Since Dak Prescott was injured in the season opener, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has remained optimistic that his quarterback would return sooner than originally estimated.
He now believes Prescott will be back on the field this Sunday against the Detroit Lions.
"Well, let's just say this: He's determined to [play]," Jones said during an interview with 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday. "I think he's, from my perspective, from what I can know and see, I think he's going to get there. We feel like that physically, he's at a position that the risk/reward justifies him being out there in terms of any reoccurrence of the injury."
Prescott was originally expected to be sidelined between six-and-eight weeks after suffering a fracture near his right thumb in the fourth quarter of a 19-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on September 11.
He began throwing again last week and coach Mike McCarthy said Monday that Prescott would be medically cleared to return to practice Wednesday.
"He’s going to be given every opportunity this week to go play," Jones said. "He looks ready to go."
Jones said Prescott had a "very impressive" throwing session prior to Sunday’s 26-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, and afterwards said he was planning to return in Week 7.
Sunday’s defeat marked Dallas’ only setback since the season opener.
Cooper Rush led the Cowboys to four consecutive wins in place of Prescott, completing 61.9 per cent of his passes for 775 yards for an average of 7.4 yards per attempt with four touchdowns and no interceptions for a 97.1 passer rating.
He looked a bit shaky this past weekend, however, completing 47.4 per cent of his 38 attempts for 181 yards and an average of 4.8 yards per pass with a TD throw and three picks for a 37.3 rating.
Prescott, however, also struggled in Week 1, completing 48.3 per cent of his 29 attempts for 134 yards and an average of 4.6 yards per throw with one interception and a 47.2 rating.
Dustin Hopkins lined up the field goal that would settle the Los Angeles Chargers' clash with the Denver Broncos and thought to himself: what's the worst that could happen?
Already carrying a hamstring injury, Hopkins figured he may as well take a full-blooded kick for glory and hold nothing back.
"In my mind, it was already at a point where it was a, 'Well, screw it' moment," said Hopkins. "Pretty much, if it's already feeling this bad at this point, let's just give it a ride."
The overtime heroics from Hopkins, who kicked four field goals in all, secured a 19-16 win for the Chargers, with quarterback Justin Herbert saluting the kicker.
"We have so much respect for him. We know that he is hurting," said Herbert. "He's tough. That's all you can say about him. For him to go out there and play and put up with some pain like that, it's great to see from him."
Chargers head coach Brandon Staley saw his team nullify the threat of Russell Wilson after the first quarter, in which the Broncos quarterback completed all 10 of his passes, including a 39-yard touchdown to rookie tight end Greg Dulcich.
The Chargers rallied from 10-0 adrift but could only manage one touchdown that came at the start of the second quarter, with a 15-play drive capped off by a six-yard Austin Ekeler touchdown dash.
They had to grind it out, and Staley said: "This is a complete team win. It was a tough, rugged game. They have an outstanding defense over there. It was tough sledding in every way for all four quarters and overtime. It was just a tough and rugged game. It took everybody in Powder Blue to win it."
He added: "The fact that we're able to show our resilience in all three phases, and then be able to finish that game on our home field in front of our fans, I'm really proud of our group today."
Losses to the Chiefs and the Jaguars came as early season setbacks for the Chargers, but Herbert has been encouraged by the wins that have followed against the Texans, Browns and now the Broncos.
"I thought 4-2 has been a big step up for us," he said, "especially where we were at with 1-2.
"For us to answer back and to win three games in a row like that, I think it says a lot about our team, our defense, our special teams, because they have stepped up big time. It's been awesome to see from them."
Herbert completed 37 of his 57 passes for 238 yards and one interception. This made him the only quarterback in the Super Bowl era to throw as many as 57 passes in a game with no TDs but still win, Opta said.
Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson confirmed he injured his hamstring in his side's 19-16 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday night.
Wilson began the game brightly, finishing the first quarter with a perfect 10 completions from 10 attempts including a touchdown to rookie tight end Greg Dulcich to build a 10-0 lead at quarter-time.
Things broke down for the Broncos' offense after that, with Wilson going on to complete just five-of-18 passes the rest of the way as their only points in the last three quarters came from a pair of Brandon McManus field goals.
After the game, Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett opened up his press conference by listing Wilson among the injuries for the game, saying he hurt his hamstring and not expanding any further.
When questioned about it in his own interview, Wilson confirmed he did indeed have to nurse the injury through the latter stages of the contest after feeling it pull in the fourth quarter..
"Yeah, I got my hammy," he said. "I was kind of scrambling and moving around on one, and had to throw it away. It got me pretty good in the fourth quarter, but I just tried to play through it and all that.
"I felt good moving around, running around, throwing it and everything else – especially early on – and then that happened.
"So that was kind of a little unfortunate, but, you know, [we were still] trying to find a way to win the game."
Wilson entered the game with a nagging shoulder injury, and he said his "shoulder did good", but that "the only thing that matters is us winning".
If Wilson did indeed strain his hamstring, even a minor injury will likely mean at least one game on the sideline, while a medium-severity strain would force him to miss two or three games at a minimum.
The loss relegates the Broncos to a 2-4 record through Week 6, with a home fixture against the New York Jets scheduled for this Sunday.
The Los Angeles Chargers needed a Dustin Hopkins field goal in overtime to defeat the Denver Broncos 19-16 on Monday night.
Despite the final result, it was a bright start for Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson, who completed all 10 of his passes in the first quarter, including a 39-yard touchdown to rookie tight end Greg Dulcich to lead 10-0 at quarter-time.
Whatever adjustments the Chargers made during the first break seemed to have an immediate effect, with Wilson only completing five of his next 18 passes as the Broncos could only muster a pair of field goals the rest of the way while committing 151 yards of penalties – a Monday Night Football record since penalty yardage began being tracked in 2000.
The Chargers also only had one touchdown in the game, opening the second quarter with a 15-play drive capped off by a six-yard Austin Ekeler touchdown run.
A field goal from either side in the final minute of the half had the Broncos up 13-10, and they continued to trade field goals the rest of regulation, with Hopkins nailing his third of the night to tie the game at 16-16 with four minutes remaining.
Neither team was able to mount a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter, and things looked headed for the tie after overtime started with four consecutive three-and-out punts. But the fourth was unsuccessfully fielded by Broncos punt returner Montrell Washington after a blocking teammate was pushed into him, resulting in a fumble and turnover.
After again failing to get a first down, the Chargers called on Hopkins to end it, and while playing with an injury, he sealed the win with his fourth field goal from four attempts.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert completed 37 of his 57 passes for 238 yards and one interception, while Wilson finished 15-of-28 for 188 yards and one touchdown. Ekeler was the top skill-position player, rushing 14 times for 36 yards and a touchdown while catching 10 of 16 targets for 47 receiving yards.
The Miami Dolphins are preparing to have Tua Tagovailoa return as the team’s starting quarterback for their Week 7 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters Monday.
Tagovailoa resumed football activities last week and cleared concussion protocols on Saturday, but remained inactive during Sunday’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
"The plan is for him to approach the game as the starter," McDaniel said. “He'll be able to get those reps on Wednesday… we felt really good about how he was able to get back on the field."
Tagovailoa last had a full week of practice in Week 3 and has been inactive since being carted off the field with a concussion on September 29.
The Dolphins jumped out to a 3-0 start this season, and their third-year quarterback appeared on his way to a career year. Miami is 0-3 since, and McDaniel is hoping that having Tagovailoa under center again will help the team find its way back in the win column.
"He's a captain. He's a captain for a reason, and as I've told you guys from the onset, I think he's a very, very good player at that position," McDaniel said. "So very good players, they definitely give people a boost – not because of what other people aren't but more just because he is who he is.
"So he's a strong fabric of this team, and that's exciting when you get to go play with one of your brothers, which is why the team will be excited, and it will be exciting."
Tagovailoa’s first injury of the season came on September 25 when he took a hit from Buffalo Bills linebacker Matt Milano and appeared to hit his head on the ground. He stumbled when he got up and was immediately taken to the locker room to be evaluated for a concussion.
He returned to the game shortly thereafter and was not in the concussion protocol the following week, despite questions about why he was allowed to return to the game after displaying motor impairment.
Just four days later, Tagovailoa was slammed to the turf by Cincinnati Bengals lineman Josh Tupou in a startling scene that has left many to question the NFL's efforts to minimize head and neck injuries, and led to the league altering their concussion protocol to prevent a similar situation from happening again.
Both injuries occurred after Tagovailoa extended plays outside the pocket.
"There's risks in this game and you've got to be able to control the controllables," McDaniel said. "One thing for him is you love his competitive nature, but there is a time in a play where you have to kind of concede, and that's where he's kind of been focusing on because it's something that's not natural to him.
"He wants to break every tackle, and he doesn't like when plays don't work. Well, sometimes they won't.
"So that's something that he's mindful of, and I think that that's a consistency of all the really great quarterbacks that you think of, the guys that you look up to, the guys that kind of set forth the example of how to play the position, they do find ways to be available.
"Part of that is that concession, but that is – all things considered, that's probably a good problem to have in terms of a competitor. You just need to be able to understand your importance to the team and how sometimes the best play you can make is a throwaway."
Washington Commanders starting quarterback Carson Wentz has undergone surgery after fracturing the ring finger on his throwing hand.
Wentz, who led his team to an uninspiring 12-7 win on Sunday against the Chicago Bears to take a 2-4 record into Week 7, has been disappointing since arriving in Washington in the offseason.
In that contest, he suffered the injury when his hand was hit hard during the follow-through of a throw in the second quarter, clearly causing him discomfort, although he never left the game.
Only two quarterbacks – Matthew Stafford and Matt Ryan – have thrown more interceptions than Wentz's six this season, and he is tied with Chicago Bears second-year starter Justin Fields as the most sacked quarterback in the league (23 times).
The report from ESPN states the Commanders are unsure about how much time Wentz will have to miss, although they have a capable backup in Taylor Heinicke, as well as rookie Sam Howell who impressed in preseason.
Heinicke started 16 games last season for a 7-9 record, throwing 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions while also showing his mobility with a 95-yard rushing game against the Green Bay Packers.
The Commanders sit at least two wins behind the three other teams in the NFC East, but can move one step closer to a .500 record with a home win against the Packers this Sunday.
Last season, the Buffalo Bills looked to have cracked the code of how to topple the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Bills beat the Chiefs 38-20 in Arrowhead Stadium in Week 5 of 2021, averaging 8.1 yards per play to Kansas City's 5.0, frustrating Patrick Mahomes and intercepting him twice in a display that suggested the balance of power in the AFC was about to shift.
Yet it proved a false dawn, with the Bills unable to contain Mahomes in the Divisional Round of the playoffs and famously failing to prevent him leading the Chiefs down the field in 13 seconds for a game-tying field goal that forced overtime in arguably the finest playoff game in NFL history.
While that game confirmed Josh Allen as existing on Mahomes' level among the NFL elite at quarterback, throwing for 329 yards and four touchdowns, it also was an irritating illustration of the Bills' lack of closers on defense.
The Bills pressured Mahomes 23 times but managed to sack him just twice, a dreadful conversion rate that prompted Buffalo to hand a six-year, $133million contract to 33-year-old edge rusher Von Miller.
Though Buffalo can get out of the contract much earlier, the length of the deal handed to Miller raised eyebrows, with the Bills making a substantial bet on the veteran who played a critical role in the Los Angeles Rams' Super Bowl run following his mid-season trade from the Denver Broncos maintaining the level that helped him claim a second ring.
Few are likely to be questioning his deal in the wake of his performance on Sunday, however, as 371 days on from their win at Arrowhead last season, Miller helped the Bills repeat the feat, recording two sacks in a Buffalo performance that will substantially boost hope they have a formula to defeat Kansas City in the postseason.
On offense, the Bills leaned on one of the most devastating quarterback-wide receiver connections in the NFL.
Allen targeted Stefon Diggs 13 times in the Bills' 24-20 win, hooking up with the former Minnesota Viking on 10 occasions as Diggs finished with 148 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Though not all of his targets resulted in a completion, Diggs delivered reinforcement, not that it was needed, of his status as one the game's top separation artists. He registered a burn, which is when a receiver wins his matchup on a play where he is targeted, on 12 of those 13 targets. Only the two receivers who posted 100 per cent burn rates, Tyler Boyd (six targets) and Juju Smith-Schuster (five) fared better than Diggs in that sense in Week 6 (min. five targets).
The volume Diggs receives as Allen's top target and the consistency he shows in creating separation makes for a frightening combination for defenses, and he proved too much for the Chiefs on the Bills' go-ahead drive, Allen finding Diggs for two first-down receptions, including one that set Buffalo up at the Kansas City 28-yard line.
With the Chiefs running a two-high safety zone coverage, Diggs displayed his route-running acumen by attacking the leverage of cornerback Jaylen Watson at the top of his downfield route to buy himself critical extra cushion as he settled in the soft spot in the zone before making a superb adjustment at the catch point.
Allen created extra time for himself by subtly shuffling to his left as Carlos Dunlap pushed the pocket, hanging in there and delivering a high-velocity ball that was further in front of Diggs than intended due to the interior rush from Chris Jones reducing his throwing platform. Diggs put his body on the line by laying out for the ball and survived the contact from Watson and safety Juan Thornhill.
Three plays later, after Allen had remarkably hurdled a defender on a 16-yard rush, he found Dawson Knox on a superbly accurate throw to the endzone to put the Bills ahead for good, the tight end deserving of great credit for the manner in which he worked his way back to the ball at the end of his corner route.
That drive came after Miller had forced the Chiefs off the field with a third-down sack of Mahomes, showcasing his still impressive physical flexibility and his motor to work his way around the corner and past right tackle Andrew Wylie to bring down the quarterback.
And Miller played a critical role in the game-clinching interception that followed on the subsequent drive.
Given Mahomes' exploits in last year's playoff matchup, 64 seconds appeared to be plenty of time for him to drive the Chiefs down the field for a game-winning touchdown following Knox's score.
Miller, though, provided the finishing touch the Bills lacked in the postseason, winning inside with his lateral quickness to get pressure through the B gap, forcing Mahomes into a late throw to Skyy Moore on a crossing route that corner Taron Johnson read all the way, breaking down from his position in the Bills' zone coverage to intercept the pass and end the game.
While the Bills only improved their sack total from the Divisional Round shoot-out by one, Miller's ability to frequently dominate his pass rush matchups at this point in his career had a direct influence on Buffalo knocking off their biggest challenger for the one seed in the AFC and the team most expect them to meet again in the conference title game.
The rapport between Allen and Diggs and the big-play production of Gabe Davis – who followed up his stunning two touchdown-effort against the Pittsburgh Steelers with a 34-yard touchdown reception and leads the league in burn yards per target among receivers with at least 20 targets (16.98) – should ensure the Bills will continue to boast an explosive passing game few in the NFL can rival.
If Miller can supplement that by serving as the closer on a defense that has Pro Bowl talent at every level, the Bills may finally have the recipe to land the knockout blow against the Chiefs when it matters most.
The Arizona Cardinals boosted their wide receiver corps by acquiring Robbie Anderson from the Carolina Panthers in a trade on Monday.
Draft compensation was undisclosed as Anderson's career with the Panthers ended on a sour note.
The seven-year veteran was sent to the locker room by interim coach Steve Wilks in the second half of Sunday's 24-10 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
Earlier in the game, Anderson got into a heated argument with position coach Joe Dailey before being separated by teammates.
Later in the third quarter, he again exchanged words with Dailey before Wilks, who was coaching his first game after Matt Rhule was fired last week, sent him off.
He now joins a 2-4 Cardinals team that could be without leading receiver Marquise Brown after he suffered a left ankle injury late in Sunday's 19-9 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
In fact, Kyler Murray will have a pair of new weapons at his disposal for Arizona's Thursday night game against the New Orleans Saints with DeAndre Hopkins set to rejoin the team with his six-game suspension for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing drugs now over.
Hopkins had 42 catches and eight touchdowns last season in only 10 games.
Anderson caught five passes for 102 yards with a touchdown in the season opener for Carolina but was limited to just eight receptions for 104 yards without a score in the next five games.
He was not targeted a single time in Los Angeles on Sunday.
Signed to a two-year, $29.5million extension through 2023 prior to last season, the 29-year-old Anderson was upset about being taken out on third down when he believed he should be on the field.
"It's third down, it's a money down. I don't think I should be okay with that [being taken out],'' Anderson said.
"So I made a comment on why I was taken out.
"Honestly, I was confused because I have never been told get out of the game. And, you know, upset by that. Nobody that is a true competitor would be OK with that.''
Competitor or not, Wilks said his behaviour was unacceptable.
"No one is bigger than the team," Wilks told reporters. "I'm not going to focus and put a lot of attention on one individual… I'm not putting a lot of energy into one individual."
Prior to joining the Panthers in 2020, Anderson spent the first four seasons of his NFL career with the New York Jets.
Kyle Shanahan felt the San Francisco 49ers had opportunities to overcome their swathe of defensive injuries and avoid defeat to the Atlanta Falcons.
The 49ers were favoured to move 4-2 with victory in Atlanta, but instead fell to a 28-14 defeat at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Starting cornerback Charvarius Ward suffered a groin injury in the loss, a week on from fellow starter Emmanuel Moseley sustaining a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the blowout win over the Carolina Panthers.
On defense, the Niners entered the game without star pass rusher Nick Bosa (groin), Javon Kinlaw (knee), and Arik Armstead (foot), as well as linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair (knee) and safety Jimmie Ward (hand). Edge rusher Samson Ebukam battled injury throughout the game.
The Falcons took advantage of the 49ers' plethora of absentees, quarterback Marcus Mariota completing 13 of his 14 pass attempts and accounting for three touchdowns.
Mariota is the third player in NFL history to record at least two touchdown passes, one rushing touchdown and a completion percentage of 90-or-higher (minimum 10 attempts) in a single game, joining Ryan Fitzpatrick (September 24, 2020) and Frank Ryan (December 12, 1964).
The 49ers entered the game allowing just three yards a carry but gave up 168 yards rushing against the Falcons.
San Francisco fell 14-0 behind but recovered to tie things up at 14-14 through a pair of Brandon Aiyuk touchdowns.
"I think we had our chances to overcome," Shanahan said. "We made it harder on ourselves. I'm not taking anything away from them.
"Yeah, that's a big deal missing those people, but we had every chance to still pull that off."
Tight end George Kittle echoed his coach's sentiments, adding: "You could use [injuries] as an excuse but we're the San Francisco 49ers."But I've got to give them props for dictating the entire game in the run game. We were getting knocked back, me included, and we've just got to be better up front in the front seven.
"It [the injuries] does suck. You wish you have your guys out there, but at the same time, I feel like for me, I put a lot of pressure on myself in the fact that I command the defense.
"I'm the one who should get all 11 lined up at all times regardless of who's out there, and everybody else who's coming into the game, they've got to be ready to go no matter what. It's all about being prepared. Regardless of the circumstance, whoever's out there we've got to make sure we're playing to our standard."
The 49ers have consistently battled injuries during Shahanan's tenure, overcoming them to reach the Super Bowl in the 2019 season and the NFC Championship Game last term. In 2020, the Niners finished 6-10 after a year in which they were decimated by injuries and COVID issues.
"The five years I've been here, this isn't anything new. I've seen it," said Warner. "At some point you've got to adjust and guys have got to be ready to go no matter the situation. We've got to find ways to win regardless of the circumstance."
When he arrived as the New York Giants head coach this offseason, Brian Daboll preached the importance of continuing to compete regardless of the scoreline.
Through six weeks of the 2022 season, it could not be more clear they have absorbed that message.
The Giants improved to 5-1 on Sunday with another comeback win, this time over the Baltimore Ravens.
Baltimore led 20-10 with under 13 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium. However, the Giants produced an improbable turnaround as Daniel Jones connected with Daniel Bellinger for an eight-yard touchdown and, after Lamar Jackson was intercepted by Julian Love, Saquon Barkley rushed for his second game-winning score in as many weeks.
Kayvon Thibodeaux then sacked Jackson, forcing a fumble that sealed victory for the Giants, who sit second in the NFC East behind the 6-0 Philadelphia Eagles.
The win over the Ravens followed the Giants' dramatic triumph in London, in which they recovered from a 17-3 deficit to stun the Green Bay Packers 27-22.
Daboll's men have trailed in all six of their games this season, with their five comeback wins the most in the NFL.
"It's something we’ve preached since day one — since we've been here: coaches, people in the building," Daboll said.
"This league is hard. It’s not always going to be perfect. There will be a lot of people down on you. And you might be down on yourself, wish you could do better.
"But you keep on getting back up. You keep on swinging, keep on competing, regardless of the score or the situation of the game. And that’s not easy to do, right? That’s not easy to do when you're down.
"If you sit on the bench and start bitching and complaining, that’s easy to do. It’s hard to stick with it and get ready to play the next series and not worry about if you just got beat on a pass or if you got sacked. You've got to flush it pretty quick."
The Ravens will want to flush away the memory of this defeat in short order, but their latest collapse was a continuation of a theme for Baltimore.
All three of their defeats have come by one score and in the final minutes. They are the 39th team in NFL history to hold a double-digit lead in all of their first six games, but the only one not to have a winning record.
"When you are your own biggest enemy, that's really something that can frustrate anyone," Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley said. "We know how much talent we have on this team. We're going to pull it together. That's kind of the frustration that everybody has."
Jackson added: "We just can't keep beating ourselves up because that's what it is. It is not our opponent ... I feel like we just beating ourselves with little mistakes here and there."
Despite their consistent failure to close games out, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh is upbeat they can still be a contender in the AFC.
"We'll regroup, we'll go to work, and we're going to find ourselves as a football team," Harbaugh said.
"That's what we have to do right now: find ourselves as a football team. We have an opportunity to be a very good football team. We can be as good as we want to be and decide to be."
The Buffalo Bills leaned on a familiar combination to help them prevail against the Kansas City Chiefs, with the enduring brilliance of Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs no surprise to their team-mates in a potentially critical win.
Buffalo gained a measure of revenge for the Bills' incredible overtime loss in the AFC Divisional Round last season with a 24-20 win at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday.
Taron Johnson's fourth-quarter interception of Patrick Mahomes sealed the win at the end of an absorbing contest between two teams that entered Week 6 at 4-1.
Prior to the pick by Johnson, Allen and Diggs linked up three times on a go-ahead drive, including for an 18-yard completion that set Buffalo up at the Kansas City 28-yard line. Allen then showed astonishing athleticism to hurdle a defender on a 16-yard run before finding tight end Dawson Knox on a pinpoint touchdown throw to the corner of the endzone.
Diggs finished the game with 148 yards and a touchdown, with Knox saying of his rapport with Allen: "We see it every single game, every quarter.
"Those two making plays where it's almost not surprising at this point. I mean, they make incredible plays every game, but we're so used to it now, it's like, 'Oh there's Josh and Stef making another incredible play.'
"You know, Josh hurdling people yet again - it scares me. It works so yeah… it's fun being team-mates with those guys."
While Knox seemingly attributed little importance to the Bills standing atop the AFC after six games, he understood the significance of the victory over the team likely to be their primary challenger for the top seed in the conference and home advantage throughout the road to the Super Bowl.
Knox added: "Obviously, it's great to be on top of the conference, but we'll enjoy this one for 24 hours and then move on to the next one.
"We do know the importance of a home playoff game. It's a testament to their fans here in Kansas City. It's a great home field advantage for them. And they're so loud that we have to go silent count.
"Communication is really hard, which is a whole extra level of difficulty, but we know that in Buffalo, it's a whole different level. So, we want to do everything we can to get home playoff games."
Johnson sealed the win as he broke downfield after dropping into zone coverage and picked off a late throw from Mahomes over the middle to rookie receiver Skyy Moore.
"We were playing zone and he read it perfectly," said safety Jordan Poyer of Johnson.
"I told him that was one of the greatest plays that I have seen on the field. The situation, the moment, that was just a hell of a play for this team.
"Taron has been a guy who's been in the system a long time, who we all trust. We all know he's going to go out there and make plays. Nobody played perfect and it was just always, 'Next play, next play, next play.' And at the end of the day, he came up with the biggest play of the game and allowed us to win the game."
Jalen Hurts was "unfazed" and "in complete control" against the Dallas Cowboys as he led the Philadelphia Eagles to a 6-0 start, said coach Nick Sirianni.
Dual-threat Eagles quarterback Hurts threw for 155 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 27 yards to help protect the last remaining unbeaten record in this NFL season on Sunday.
A meeting with NFC East rivals the Cowboys represented the Eagles' biggest test so far, but they ran out 26-17 winners as Hurts' TD pass to DeVonta Smith early in the fourth quarter ensured there would be no nervy finish.
Sirianni would not have anticipated his QB having any problems regardless.
The Eagles coach, in his second year with the team, is in awe of Hurts' demeanour – that of "great quarterbacks", Sirianni said.
Hurts now has 1,514 passing yards and 293 rushing yards on the year, becoming the first QB in NFL history to surpass 1,500 passing yards and 250 rushing yards while going undefeated over any six-game span.
"The guy's not fazed by things," Sirianni said. "He's got a great demeanour that you see in great quarterbacks.
"There are so many big games in the NFL. It's a huge game, right? Sunday Night Football, division rival, both at the top of the division, and he's unfazed by things.
"That's what I love about him. He just goes and plays the next play – and he made a big play on third-and-four when we didn't have anybody open [on the drive from which Smith scored].
"He made a play with his legs, he controlled the clock, he was in complete control. It was Quarterback 101 by Jalen."
The Eagles are one win away from their best ever start to a season going into a bye, but the first seven weeks of 2021 were very different.
Philly were 2-5 heading into Halloween, before a 6-2 end to the campaign secured a playoff place and set the stage for this sublime stretch.
"I think being 2-5 did a lot for this team," Sirianni added. "Not everybody was involved with that 2-5, I get it, but a big part of the meat and potatoes of this team was involved in that, and they just kept coming to work.
"All we wanted to do was improve daily and get better and get better and get better. You do that by practising harder.
"The best teams that I've been on have the common denominator that they practise hard, they walk-through hard, they meet hard; then you get this trajectory of where you're building and building and building."
The Eagles are not done building, though, with Sirianni considering this a key point in the season.
"Teams are either coming together or they're not and this team is coming together, and they fight each week," he said.
"The motivation of not letting your team-mate down – coach to player, player to coach, player to player, coach to coach – that's just love, right? There is no greater motivation than that.
"This is a close team, and we're going to keep working on getting closer and keep working on getting better."
Dak Prescott is planning to return to the Dallas Cowboys team against the Detroit Lions in Week 7 and is "happy as hell" with the job the team have done in his absence.
Quarterback Prescott was speaking after Sunday's defeat to NFC East rivals the Philadelphia Eagles, who improved to a stunning 6-0 with their 26-17 success.
But the Cowboys are still a highly competitive 4-2, despite being without Prescott since the fourth quarter of their only other defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1.
"That's my plan," he said of facing the Lions. "Obviously got to see the doc, but that's my plan.
"I plan on going into this week and trying to get my full week of practice."
Cooper Rush has deputised at QB, although he has Dallas ranking down in 27th in total offense (300.8 yards per game). In 2021, when Prescott started 16 of 17 games, the Cowboys ranked first (407.0).
That room for improvement gives the Cowboys cause for optimism, though. The defense has kept them in contention, ranking eighth (304.2) in a significant improvement on last year (19th – 351.0).
"I never really had any doubt that the team wouldn't do what they just did," Prescott added. "Obviously, you all know me, very optimistic.
"I've got a lot of pride in this team, know the guys that are on this team, the defense, know what Cooper is capable of.
"So, I'm obviously disappointed I couldn't be with the guys along the past five weeks but excited to move forward and happy as hell with the position that we're in, and we can get rolling."
Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is certainly looking forward to having his QB back, although he has remained on course for a second straight 1,000-yard season with Rush under center, averaging 68.2 per game.
"The sky's the limit," Lamb said. "The offense is very good, and everyone knows this. When we get [Prescott] back, we're going to show everybody."
Patrick Mahomes was left stunned after the Kansas City Chiefs fell to a 24-20 home loss against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
With time running out, Bills quarterback Josh Allen led his team on a brilliant 76-yard, 13-play drive, ending in a touchdown pass to tight-end Dawson Knox to give the visitors the lead with 1:04 left in the fourth quarter.
But Bills' hearts were in mouths as they feared a situation similar to January's Divisional-Round game, where Allen's touchdown pass to Gabe Davis with 13 seconds left on the clock looked to have sent Buffalo to the AFC Championship, only for Mahomes to set up a match-tying field goal before the Chiefs won in overtime.
However, Mahomes was not able to conjure up the same magic this time, throwing a crucial interception to cornerback Taron Johnson with 41 seconds remaining to seal victory for the Bills.
Mahomes was frustrated after the loss, telling reporters: "Every time I get the ball, no matter what the situation, is I expect to find a way to win.
"That's what this whole offense [and] this team expects. I always expect to win until there's literally no time so any time you lose definitely hurts. You lose a game, especially at home, it's never a good feeling.
"I thought we played some good football, we just made too many mistakes at the end of the day and when you make mistakes against another great football team you lose football games. It'll be good to learn from, but right now it stinks for sure."
Mahomes' killer pick to Johnson came as he tried to elude pressure from Bills' star edge rusher Von Miller, who signed a six-year $120million deal with Buffalo in March after winning the Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams the month prior.
Miller finished Sunday's game with two sacks, and Mahomes acknowledged his impact on the Bills' defense, saying: "Von [Miller] obviously made plays.
"He's a Hall of Famer for a reason so he's going to make plays here and there. He's a great player so any time you add a great player like that, a Hall-of-Fame player, you have to account for him on every single play."
With the Chiefs and Bills both starting the season impressively, there is a decent chance the teams meet again in this season's AFC playoffs.
But Mahomes was keen to divert his team's focus to next weekend's clash with the San Francisco 49ers, who the Chiefs beat in the 2020 Super Bowl to give Mahomes his first Vince Lombardi trophy.
When asked whether he expects to play the Bills again in the postseason, the 27-year-old replied: "You can definitely see it because they're going to be a team that's going to be in the playoffs or competing for the playoffs.
"But you can't look ahead, and I think that's the biggest thing to me. I think I learned that last year in the AFC Championship game. Sometimes if you start looking ahead that's when you get beat and we don't want to look ahead.
"We have a great football team we're playing [the 49ers] and [then] we're going into the bye [week], and then we're going to have a schedule of a lot of division opponents coming up.
"So we want to make sure we focus on this next week - how can we get better to go out there, to go out there execute and try to find a way to win against a great football team at their home."
Aaron Rodgers believes the Green Bay Packers must find a way to keep matters simple after suffering a second straight defeat, though Matt LaFleur's assessment was blunter.
The Packers slipped to a 10-27 loss to the New York Jets on Sunday, a week on from Green Bay having a three-game winning streak ended by the New York Giants.
Those defeats leave Green Bay 3-3 for the season, with the Packers second in the NFC North, trailing the 5-1 Minnesota Vikings.
Quarterback Rodgers, the NFL's MVP for the last two seasons, believes the solution is to go back to basics.
"Simpler. Simplify some things," Rodgers, who was sacked four times against the Jets, told reporters. "All of it. I don't want to get too specific.
"I'm not attacking anything, I think based on how we've played the last two weeks it's going to be at our best interest to simplify things for everybody... the line, the backs, the receivers, especially with [Randall] Cobb's injury.
"Just need to simplify some things and maybe that will help us get back on track.
"[The offense was] very inconsistent. That's why I think we need to simplify things, because on a couple drives we didn't move the ball because it was very simple things.
"It was very simple plays, no motion. So we need to look at everything and the guys that we got and what we can accomplish with them and let's be smart about moving forward."
Coach LaFleur, however, did not hold back in his criticism of the Packers' offense, which has averaged 17.8 points per game through the opening six weeks of the season.
"That's about as frustrating of a game that I've ever been a part of from an offensive perspective," he said.
"We're in a pretty bad predicament right now."
For his part, Rodgers puts no blame onto the coaching staff.
"Nobody works harder than Matt on the plan each week, and nobody comes with better ideas than Matt and his staff," the 38-year-old added.
"If it's not working it's not because those guys aren't grinding, it's because we are not executing. If you think we have the right players, then we need to simplify things. If you don't, that's a whole other conversation."
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