Week 3, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Monday.

Williams went down in the third quarter of the Chargers’ 28-24 road win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday after recording seven catches for 121 yards and a touchdown.

Williams entered Monday’s action ranked 12th in the league in receiving yards (249), tied for 12th in targets (26) and tied for 13th in catches (19).

Since being selected seventh overall by the Chargers in the 2017 NFL Draft, Williams has 309 receptions for 4,806 yards and 31 touchdowns.

Los Angeles lost its first two games by a combined five points before defeating Minnesota.

The Chargers went 10-7 last season and returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2018. They led by 10 points after three quarters in the wild-card round at Jacksonville before the Jaguars rallied for a 31-30 victory.

The Miami Dolphins rattled up the highest points total in the NFL since 1966 as they overwhelmed the winless Denver Broncos 70-20.

Rookie De’Von Achane ran for 203 yards, two touchdowns and collected a touchdown pass from Tua Tagovailoa – who completed his first 17 passes – while fellow running back Raheen Mostert ran for three touchdowns and caught another.

Coach Mike McDaniel opted against a last-ditch field-goal attempt which would have broken the record of 72 points set by Washington against the Giants 57 years ago.

AFC East rivals Buffalo Bills also had a commanding victory as they routed the Washington Commanders 37-3.

Josh Allen threw for one touchdown and ran for another as the Bills defence sacked home quarterback Sam Howell nine times.

Howell threw four interceptions, once of which was returned for a touchdown by AJ Epenesa – as the Commanders went scoreless until a field goal with 46 seconds left on the clock.

Elsewhere in the AFC East, the New England Patriots won 15-10 to beat the New York Jets for a 15th successive game and avoid a first 0-3 start since 2000.

Patrick Mahomes threw three touchdown passes, two to Jerick McKinnon, but had to take second billing to a watching Taylor Swift as Kansas City Chiefs ease passed the winless Chicago Bears 41-10.

Swift cheered on from a suite at the invitation of Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, with whom she has been romantically linked and who also grabbed a touchdown pass from Mahomes.

Reigning MVP Mahomes threw for 272 yards, Isiah Pacheco and Clyde Edwards-Helaire adding touchdown runs as the Bears fell to a 13th straight defeat ahead of a clash with the Broncos next week.

Kenny Pickett passed for 235 yards with two touchdowns as the Pittsburgh Steelers held off a fourth quarter comeback from the Las Vegas Raiders to win 23-18.

The Raiders, who trailed 23-7 going into the final quarter, cut the deficit to eight points but opted to take a field goal on fourth and four in the closing moments.

Dallas Cowboys’ impressive start to the season hit came to an abrupt end as they lost 28-16 at Arizona Cardinals, Joshua Dobbs throwing for a touchdown and 189 yards to secure his first win as a starting quarterback in his seventh NFL season.

Quarterback Derek Carr was forced off with a shoulder injury as the New Orleans Saints coughed up a 17-0 lead to lose 18-7 to the Green Bay Packers while Kenneth Walker II rushed for a pair of touchdowns as the Seattle Seahawks won 37-27 over the winless Carolina Panthers.

The Minnesota Vikings are also 0-3 after they went down 28-24 to the Los Angeles Chargers, Justin Herbert completing 40 of 47 passes – a franchise record 18 of them to Keenan Allen – for 405 yards and three touchdowns.

Andrew Beck returned a kick-off 85 yards for a touchdown and CJ Stroud threw for two more as the Houston Texans beat the faltering Jacksonville Jaguars 37-17.

Matt Gay kicked four field goals from more than 50 yards, including the game winner in overtime from 53 yards, as the Indianapolis Colts won 22-19 to inflict a first defeat of the season on the Baltimore Ravens.

The Tennessee Titans totalled just 94 yards in offence as they went down 27-3 at the Cleveland Browns, while the Atlanta Falcons went down 20-6 at the Detroit Lions.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr sustained a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder that forced him to leave Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers, according to NFL.com. 

Carr was taken to a local hospital after injuring his throwing shoulder when sacked early in the third quarter of the Saints' 18-17 loss. The 10-year veteran underwent X-rays that turned up negative and no additional damage to his shoulder was found, according to the report.

Though Carr appears to have avoided a long-term injury, his status for New Orleans' game against NFC South rival Tampa Bay next Sunday is in question. 

Carr has been among the NFL's most durable quarterbacks since entering the league in 2014, having missed only three games due to injury and none since 2017. His 145 regular-season starts since 2014 are the most of any quarterback over that time frame.

The 32-year-old signed a four-year, $150 million contract with the Saints in March, nearly a month after being released by the Las Vegas Raiders, the team Carr spent his first nine seasons with.

Jameis Winston replaced Carr in Sunday's loss and is expected to take over at quarterback in the event Carr misses time. The 2013 Heisman Trophy winner started New Orleans' first three games of last season before injuring his back and later being supplanted by veteran Andy Dalton as the team's No. 1 signal-caller.

The Saints held a 17-0 lead at the time of Carr's departure. The Packers then scored 18 unanswered points in the final 11 minutes to tie for the largest fourth-quarter comeback in franchise history. 

Carr ended the day with 103 passing yards and a touchdown while completing 13 of 18 attempts. Winston completed 10 of 16 passes for 101 yards. 

Christian McCaffrey grabbed a touchdown for the 12th consecutive game as the San Francisco 49ers saw off the New York Giants 30-12 for a 3-0 start to the season.

Brock Purdy threw for two touchdown passes – to Ronnie Bell and Deebo Samuel – as he extended his winning run as a starter in the regular season to eight from as many starts.

But he struggled at times, narrowly avoiding turnovers and relying on his receivers to make the bulk of the yardage.

Although the 49ers offense was not particularly smooth, they were too good for the Giants – without the injured Saquon Barkley – as the defence finished the job.

Giants quarterback Daniel Jones struggled to make any headway downfield as he threw for just 137 yards and an interception.

The Giants’ only scores came from an eight-yard Matt Brieda touchdown run and a pair of first-half field goals.

McCaffrey’s four-yard touchdown run, which opened a 17-3 lead in the second quarter, equalled Jerry Rice’s franchise record of touchdowns in successive games and is just three short of the NFL record.

The 49ers have now won 13 consecutive regular season games as they moved to 3-0 for only the second time in 25 seasons.

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young is dealing with an ankle injury and is unlikely to play in Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks.

Young missed his second straight day of practice Thursday, and the winless Panthers released a statement on social media saying he isn't expected to play.

The top pick of this year's draft evidently injured his ankle during Carolina's 20-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Monday night, but coach Frank Reich wasn't sure when. Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown said the injury occurred in the first half, but Young never came out and didn't tell anyone until after the game.

With Young expected to sit, Andy Dalton will make his first start with the Panthers after starting 14 games for the Saints last season.

Young has started each of Carolina's first two losses and is experiencing the growing pains that come with being a rookie quarterback.

He ranks 31st in QB rating (66.6) while throwing for 299 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He's completing 59.2 per cent of his passes and his average of 4.21 yards per attempt is the worst in the NFL among starting quarterbacks.

Without a viable passing game, the Panthers are 28th in total offence and are tied for last in scoring.

Dalton, a 13-year-veteran, is 83-77-2 as a starter with 244 TD passes and 144 interceptions. Carolina will be the fifth franchise he starts a game for following one-year stints with Dallas, Chicago and New Orleans from 2020-22 after spending his first nine pro seasons with Cincinnati.

Dallas Cowboys Pro Bowl cornerback Trevon Diggs will reportedly miss the rest of the 2023 season after tearing the ACL in his left knee during Thursday's practice. 

NFL.com reports that an MRI confirmed the extent of the injury, which Diggs sustained during a one-on-one drill. The fourth-year standout was later spotted on crutches at the Cowboys' training facility, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Diggs' absence is a major blow to a Dallas team that's outscored the opposition by a 70-10 margin in winning its first two games. The 25-year-old's 18 interceptions since entering the NFL in 2020 are tied for the most by any player over that span. 

A second-round pick by Dallas in 2020, Diggs earned first team All-Pro honours in 2021 by recording a league-leading 11 interceptions, the most by any player in a single season since the Cowboys' Everson Walls also had 11 in 1981.

Diggs was off to another strong start in 2023, as he allowed just two completions on nine pass attempts thrown his way for a total of 26 yards to go along with one interception.

"Saw that I guess a couple of you saw (Diggs injured) out there on the field," Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott told reporters following Thursday's practice. "Prayers, hoping for the best, simple as that.”

Diggs had just signed a five-year, $97 million extension in training camp that will keep him under contract through the 2028 season. 

The Cowboys do have depth at cornerback after acquiring 2019 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore from the Indianapolis Colts in March to form a trio with Diggs and DaRon Bland, the team's leader with five interceptions in 2022.

Dallas could move Bland from the slot into Diggs' outside position with Jourdan Lewis taking over the nickel role. Lewis started 30 games over the previous three seasons, but has been eased into action in 2023 due to a foot injury that limited him to just six games last season. 

 

 

The Los Angeles Rams have found a taker for Cam Akers, trading the running back to the Minnesota Vikings.

The deal was completed on Wednesday, with the teams swapping draft picks in 2026.

Akers was a healthy scratch in last Sunday's 30-23 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, and the Rams confirmed this week they were looking for a trade partner.

A trade to Minnesota reunites Akers with Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell, who served as offensive coordinator for the Rams in Akers' first two NFL seasons.

 

The Vikings' ground game needs some help, averaging a league-low 34.5 rushing yards per game and 2.65 yards per attempt.

Alexander Mattison was given the No. 1 running back job as Minnesota opted to trade Dalvin Cook this offseason, but he's managed just 62 rushing yards on 19 carries.

Akers hasn't been any better this year, finishing with 29 rushing yards on 22 attempts in the Rams' 30-13 season-opening win over the Seattle Seahawks.

He is, however, coming off a career-high 786 rushing yards last season.

Drafted in the second round in 2020, the 24-year-old Akers, who is in the final year of his rookie deal, rushed for 625 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie.

A preseason Achilles tendon tear wiped out nearly all of his second season, but he was able to return for the regular-season finale and rush for 172 yards in four playoff games to help the Rams capture the Super Bowl.

Los Angeles is now moving forward at running back with Kyren Williams.

The second-year back made his first career start last week and ran for 52 yards with a touchdown on 14 carries after rushing for 52 yards with two TDs in Week 1.

The New York Giants have ruled out Saquon Barkley for Thursday's game against the San Francisco 49ers due to a sprained right ankle the star running back sustained Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.

ESPN reported Monday that Barkley was expected to miss around three weeks after injuring his ankle in the latter stages of New York's 31-28 Week 2 win, though Giants coach Brian Daboll told reporters Tuesday the 2022 Pro Bowl selection was feeling better and the team had yet to make a determination on Barkley's status.

With Barkley unavailable, the Giants will have former 49er Matt Breida and Gary Brightwell as their top two running backs for Thursday's matchup.

Breida has spent the majority of his seven-year career as a backup, but did rush for 814 yards in 14 games with San Francisco in 2018. Brightwell's most extensive action came in the 2022 regular-season finale, in which he rushed for 60 yards on 11 carries against the Philadelphia Eagles. 

Neither has the credentials of Barkley, who finished fourth in the NFL with a career-high 1,312 rushing yards and scored 10 touchdowns in 2022 to help the Giants to their first playoff appearance in six years. The 26-year-old accounted for 27.7 per cent of New York's total yards from scrimmage last season, the sixth-highest rate of any player for his respective team.

Barkley also played a major role in Sunday's win, in which the Giants overcame a 21-point third-quarter deficit. The 2018 No. 2 overall pick had both a rushing and receiving touchdown in the second half and ended the game with 63 rushing yards on 17 carries along with six receptions for 29 yards.

The two-time Pro Bowler has been slowed by ankle problems in the past, however. Barkley missed three games in 2019 with a high ankle sprain and four in 2021 with an injury to his left ankle.

The Giants will also be without starting left tackle Andrew Thomas for a second straight game due to a hamstring injury he suffered in the team's season-opening 40-0 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. 

 

After losing four-time Pro Bowl running back Nick Chubb for the remainder of the season, the Cleveland Browns decided to bring in a familiar face Wednesday by signing free-agent Kareem Hunt.

Chubb sustained a gruesome knee injury in Monday’s 26-22 loss at the Pittsburgh Steelers after getting off to a solid start to the 2023 season with 28 carries for 170 yards.

Chubb was third in the NFL in 2022 with 1,525 rushing yards and tied for fifth in the league with 12 touchdowns on the ground.

Jerome Ford took over as the No. 1 back at Pittsburgh and will remain in that role, with Hunt serving as his backup.

Ford, a fifth-round pick by Cleveland in the 2022 NFL Draft, ran the ball 16 times for 106 yards against the Steelers and added three receptions for 25 yards and a TD.

The Browns signed Hunt, an Ohio native, in February 2019 after he was released by the Kansas City Chiefs in November 2018 amid an NFL investigation of a video that showed him pushing a woman in the hallway of a hotel.

He was suspended for the first eight games of the 2019 season for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.

Hunt, who led the NFL with 1,327 rushing yards as a rookie in 2017 while with the Chiefs, ran for 1,874 yards and 16 TDs in 49 games over the last four seasons with Cleveland while totaling 132 receptions for 973 yards and seven scores.

The Browns (1-1) host the Tennessee Titans (1-1) on Sunday.

One day after it was reported Saquon Barkley would miss the next three weeks due to a sprained right ankle, New York Giants coach Brian Daboll said he's not ruling the star running back out for Thursday's game against the San Francisco 49ers.

"I'm not saying that he's out yet," Daboll said Tuesday on a video posted to the Giants' official website. "He's a quick healer. I'm not saying he's in, he's out. We're gonna take it all the way up with him to Thursday. He feels a lot better today. I just talked to him, so we'll see where we're at."

Daboll said Barkley has made "considerable progress" and expects him to be a game-time decision against the 49ers.

Quite the turnaround from Monday when ESPN had reported the 26-year-old would be sidelined for the Giants' next three games.

 

Barkley was injured with under two minutes left in Sunday's 31-28 win, in which New York rallied from a 21-point third-quarter deficit. The six-year veteran got his right ankle caught in a pile on his final rushing attempt and needed to be helped off the field with the assistance of trainers.

The 2018 No. 2 overall pick played a big role in Sunday's comeback with both a rushing and receiving touchdown in the second half. The two-time Pro Bowler finished the game with 63 rushing yards on 17 carries and added six receptions totalling 29 yards.

If he can't play, Matt Breida is next man up at running back on the Giants' depth chart.

The veteran backup has just three rushing attempts this season, but did rush for 814 yards in 14 games with the 49ers in 2018. 

If the Giants decide Barkley isn't ready to face the 49ers, the team's next game is 11 days later with its Week 4 contest on Monday night against the Seattle Seahawks on October 2.

Linebacker TJ Watt returned a fumble 17 yards to give the Pittsburgh Steelers a 26-22 win and complete a bad night for the Cleveland Browns.

The Browns, who lost for the 20th-straight regular season visit to Pittsburgh, lost star running back Nick Chubb with a serious-looking knee injury in the first quarter.

Players from both teams knelt in prayer as Chubb received attention before being taken off the field on the back of a cart.

Cleveland recovered to lead midway through the fourth quarter before Watt seized on quarterback DeShaun Watson’s fumble.

Meanwhile, Tony Jones Jr came off the bench to run for two touchdowns as the New Orleans Saints beat the Carolina Panthers 20-17 to start the season 2-0 for the first time in 10 years.

Jones, elevated from the Saints practice squad, replaced the injured Jamaal Williams and grabbed his chance as the visitors cashed in on the work of their defence in the second half.

They sacked rookie Bryce Young, top pick in the draft, four times on his home debut and restricted the Panthers to 239 yards.

The Saints got within little more than a minute of going two games without conceding a touchdown before Young found Adam Thielen to briefly revive the Panthers’ hopes.

Cleveland Browns star running back Nick Chubb suffered a gruesome knee injury Monday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers and was carted off the field.

Chubb was tackled by Pittsburgh safety Minkah Fitzpatrick’s early in the second quarter, with Fitzpatrick’s torso hitting Chubb’s left knee as Chubb’s left foot was firmly planted in the ground.

Chubb was evaluated by trainers on the field for several minutes while some of his teammates knelt solemnly in prayer, and he was eventually helped onto a cart to be taken into the locker room.

The Monday Night Football production staff declined to show some graphic replays of Chubb’s injury.

The Pittsburgh crowd let out a collective groan when the play was replayed on the Acrisure Stadium jumbotron, and Steelers fans gave their rival’s star player a standing ovation as he was carted off the field.

Chubb was almost immediately ruled out for the rest of the game, typically a sign of a serious injury.

He was replaced at running back by Jerome Ford, who caught a 3-yard touchdown pass on the first play after the stoppage.

While playing for the University of Georgia in 2015, Chubb suffered a devastating injury to the same leg – a dislocated left knee with three torn ligaments and cartilage damage.

A four-time Pro Bowl selection, Chubb has been a force since he was drafted by the Browns in the second of the 2018 draft.

Chubb has had at least 1,145 yards from scrimmage in each of his first five NFL seasons, and he set a career high in 2022 with 1,525 rushing yards.

Chubb has averaged 5.25 yards per carry during his NFL career, the second most all-time among players with at least 1,000 carries (Jamaal Charles, 5.38).

Chubb is on the first season of a three-year, $36.6million contract and is one of the running backs who met last offseason to discuss better compensation for players at the position.

Ford and Pierre Strong Jr. are the only other running backs on Cleveland’s roster.

Kareem Hunt, with whom Chubb shared work in the Browns’ backfield from 2019-22, remains a free agent.

The New York Giants expect star running back Saquon Barkley to miss three weeks with a sprained right ankle he sustained in Sunday's comeback win over the Arizona Cardinals, ESPN reported Monday.

According to the report, an MRI taken on Barkley's ankle did not reveal a more significant high ankle sprain that would require a lengthier recovery period. Still, the 2022 Pro Bowl selection is certain to miss the Giants' game at San Francisco on Thursday and potentially more.

Barkley was injured with under two minutes left in New York's 31-28 win, in which the GIants rallied from a 21-point third-quarter deficit. The six-year veteran got his right ankle caught in a pile on his final rushing attempt and needed to be helped off the field with the assistance of trainers.

The 2018 No. 2 overall pick played a big role in Sunday's comeback with both a rushing and receiving touchdown in the second half. Barkley finished the game with 63 rushing yards on 17 carries and added six receptions totalling 29 yards.

Barkley helped the 2022 GIants to their first playoff appearance in six years with an outstanding season in which he finished fourth in the NFL with a career-high 1,312 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. He accounted for 27.7 per cent of New York's total yards from scrimmage last season, the sixth highest rate of any player for his respective team.

The 26-year-old is entering the final season of a one-year, $10.091 million contract that can be worth up to $11 million with incentives. The Giants gave Barkley the franchise tag this offseason, which prompted him to skip the team's minicamp in June, but the two sides reached an agreement on a revised deal just before the start of training camp.

Veteran Matt Breida and Gary Brightwell are both expected to see increased touches during Barkley's absence.

Breida has spent the majority of his career as a backup but did rush for 814 yards in 14 games with the 49ers in 2018. Brightwell's most extensive action came in the 2022 regular-season finale, in which he rushed for 60 yards on 11 carries against the Philadelphia Eagles. 

 

The 0-2 Cincinnati Bengals' next opportunity to secure their elusive first win comes next Monday night against the Los Angeles Rams.

It's uncertain if Joe Burrow will be able to play in that game.

Burrow re-aggravated a calf injury in Sunday's 27-24 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, and Bengals coach Zac Taylor said Monday he was unsure if he'd be ready to play in Week 3.

"He's still sore today," Taylor said. "He did it really one of the last three plays of the game probably, so it's just sore."

The team's medical staff is still evaluating the injury, and Taylor told reporters it was hard to say if he'd be ready to face the Rams.

 

A strained right calf muscle forced Burrow to miss most of training camp, and he was limping at the end of the loss to the Ravens.

Burrow and the Bengals agreed to a five-year, $275million contract extension right before the start of the 2023 season, but little has gone right since he became the highest-paid player in league history.

After throwing for a career-low 82 yards in a 24-3 season-opening loss to the Cleveland Browns, Burrow had just 35 passing yards at half-time against the Ravens. On Cincinnati's first drive of the second half, he then threw an interception near the end zone.

He was able to engineer a pair of scoring drives culminating in touchdown passes to Tee Higgins to pull within three points, but the Bengals were unable to get any closer.

Cincinnati also opened 0-2 last season and still ended up reaching a second straight AFC title game, but if Burrow is forced to miss time rehabbing his calf, another march to the playoffs would appear to be unlikely.

Jake Browning is No. 2 at quarterback on Cincinnati's depth chart. He has attempted one pass in his pro career.

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