Former NFL stars Adrian Peterson and Le'Veon Bell made their boxing debuts on Saturday night, as the two running backs faced off in Los Angeles.

Bell secured a knockout in the final round with a strong right hand on Peterson, though no winner was declared due to the contest being an exhibition bout.

Having both left the NFL earlier this year, released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks respectively, the pair have turned their hand to boxing.

While Bell's triumph will not be recorded, the 30-year-old spoke of his pride at the result and made it clear this is only the start of his journey in the ring.

"I had a great performance, I put in a lot of hard work. All the hate that just motivates me, it was a badge of honour on my shoulder and I use it to be the best I can be," he said.

"It's a lot different, in football it's team orientated, don't get me wrong I have my team in my corner but when I'm in the ring it's just me and my opponent whereas in football I've got 10 other guys helping me. I'm so proud of myself because I worked so hard to come this far.

"I envisioned this happening and for it come true, I'm not surprised, but I'm just so happy. Boxing is one of the biggest challenges I've ever had to pick up. 

"It's about how far you want to go, you have something inside you that says you need to keep going further and that's what boxing brings out of me, this is the perfect sport, I want to see how far I can go, I want to test my limits. 

"I've put my hard work and passion into this and if I put my heart into this I know I can be the best at it."

Adrian Peterson and Le'Veon Bell will swap the pads and helmets for gloves and shorts after agreeing to meet in an exhibition boxing match later this month.

The veteran running backs are due to face off in the squared circle at Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena on July 30.

Bell, a three-time Pro Bowler, made the announcement on social media.

"[And] it's official nothing else needs to be said, let's gooo," Bell, 30, posted on Twitter, accompanied with a poster promoting the bout.

Peterson is not officially retired from the NFL but made just four appearances for the Tennessee Titans and Seattle Seahawks in the 2021 season.

The 37-year-old became a star name during a 10-year stint with the Minnesota Vikings and was named MVP in 2012 - a campaign where he became the seventh player to rush for 2,000 yards in a season.

Peterson ranks fifth on the NFL's career rushing yards list with 14,918 and is a seven-time Pro Bowler.

Like Peterson, Bell has not officially hung up the cleats but has struggled to find a permanent home since leaving the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2018. Last season, he made eight appearances for the Baltimore Ravens and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

ESPN reported the fight will take place on the undercard of Social Gloves 2, an event promoted by YouTube star Austin McBroom.

The Pittsburgh Steelers survived a wild finish as Ben Roethlisberger's team held on to edge Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens 20-19 in the NFL.

Baltimore went for the two-point conversion and the win after the Ravens scored a touchdown with 12 seconds remaining on Sunday, but Jackson's pass went agonisingly off Mark Andrews' fingertips with the endzone in sight.

The Steelers prevailed in another thrilling AFC North battle to snap a two-game skid after Roethlisberger (21-of-31 passing for 236 yards and two TDs) threw two fourth-down touchdowns to fuel Pittsburgh.

After a scoreless opening period, Devonta Freeman rushed for a TD as the Ravens (8-4) took a 10-3 lead into the final quarter away to the Steelers (6-5-1).

The fourth period came to life, veteran quarterback Roethlisberger started the comeback with an early 29-yard touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson before the pair combined against less than two minutes from the end.

Trailing 20-13, former MVP Jackson (23-of-37 passing for 253 yards and a touchdown) led an eight-play, 60-yard drive for his only touchdown of the game but Baltimore were unable to complete the two-point conversion at the death.

Since the 2016 season, six of Pittsburgh's seven wins against Baltimore have come by seven points or less, per Stats Perform.

 

Seahawks snap skid by sinking Niners

The Seattle Seahawks needed a victory and they got it after powering past the San Francisco 49ers 30-23.

In a mistake-filled contest, the Seahawks ended their run of three consecutive losses behind Russell Wilson's two-touchdown display in Seattle.

Future Hall of Famer Adrian Peterson made his debut for the Seahawks and scored his 126th career touchdown on a one-yard rush. It broke a tie with Hall of Famer Walter Payton and moved the 36-year-old into a tie with Jim Brown for 10th in NFL history.

Jimmy Garoppolo threw two interceptions for the beaten 49ers.

The Los Angeles Rams also snapped a three-game skid, rolling over the Jacksonville Jaguars 37-7 after Odell Beckham Jr., Cooper Kupp and Van Jefferson all caught TD passes from Matthew Stafford.

The Seattle Seahawks activated veteran running back Adrian Peterson off the practice squad for Sunday's clash with the San Francisco 49ers.

Struggling Seattle had signed future NFL Hall of Famer Peterson earlier this week but elevated the 36-year-old on Saturday, despite only two days of practice.

The Seahawks (3-8) brought in the 2012 MVP and seven-time Pro Bowler – who was waived by the Tennessee Titans – for depth due to a growing injury list.

"Adrian had a good week," Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said on Friday, with his team amid a three-game losing streak. "It's probably hard for people on the outside to understand the impact a guy with his kind of background can make.

"At a time where we're battling to try to win a game and get going, he jumped in here and had a remarkable influence on the week. With three guys banged up at the spot, we'll see how it goes on the weekend. He had a really productive week for us, and it was fun having him here.

"It's a rare opportunity for our guys to see somebody like that, that has that kind of background, but stands for so much more than just the numbers and the stats and all of that.

"He's been a remarkable competitor forever. It was so obvious. It was really a boost for a bunch of guys, the young guys in particular. He's serious about playing. He's not just here for show. He's here to come here and try to help us win a game."

The Seahawks have lost eight or more games in a season for the first time since going 7-9 in 2011. The nine straight seasons with seven of fewer losses is the longest streak in team history with the previous record being five straight seasons (2003-2007), according to Stats Perform.

Russell Wilson led the Seahawks in rushing with 16 yards in their 17-15 loss to the Washington Football Team. It was the lowest number of rushing yards for the team's leading rusher since Week 9 of 2016 when Tyler Lockett led the way with 13 rushing yards against the Bills.

The Tennessee Titans waived veteran running back and seven-time NFL Pro Bowler Adrian Peterson, the franchise announced on Tuesday.

Peterson was signed to the Titans' 53-man roster earlier this month after star running back Derrick Henry's season-ending foot injury.

However, the Titans waived the 36-year-old and 2012 NFL MVP after only three games.

Peterson debuted for the Titans in the 28-16 win over the Los Angeles Rams in Week 9 – he scored with a one-yard touchdown.

The veteran rushed for 82 yards across 27 carries as well as four receptions for eight yards in his three games for the Titans, who are 8-3 for the season and top of the AFC South.

The decision on Peterson was one of 13 roster moves made by the Titans on Tuesday, including adding defensive back Buster Skrine, running back Dontrell Hilliard and outside linebacker John Simo to their active roster.

Matthew Stafford's performance through his first eight games in a Los Angeles Rams uniform put him in the NFL MVP conversation, but Sunday felt more like the bad old days in Detroit for the veteran quarterback. 

Hounded throughout the game by the Tennessee Titans' defence, Stafford threw two critical interceptions as the Rams fell 28-16 at home.

The turning point of the game occurred early in the second quarter, when Stafford tried to throw the ball away while being pulled down by Jeffrey Simmons in the end zone. 

His blind heave landed in the arms of Titans linebacker David Long, who returned it to the two-yard line and set up a Tennessee touchdown on the next play. 

The Rams (7-2) got the ball back after the kick-off and Stafford took to the air again, trying to hit Robert Woods, but Titans defensive back Kevin Byard jumped it and went 24 yards for the Titans' second TD in 11 seconds. 

It was the 24th time Stafford had an interception returned for a touchdown, the most of any active NFL quarterback. 

"I mean, I basically spotted them 14 points," Stafford told reporters. "Can't do that in the NFL, especially against a good team like that that wants to get out in front, run the football, mix coverages, do all that kind of stuff. Just wasn't good enough early in the game.

"Turnovers really killed us and those are on me, so if I clean those up and I know I will, I've got a lot of confidence in this team to go out there and play some really good football."

Though Stafford could have made better decisions on both of those plays, Tennessee's defenders were flying around the field all game. 

The Rams had surrendered an NFL-low eight sacks through the first eight games, but the Titans (7-2) brought down Stafford five times on Sunday.

"Those guys played fantastic," Titans head coach Mike Vrabel said of his defence. "It was fun to watch them play. 

"We really think that group is playing with a lot of confidence right now. They would be able to come in here and play the way they did and hold them to field goals, and we played great in red zone."

Tennessee twice forced the Rams to settle for field goals in the red zone and did not surrender a touchdown until Stafford threw a three-yard pass to Sony Michel with 24 seconds to play in the game. 

It all added up to a winning formula for the Titans even as they managed just 194 yards of total offence while playing without their injured star Derrick Henry. 

"Those guys played some great ball defensively. It made up for our lack of offence," said veteran running back Adrian Peterson, who signed with Tennessee this week and scored his 125th career touchdown.

"You hear all this talk about the Rams' defence. What about the Titans' defence? Those guys came out and played outstanding."

Half a minute made all the difference as the Tennessee Titans' defence made two huge plays in quick succession to stun the Los Angeles Rams 28-16 in the NFL on Sunday.

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford threw two interceptions in a 26-second span early in the second quarter, leading to a pair of rapid-fire Titans touchdowns. 

The first was an ill-advised attempt to throw the ball away while being dragged down in the end zone that David Long intercepted at the Rams' eight-yard line.

After Geoff Swaim scored on a two-yard TD pass from Titans QB Ryan Tannehill on the ensuing play, Stafford's next pass was picked off and returned 24 yards for a TD by Kevin Byard. 

Tannehill would run the ball in for another score prior to half-time as the Titans built a 21-3 lead before handing the game over to their ferocious defence, which sacked Stafford five times after LA entered the game with only eight sacks allowed all season. 

Titans recruit Adrian Peterson scored his 125th career TD, joining 11 other players to score 125-plus career touchdowns.

The Rams (7-2) would not find the end zone until Stafford hit Sony Michel for a short TD with 24 seconds remaining in the game as they fell behind the victorious Arizona Cardinals (8-1) in the division race. 

Tennessee (7-2) now hold the best record in the AFC despite being out-gained 347-194 as star running back Derrick Henry remains sidelined with a foot injury.

Tannehill completed 19 of 27 passes for just 143 yards with a TD and an interception but his 79.7 passer rating was still better than Stafford's 71.0 after the Rams QB finished 31-of-48 passing for 294 yards. 

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