Last week was momentous for Somerset's cricketers. Needing a victory to put the pressure on Essex in what is a two-team arm-wrestle race for the title, they hammered Yorkshire by 298 runs, helped in large measure by two outstanding fifties from their skipper, Tom Abell, who batted ten minutes short of seven hours on a surface which some Test players found too taxing.

But that victory over Yorkshire may be viewed as little more than a staging post on a flight to glory should Somerset win the Championship in ten days' time. The prospect is the talk of Taunton - and also a subject which many of the county's supporters are barely able to discuss. Somerset, you see, have been here before.

In 2010 they needed Lancashire to avoid losing three first-innings wickets to Nottinghamshire at Old Trafford. Karl Brown, Mark Chilton and Shivnarine Chanderpaul were duly knocked over in 4.4 overs and the title went to Trent Bridge. "The eternal second" was the headline above Richard Latham's Somerset copy in the 2011 Wisden. Then in 2016 around a thousand supporters gathered at the County Ground, hoping against all cricketing logic that the game between Yorkshire and Middlesex at Lord's might end in a draw or a tie. Middlesex won the match - and the title. Perhaps we can now understand why some folk in Glastonbury or Frome will be torn between wanting to find out what is going on in this week's match at the Rose Bowl and wondering whether a week's retreat with Trappist monks might be a saner option. No one doubts Essex would be worthy champions; they are not the bad guys in this drama. All the same…

One of the most memorable photographs from that Friday afternoon at the County Ground three years ago shows Somerset's skipper, Chris Rogers, "Buck" to almost everybody in the game, looking up at the television as the drama unfolds at Lord's. Rogers had retired from the game the previous evening after making two centuries in the annihilation of Nottinghamshire. Now all he could do was wait. Hardly anyone knew it at the time but Somerset's then-director of cricket, Matthew Maynard, had chosen Rogers' successor. He had settled on Abell, a 23-year-old Taunton boy.

It has proved a wise choice. Abell has the respect of his players and the unconditional love of the county's supporters. His captaincy against Yorkshire last week was assured and suddenly one realised he is now a senior cricketer with perhaps a decade in the professional game ahead of him. But as Abell prepares himself and his team for their vital matches against Hampshire and Essex, it is probably important to recall that two years ago, in his first season at the helm, he was in such poor batting form that he dropped himself from Somerset's team for another match against Yorkshire, at Scarborough. And even more intriguing to discover that Jason Kerr, Somerset's current head coach, told Abell he "enjoyed" the skipper's slump even as he sympathised with his gloom.

"We're very keen at Somerset to develop people as human beings and I'm a fan of people going through adversity," said Kerr. "That year was awful to watch for Somerset supporters and for friends and family of Tom but if you go through something like that you are definitely stronger. It's a determining factor in how you are going to be moving forward.

"I can remember having conversations with Tom at the time when I said: 'Look, you won't appreciate this but I'm actually quite enjoying this happening to you.' You can imagine how he looked at me but I told him he would be a better person and we are all reaping the rewards now. I think we'll see a consistency of performance which will get him higher recognition."

"That year was awful to watch for Somerset supporters and for friends and family of Tom but if you go through something like that you are definitely stronger." Jason Kerr on Tom Abell's batting slump

During 2017 Abell viewed any type of higher recognition as a distant second to justifying his place in Somerset's team and he is now capable of viewing things a little more dispassionately than perhaps he could at the time.

"I guess luck does come into it," he said. "I dropped myself and that's something that had to happen. But circumstances dictated I got back in the side because Adam Hose left and vacated a spot at five. But things could have been very different and I look back with a bit of relief that I managed to come back. It was a pretty tough time and as a captain it was difficult to lead from the front when you weren't worth your place in the side. But I have a great team around me and great team-mates who will always have my back.

"We know there are going to be times when things don't go as smoothly as you would like. I spoke to Andy Hurry during that period and he said it was possibly the best thing that will ever happen to you in your career. It wasn't nice but I've come out the other side."

Abell's emergence from what is becoming a distant gloom has been confirmed in several ways this summer. He has led Somerset to the Royal London One-Day Cup triumph and made a century in the Vitality Blast which revealed a far greater range of shot than he previously possessed. Above all, though, he is a shrewd captain and front-line batsman, who may, just may, lead them to the title So these are heady times as well as momentous ones and you might think it would be useful if Abell had the advice of someone like Rogers to call on. Funny you should ask…

"Buck was fantastic for us," said Abell. "I had a really good relationship with him and certainly learned a lot from him in the year he was here. He helped me as a batter and I still have the few pages that he wrote and gave to me to help me out as a captain. And that was great because I don't think you can fully prepare yourself for what to expect and you can't ask for anything more than to have people like that in your corner. The notes are all about tactics, playing on spinning wickets, making sure you take care of your own game and getting the best out of the team. There were other things - in cricket and outside of cricket."

Getting outside cricket may well be important in the next fortnight even if Somerset and Essex's players have little opportunity to take in a film or play a little golf. It scarcely needs too much imagination to visualise what the County Ground will be like if the title comes to Somerset. Already officials are thinking of hiring Portakabins to accommodate the influx of written media keen to report on the shootout beloved of the tabloids. The usual press box is being used by Sky and the Thatcher's Terrace will be the preserve of TMS. And all this for a game nobody watches…

"We're trying to avoid thinking too far ahead," Abell counselled, "We love it and we're desperate to do something special. You do get a sense of the pride the people of Somerset take in their cricket and we felt that when we won the one-day cup earlier in the year. Taunton is a very special place and we have a special group of supporters. We're also a tight group and we are desperate to win it for each other."

It will also be fair to say that Somerset's players are keen to win the title for Marcus Trescothick, who retires at the end of this season, and for Kerr, a quietly-spoken Boltonian who has made his life in the West Country and has spent most of his career at the County Ground. The coach, himself, of course, having enjoyed Abell's agony, will share in his ecstasy if the title comes to the West Country for the first time.

"I'm a huge fan of Tom and he has my unconditional support," he said. "I think he's an outstanding cricketer and an outstanding leader. I think what we've seen emerge more this year is his deep-rooted belief in himself. The guys follow him and I think we're going to see him go from strength to strength. He took responsibility on a really challenging surface in this game against Yorkshire and batted as if he'd been playing a lot longer than his years suggested. The signs are really good for him."

The BCCI's anti-corruption unit (ACU) is conducting an inquiry into alleged approaches made to several players by suspicious people in the latest edition of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), a T20 competition conducted by the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA). The ACU launched an inquiry after the players reported the alleged approaches during the tournament.

According to Ajit Singh, head of the ACU, the approaches were reported by the players promptly during the fourth season of the league, played between July 19 and August 15 between eight teams. "It is an inquiry into who has made an approach," Singh told ESPNcricinfo. "The players have told us we have received these messages, so it is not an inquiry against the player."

It is understood that seven to eight players had reported approaches to the ACU.

When asked, Singh said he could not confirm or deny whether any of the players are, or have been, Indian internationals. Saying he did not have an exact number of players who had reported approaches, Singh did confirm that there were at least a handful. "There were messages who is going to bat first in the match, basically seeking (match related) information. We presume it's coming from those who are interested in betting," he elaborated.

Singh, a former Director General of Police in Rajasthan, also said that the ACU had received no information against any of the eight team owners, and the teams are not part of the inquiry as of now. As things stand, the ACU is trying to establish the source of the messages the players had received, which involves tracking telephone numbers.

That information can only be accessed by the police, but under the Indian Penal Code, match fixing is not yet a legal offence. Hence, Singh said, there was no deadline as such, but the ACU will look at all possible angles before wrapping up the inquiry.

Incidentally, this was the first time that the ACU provided cover for TNPL, having supervised the anti-corruption measures last year. In the first three seasons, the TNPL had on board Ravi Sawani, former ICC ACU general manager and BCCI ACU head, to look after the anti-corruption cell. This season, the TNPL had four ACU officers available throughout the tournament, with a few more investigators providing them support.

Singh explained that the ACU conducts a mandatory education programme before any tournament and this was followed at the TNPL this time. Players are expected to report any approach made within 24 hours to the ACU, and Singh said that the education programme had helped make players aware of the way corrupt elements seek match-related information, and how they use it. Also, the programmes have helped develop a rapport between players and ACU officers, who they can contact directly if required.

Later in the evening, the TNCA sent out a press release, stating that the TNPL has a "zero tolerance policy" towards corruption. The release also said that the TNCA has appointed a committee to look into the allegations.

"Having received information of acts that would constitute, if accurate, offences under the regulatory framework of the TNPL, the TNCA had appointed a committee to enquire into the issue and submit a report and until the Committee has been afforded an opportunity to thoroughly examine the allegations and submit their report, the TNCA is unable to make any statements on the specifics of the allegations concerning teams, players or officials."

The TNPL was launched in 2016 by TNCA, the home base of former BCCI president and ICC chairman N Srinivasan. The tournament has been promoted by various high-profile present and former cricketers acting as brand ambassadors: MS Dhoni, Shane Watson, Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey, Brett Lee, and Ambati Rayudu. The best cricketers from the region have also always been a part of the mix. This year, for example, Dinesh Karthik, R Ashwin, Vijay Shankar, M Vijay, Washington Sundar and Abhinav Mukund were all part of the action. Also, the TNPL has been telecast by Star India, the biggest broadcaster in cricket, which owns rights for ICC global tournaments as well Indian cricket rights and the IPL.

12.52pm GMT: The news story was updated after the TNCA sent a press release

The BCCI has accepted Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik's unconditional apology for violating a clause of his central contract by watching a Caribbean Premier League match from Trinbago Knight Riders' dressing room.

"The BCCI has accepted Dinesh Karthik's apology and the matter is now a closed chapter," a board official told PTI.

As per the central contract, Karthik, who has played 26 Tests, 94 ODIs and 32 T20Is for India, should have taken permission from the BCCI before attending the match. His contract bars him from being associated with any private league.

Karthik is the captain of IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders but being seen in a TKR jersey, while watching the match from the dressing room, prompted the BCCI to issue a show cause notice, asking why his central contract should not be cancelled.

Karthik, in his reply, submitted that he went to Port-of-Spain on KKR's new head coach Brendon McCullum's request and watched the match wearing the TKR jersey on the New Zealander's insistence.

A member of the India women team was allegedly approached to fix matches earlier this year. The alleged incident, which the player reported to the BCCI's anti-corruption unit (ACU), took place in February, ahead of the limited-overs home series against England.

The ACU has registered a first-information report (FIR) with the Bengaluru police against two individuals, Rakesh Bafna and Jitendra Kothari, for the alleged approach. The case has been registered under four sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including Section 420, which pertains to cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property.

"Today, we have got an FIR registered against two people in Bengaluru," Ajit Singh Shekhawat, who heads the BCCI's ACU, told Sportstar on Monday. "The FIR pertains to an approach that was made to one of the women cricketers of the team. She reported the approach to us and even recorded the conversation she had with one of the accused over the telephone."

According to the Sportstar report, Kothari, claiming to be a sports manager, got in touch with the player last year. In February, when the player was undergoing recovery sessions at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, Kothari put her through to Bafna.

"Kothari was trying to sell himself as the manager of various women cricketers," Shekhawat said. "It was he who introduced Bafna to the player. He approached her to fix matches and play according to the script."

This incident, Shekhawat said, should serve as an eye-opener for women cricketers that they are as vulnerable to corrupt approaches as their male counterparts. "People involved in betting just need any cricket match, for them, it does not matter at what level it is being played," he said. "If a match is telecast, that helps them in betting and that's why they indulge in spot-fixing."

41 - Balls taken by George Munsey to score his century against Netherlands, making it the third-fastest in T20Is. And it was his maiden hundred in international cricket too.

14 - Sixes hit by Munsey - only one man has managed more in a single T20I innings - Hazratullah Zazai.

3 - Munsey and Kyle Coetzer ransacked 200 runs in a mere 91 balls, making it the third-highest partnership in T20Is, for any wicket. It is the highest partnership for any wicket for Scotland.

32 - Munsey walloped four sixes and two fours in Max O'Dowd's first over. Only Yuvraj Singh has made more runs in a single over in T20 internationals.

252 for 3 - Scotland's final total - easily their best in T20Is and the sixth highest overall

More to follow...

New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees is expected to undergo thumb surgery as early as Monday that could sideline him about six weeks, league sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Brees knew Sunday night that he needed surgery for ligament damage, sources told ESPN's Chris Mortensen. The quarterback was still deciding who would do the surgery and when.

The Saints have not indicated whether they will consider placing Brees on injured reserve, which would free up a roster spot but would require the quarterback to miss at least eight weeks.

New Orleans will turn to Teddy Bridgewater, who is the NFL's highest-paid backup quarterback on a one-year, $7.25 million deal.

Brees left Sunday's game late in the first quarter after his right throwing hand appeared to hit Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald's hand at the end of an incomplete pass.

Brees had his right thumb and lower hand/wrist area taped by a trainer on the bench and remained on the sideline for the rest of the game in uniform.

After the game, he acknowledged that he was "concerned" about the severity of the injury.

With Brees likely to miss multiple games, the Saints are now 25-1 to win the Super Bowl at Caesars Sportsbook. Prior to Sunday's game, New Orleans had 8-1 odds at Caesars.

Bridgewater finished the game for Brees, going 17 of 30 for 165 yards in a 27-9 loss to the Rams. It was only the third time under coach Sean Payton, who took over in 2006, that the Saints failed to score a touchdown.

Brees, 40, has missed only one start because of injury since high school -- when he was ruled out of a Week 3 game against the Carolina Panthers in 2015 with a shoulder injury.

Brees' absence will end his streak of starting at least 15 games in 15 straight seasons -- the second-longest of its kind behind only Brett Favre, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Brees said it was tough for him to watch from the sideline Sunday. When he missed that game in 2015 at Carolina, he actually stood on the sideline and mimicked breaking the huddle before each play.

"It's very difficult not to be playing," Brees said. "I'm not used to that. I don't want to get used to that."

The Saints have invested heavily in Bridgewater, the former first-round draft pick of the Minnesota Vikings. They initially traded a third-round pick to acquire him last summer from the New York Jets.

Dual-threat quarterback Taysom Hill is another option for the Saints while Brees is sidelined.

Payton showed his support for Bridgewater after the game, calling him a "pro" who was ready to go after Brees was hurt while blaming a lot of Bridgewater's struggles on the Saints' offensive line getting "whupped" up front and a slew of drive-killing penalties.

"I felt comfortable with Teddy and do feel comfortable with Teddy," Payton said.

ESPN's Mike Triplett contributed to this report.

We know you're not supposed to overreact to Week 1, but what about Week 2?

A two-game sample is twice as large as a one-game sample (math!), and besides, history tells us it absolutely can matter where you stand after the first two weeks. Since 1990, when the current playoff format began, NFL teams that have started 2-0 have made the playoffs 61.3% of the time. Teams starting 0-2 make it just 12.6% of the time.

So, yeah, let's go ahead and overreact to Week 2, shall we?

The Giants need to start Daniel Jones now

New York fell to 0-2 with a 28-14 home loss to Buffalo. Lame-duck veteran quarterback Eli Manning was 26-for-45 for 250 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. That isn't terrible when you consider the state of the Giants' wide receiving corps (Sterling Shepard hurt, Golden Tate suspended, Odell Beckham Jr. traded to Cleveland because the coaches didn't like him), but it's not very exciting, and it certainly wasn't enough to win.

The verdict: NOT AN OVERREACTION. The only argument you can make against this team bringing in its rookie first-round pick is that the Giants, with their ultra-permissive defense and shredded receiving corps, aren't a great situation to throw a rookie into at this point. But the 2018 Bills weren't a great situation to throw Josh Allen into, and look what he just did to the Giants on Sunday.

One of the Giants' biggest problems the past couple of years has been the front office's inability to accurately assess the state of its roster. This is clearly a rebuilding team, and it should be rebuilding around the quarterback it deemed good enough to select No. 6 overall. No reason to delay the inevitable. The team has one of the most exciting young players in the game in Saquon Barkley, and the smart thing to do with a star running back is to maximize these brilliant early years before he wears down and/or it's time to pay him.

If Jones is going to be Barkley's quarterback, there's no reason to waste any more of his rookie contract (or Barkley's) just because of some misguided perception that Manning makes them more competitive. They sure don't look very competitive, and what makes it all worse is that they aren't very interesting. Jones would be something that might excite the fans and let them imagine better days to come.

The Patriots are going 16-0

New England rolled into Miami and did what everybody expected it to do -- crushed a junior varsity Dolphins team 43-0, outgaining Miami 381 yards to 184 behind Tom Brady, Sony Michel and yeah, Antonio Brown, who caught a touchdown pass and was Brady's most targeted receiver in his debut. The Pats have outscored their two opponents 76-3 so far, and their defense appears to have picked up right where it left off in the Super Bowl.

The verdict: OVERREACTION. Just because it's really hard to go 16-0. The Patriots have done it, sure, but that was 12 years ago, so even they know it's easier said than done.

The schedule doesn't look too challenging until November, but in the second half of the season they'll play road games in Baltimore and Philadelphia, and home games against the Chiefs and Cowboys. Every team slips up at some point, and the Pats will be no exception.

Add in the high level of risk with which they've packed their roster -- Brown, Josh Gordon, a rookie quarterback backing up a 42-year-old starter -- and it's not hard to imagine a rough patch or two. New England looks like a solid bet to win the division for the 11th year in a row, but 16-0? Too soon to be thinking like that.

The Packers will win the NFC North

It hasn't been easy, but Green Bay improved to 2-0 with a 21-16 victory over Minnesota on Sunday. And they're not just 2-0 -- they're 2-0 in their division, with victories over the Bears and Vikings. Four of the Packers' next five games are at home, so you can imagine the hot start continuing. And for the second week in a row, the improvements they made on defense in free agency were a huge part of the win.

The verdict: NOT AN OVERREACTION. The Packers have won two games without their offense really clicking. Oh, it clicked in the first quarter Sunday, when they built a 21-0 lead on their first three possessions. But then it stalled, and the defense had to hang on. Those three drives and one in the opener in Chicago have really been the only times they've looked good on offense, and still they've managed to win both games.

The offense is only going to get better as Aaron Rodgers and coach Matt LaFleur jell, the offensive line gets more comfortable with the run-blocking schemes and everything runs more smoothly. "We've still got more to do," running back Jamaal Williams said after Sunday's game. "We're proud of how we started today, not proud of how we finished, but it's getting better and it will continue to get better." In the meantime, Green Bay continues to build confidence in its rebuilt defense, and that will continue to pay off down the road.

The Steelers will miss the playoffs

Pittsburgh is winless after season-opening losses to New England and Seattle. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger left Sunday's game because of an elbow injury. Running back James Conner left the game because of a knee injury. Neither returned, and the Steel City braces for news on both injuries early this week. Meanwhile, the defending division champion Ravens, who were supposed to be having a growing-pains year, are 2-0 and looking fantastic.

The verdict: NOT AN OVERREACTION. If Roethlisberger and Conner have to miss time, this roster starts to look awfully thin awfully quickly. Pittsburgh is already trying to figure out who the No. 2 receiver is behind JuJu Smith-Schuster -- not to mention whether Smith-Schuster is really a No. 1.

No offense to Mason Rudolph, who came in and did fine in relief of Roethlisberger on Sunday. But downgrading from Roethlisberger to Rudolph -- for however long they must -- is no way to help answer some of the key questions the Steelers still have to answer on offense.

The Saints are in huge trouble without Drew Brees

Brees is the other veteran star quarterback who couldn't finish his game Sunday, leaving in the first half of the loss to the Rams because of a thumb injury. Without him, the Saints couldn't get anything going offensively, and the Rams ran away from them in the second half. Brees is expected to undergo thumb surgery that could sideline him about six weeks, league sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The verdict: OVERREACTION. Wait, Graziano. How can you say the Steelers are in trouble but the Saints aren't? One team lost its future Hall of Fame quarterback and so did the other. What's the difference? Well, I'll give you a couple of differences.

First, there doesn't appear, based on early returns, to be a Ravens equivalent in the Saints' division. Carolina is off to a miserable start, and Atlanta looked terrible in its opener. Second, Teddy Bridgewater has been in the Saints' program for a couple of seasons now. And while the same can be said of Rudolph in Pittsburgh, I have a little more faith in Sean Payton and the Saints' coaching staff to develop and maximize a backup quarterback than I do in Pittsburgh's.

New Orleans' roster is deeper, it's better set up to lean on the run game, and I think Bridgewater will show more than he showed in relief Sunday. So that's why.

By now, we've learned to expect greatness from the New England Patriots. Winning is our default expectation for them. Bill Belichick & Co. have been favored in more than 90% of Tom Brady's starts since the future Hall of Famer returned from his torn ACL in 2009. They are 2-0 this season, and unless you firmly believed that New England was subject to some sort of Miami curse after dropping five of its previous six games on the road against the Dolphins, you're probably not surprised.

Even by the lofty standards set by the Patriots, though, they're off to a spectacular start. They followed a 33-3 win over the Steelers in Week 1 with a 43-0 shellacking of the hapless Dolphins in Miami on Sunday. They have outscored their two opponents by 73 points. If that seems like a lot, consider that the last time an NFL team outscored its opponents by 73 points or more during the first two weeks of a season was in 1975. Belichick's team is off to the third-fastest start for any franchise in NFL history.

This is about as good as any football team will play over a two-week span. Going back through the beginning of the Belichick-Brady dynasty in 2001, the Patriots have won back-to-back games by 30 points or more only once, back in 2012. (The second of those two victories was the Butt Fumble game.) The Pats haven't ever produced a plus-73 point differential over a two-week span; the closest they came was in 2007, when a 21-point win over the Dolphins and a 45-point victory over Washington got the Patriots to 8-0.

You probably remember that team, of course; the 2007 Patriots became just the second team in NFL history to go undefeated during the regular season, starting 16-0 before eventually losing to the Giants in Super Bowl XLII. The Patriots' first half of that regular season is still the most dominant two months of pro football I've ever seen, and it changed the league forever.

Those Pats never had a two-game stretch as dominant as the one we've just seen this team piece together to start the season. The parallels between the two aren't particularly subtle. The '07 Pats could do everything, but Belichick transformed his offense by adding impact wide receivers. The 2007 team retained Jabar Gaffney and added Donte Stallworth, Wes Welker and a mercurial star who had washed out in Oakland by the name of Randy Moss.

These Patriots, on the other hand, started with a much better returning wideout in Julian Edelman. They got Josh Gordon back from suspension in August and then added Antonio Brown once the Raiders ended their brief relationship with Brown before Week 1. New England also has first-round pick N'Keal Harry waiting in the wings, although the Arizona State product is on injured reserve and will miss at least the first half of the season.

We've only seen Brown, Edelman and Gordon on the field together for one game, and it was against a Dolphins team that might very well be one of the horrific NFL teams of this era. It wasn't the same sort of dominant passing day we saw from the 2007 Patriots, who seemed to respond to the Spygate scandal from Week 1 by lighting their opponents on fire. A dominant passing attack wouldn't be as much of a surprise as it was in 2007, when Brady leveled up and became one of the best passers in league history.

It's wild to predict that any team that starts 2-0 will eventually go 16-0, and I'm not trying to do so here. According to ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI), the Patriots have just a 1.9% chance of finishing the regular season undefeated. To put that in context, FPI gave the Dolphins a 14.1% shot of beating the Patriots outright on Sunday, while the money line at the Caesars Sportsbook implied Miami's odds were at 8.7%. You saw how unlikely Miami's chances actually were if you watched the game Sunday.

And yet, it's not too early to point out that there's the opportunity for something special to happen here. The Patriots are about as well-positioned to get off to a hot start as any team in recent memory. Given their current level of play, that could make things very scary for the rest of the NFL.

Reasons to get excited about 16-0

We knew things were expected to be easy for the Pats heading into the season. FPI projected them to enjoy the league's second-easiest schedule in 2019, with only the Jets going up against an easier slate. They already have one of their two Dolphins games out of the way, but their schedule -- especially during the first half of the year -- now seems easier than it did before the season began. Consider what their next few weeks look like:

• The Patriots play a Jets team in Week 3 that won't have Sam Darnold, who is out with mononucleosis. New York won't have C.J. Mosley and Quinnen Williams against the Browns and will be coming off a short week because it plays on Monday Night Football, so it's unclear whether Mosley and Williams will be ready for Sunday. Starting linemen Kelvin Beachum and Brian Winters are questionable, while Le'Veon Bell will play through some shoulder trouble. Would-be starters Quincy Enunwa and Avery Williamson are also out for the year.

• Week 4 will see the Pats face the Bills, who have looked dominant defensively in getting out to a 2-0 start. This is likely a tougher game than it seemed before the season.

• Seven days later, the Pats will face a Washington team that hasn't yet convinced star tackle Trent Williams to end his holdout and return to the organization. Jay Gruden's team has started 0-2 and has been outscored by 15 points; it might well be transitioning from Case Keenum to rookie Dwayne Haskins by Week 5.

• In Week 6, the Patriots host the Giants on Thursday night.

• After a long week, the Pats get the Jets again; while Darnold is expected to be back on the field by then, it's unlikely the second-year passer will be back at 100 percent after losing weight while recuperating.

• In Week 8, the Patriots host a Browns team that got blown out at home in its season opener after an offseason of hype. It's still way too early to count Cleveland out from contending, of course, but the Browns didn't impress in their first game under Freddie Kitchens as head coach.

After that, the schedule admittedly gets tough. Over a six-week stretch, the Patriots host the Cowboys and Chiefs and travel to face the Ravens, Eagles and Texans, with a bye week thrown in. They finish up by traveling to face a Bengals team that is already riddled with injuries before coming home for two final games against the Bills and Dolphins.

I don't like the check mark way of projecting a team's future record, which is the thing we all do when a team's schedule comes out and we run through their week-by-week slate. Too many unforeseen things happen. Every Browns fan on the planet would have expected to beat the Titans at home in their opener, and Cleveland lost by 30 points.

By FPI, though, the Patriots have a 30.1% chance of making it through the first half of the season undefeated. They have gone undefeated through their first eight games of the season only twice during the Belichick era. One of those seasons was 2007, obviously, while the other came in 2015, when they started 10-0 before losing to the Broncos. Denver then beat New England in their playoff rematch.

Likewise, there are reasons to think the Patriots are a much better team than we expected even as the preseason began. It wasn't clear whether they were going to get Gordon back at any point for the 2019 season, but he was allowed back into the NFL in mid-August after he applied for reinstatement over the summer. He's still likely not in football shape, but Gordon has shown an ability to strike up a connection with Brady. After his first three games in a Patriots uniform, Gordon averaged 74.5 receiving yards per game during his final eight appearances in 2018. He added 73 yards and a touchdown in the opener before a quiet day against the Dolphins. You can count the receivers in the NFL who have Gordon's athletic ability on one hand.

As unlikely as Gordon's presence in a Patriots uniform might have been, Brown was on another level. It would have been absurd to script his path to the Patriots over the past month, but the former Steelers star officially made his debut in a Patriots uniform Sunday. He took no time to make his presence known, catching three passes on the opening drive before adding a 20-yard touchdown later in the half. Brown would have had a second touchdown if it weren't for an uncharacteristic underthrow from Brady. He was targeted on eight of Brady's 28 pass attempts, a surprisingly large ratio for a wide receiver who is still realistically learning a complex Patriots scheme. The 31-year-old was targeted on 57.1% of the routes he ran, which seems at odds with the postgame suggestions from Belichick that the Patriots weren't trying to force Brown the football.

This was a team that was already expected to contend for a Super Bowl this season, even after losing Rob Gronkowski, Chris Hogan and Cordarrelle Patterson without signing any veteran replacements. Pats fans were talking themselves into guys like Maurice Harris and Jakobi Meyers in the preseason; now, they've upgraded with significantly more talented receiver options. New England's ceiling is unquestionably higher with Brown and Gordon at receiver.

Why 16-0 is unlikely

The Patriots have a better shot of going 16-0 than any other 2-0 team in recent memory. Those chances are still extremely small, even if I'm more optimistic than FPI's prescribed odds of 1.9%. So many things had to go right for those Patriots to go 16-0 in 2007. Counting on all of those things to happen again is a tall order:

The 2007 Patriots stayed healthy. No team can go all season without any injuries, but those Pats came pretty close. Richard Seymour started the year on the PUP list, and starting guard Stephen Neal missed time with a shoulder injury, but the only starter to hit injured reserve with an injury suffered during the season was Rosevelt Colvin, and he wasn't lost until Week 13.

The modern-day Patriots already have lost one starter for the season in center David Andrews, who was placed on injured reserve with blood clots. The offensive line is quickly becoming a concern, as right tackle Marcus Cannon missed the Dolphins game with a shoulder injury. The Pats signed veteran Marshall Newhouse on Wednesday and inserted him into the starting lineup; when left tackle Isaiah Wynn was ruled out with a foot injury, the Patriots then shifted Newhouse to Brady's blind side. If Wynn's foot injury is serious, they will have major concerns protecting Brady, no matter how good his receiving corps looks.

Their opponents weren't healthy. The Pats ran into five backup quarterbacks during their 16-0 season; Cleo Lemon started twice for the Dolphins, A.J. Feeley suited up for the Eagles, and Kyle Boller sat in for Steve McNair with the Ravens. J.P. Losman technically started the Week 3 game for the Bills, but he was knocked out after the opening series and replaced by Trent Edwards for the majority of the game. The Patriots beat the Feeley-led Eagles and the Boller-led Ravens by only three points each. They might very well have lost if the Eagles had Donovan McNabb or the Ravens had McNair. Brady also threw three interceptions in the AFC Championship Game against the Chargers, but the Patriots' defense held a Chargers team that lost LaDainian Tomlinson in the first quarter and had Philip Rivers playing through a torn ACL to 12 points.

Belichick is likely to face his first backup quarterback of the season on Sunday in the Jets' Trevor Siemian. It's impossible to project anything further beyond that point, but tough games down the line against teams such as the Chiefs, Eagles and Ravens wouldn't be anywhere near as difficult if their starting quarterbacks were injured.

The 2007 Patriots caught some breaks. As dominant as the Patriots were during the first half of the season, it's easy to picture a number of their games going the other way with a few small moments going the other way. In one of the games of the century against the Colts, Peyton Manning turned the ball over down 24-20 at midfield on a third-and-9 with 2:34 left. In the Eagles game, Feeley drove Philly to the Pats' 29-yard line with 3:58 to go, only to throw an interception to Asante Samuel.

The most memorable narrow victory was the 27-24 win over the Ravens, which included Ed Reed fumbling away an interception return in what would have been field goal territory at the end of the first half. With the Pats trailing 24-20 late in the fourth quarter, the Patriots false-started on a fourth-and-1 play that went for a loss. Brady scrambled to convert the ensuing fourth-and-6, then picked up a fourth-and-5 via a holding penalty. They scored on the ensuing play, and while Boller hit Derrick Mason on a Hail Mary on the final play of the game, Mason caught the ball at the 2-yard line and wasn't able to score.

The 38-35 victory over the Giants wasn't quite as close as people remember -- the Giants scored a touchdown with 1:08 to go to get within three -- but you can see just how little it would have taken for things to swing the other way and for the 16-0 season to turn into a 14-2 or 15-1 campaign. Even if the Patriots are as good as they seem right now, they'll have a game or two where they'll need a penalty flag at the right time or a gift from their opponents.

The receivers the Patriots have now might not be the receivers the Pats have in December. Moss' fit with the Patriots wasn't as rosy as it's been later depicted. There were rumors before Week 1 that the Patriots were about to release him after he struggled with a hamstring injury during preseason. That didn't happen, and Moss pieced together one of the best seasons from any wide receiver in league history. There are more significant concerns with New England's additions. Gordon has missed 59 games since the start of 2014 as a result of multiple suspensions. Brown's behavior on the field and in the facility over the past 12 months has been curious at best, and he was recently accused of sexual assault in a civil case. Even Edelman, who served a four-game PED suspension in 2018, would be subject to a 10-game suspension if he failed a second test.

Brady was 30 in 2007, and he's 42 now. As incredibly as Brady has aged, and as much as he has developed over that time frame, every single quarterback on the planet is going to be better at 30 than he is at 42. This doesn't mean that Brady has somehow become a liability or that I'm counting out his chances of accomplishing anything in 2019 whatsoever. (I'd like this on the record in case Brady busts out "everyone thinks we suck" again during his postseason interviews.) He is still an upper-echelon quarterback, of course, but it's going to be harder to throw and recover as the season wears on with 12 more years of wear and tear on his body. That's only going to be more difficult if the Pats can't keep their starting offensive linemen healthy.

The defense might not be as good as it seems. The Patriots finished 16th in defensive DVOA last season and then lost their best pass-rusher, Trey Flowers, to Detroit in free agency. They traded for defensive end Michael Bennett, brought back linebacker Jamie Collins, and drafted pass-rusher Chase Winovich in the third round, but Belichick didn't make any other significant additions on defense.

New England has now allowed three points through two weeks. It is the best defense in football after two games, and it has even chipped in 14 points on interception returns. Given that the Pats are relatively talent-neutral with a defense that was middle of the pack last season and haven't fielded a top-10 defense by DVOA since 2006, I don't think they're going to continue to be the best defense in football over the remainder of the season. We'll need to see them against a real offense to confirm this hypothesis, but the Pats might not go up against an above-average offense until they get the Browns in Week 8.

If I had to pick a record for the Patriots right now, I'd go with 13-3, even after this molten start. FPI, meanwhile, also projects them to win 13 games.

Does it actually matter?

The Patriots' legendary pairing of coach and quarterback usually isn't hard to read. They both want to win more than anything else, which is why Belichick opened the locker room to Brown and Brady literally offered the four-time All-Pro the option to stay at his house during the season. Nobody gets sick of winning the Super Bowl, and the Patriots enter every season in Super Bowl-or-bust mode.

I wonder, though, whether an undefeated season would mean more to Belichick and Brady now than it would have in 2007. What else do they need to prove? New England has won six Super Bowls during this dynasty. The Pats have more Super Bowl rings than any other coach (Belichick's eight) or player (Brady's six) in football history. The one thing they came close to accomplishing but failed to achieve was a perfect season. To call it a blemish on their record would be wrong, but it's also the one thing Brady and Belichick might look back and wish they had accomplished as a duo. Going 19-0 might have seemed impossible before 2007. Twelve years later, while it's still not likely, the Patriots know an undefeated season is possible.

PITTSBURGH -- As guard Ramon Foster walked out of the locker room after a second-straight loss for the Pittsburgh Steelers, he was asked about quarterback Mason Rudolph taking over the offense if Ben Roethlisberger's elbow injury keeps him sidelined.

His answer was blunt: Rudolph prepares like a mad man.

"He wants this," Foster added.

On Monday, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin announced that Roethlisberger will have surgery on his elbow and be out the remainder of the season.

The Steelers are sold on Rudolph for one prime reason: He grinds. They aren't worried about his preparation if he makes the start Sunday at San Francisco, which is crucial to avoid dropping to 0-3 and dwelling at the bottom of the AFC North.

No matter the results, they know he'll be ready for everything on the field. This is the same guy who wears his helmet on the sideline as the backup or used to mimic practice plays from the sideline as the third-stringer last season.

In Rudolph's NFL debut, he completed 12 of 19 passes for 112 yards, two touchdowns and one interception (not his fault coming off a Donte Moncrief drop) for a 92.5 passer rating. But guard David DeCastro cared less about the numbers and more about the command as Rudolph was mixing signals at the line of scrimmage.

"We like our chances," DeCastro said. "He’s a guy who cares a lot. That means a lot in this league."

Here's what to expect with Rudolph at the helm for the Steelers' offense.

Confidence to "let it fly," which is mostly good …

Rudolph said in the preseason, that in Year 2, he would hold nothing back, which eventually helped him beat Josh Dobbs for the No. 2 job. Rudolph delivered two touchdown strikes to Vance McDonald, who broke free for seven catches Sunday. Those were confidence throws.

Rudolph also isn't afraid to hold the ball in the pocket as routes develop or make intermediate-to-deep throws to tough spots.

"I am completely confident in myself, being a leader of a team, and playing games," Rudolph said. "That's what it all comes down to. If that's the case, I'm ready to roll."

But Rudolph has to make sure the timing is down on those tough throws. Rudolph said he needed to get the ball earlier to Diontae Johnson on a 17-yard sideline catch that required an acrobatic play to complete. On his interception on the two-point conversion attempt, Rudolph said surging defensive backs affected his vision.

These are good plays to experience entering a potential first start.

"He is going to throw the ball and make his reads," McDonald said. "I think he is very deliberate about that and that is something we can look forward to on offense."

More run-pass balance

The Steelers aren't a heavy play-action team, but Roethlisberger is most comfortable in the no-huddle offense and can use the short passing game to simulate runs. That helps explain his league-high 675 passing attempts a year ago.

The Steelers should support Rudolph with a stout running game to help set up the pass. James Conner and Jaylen Samuels combined for 39 rushing yards on seven carries (5.6 yards per carry) in the second half. That lessened the burden on Rudolph, who feels comfortable in play-action sets.

McDonald said the offensive line will set a tone in Week 3 and beyond, regardless of who's at quarterback.

"We rely on our big men up front to not only lead us but take charge as leaders of this team," McDonald said. "Just carrying us from week-to-week. Even with Ben up, they are our guys. We’ll rely heavily on them."

DeCastro is up to the challenge.

"We’ll see what this team’s made of," he said. "I don’t expect any drama. I expect guys to shut up and go to work.”

Creativity in the game plan

A 45-yard flea flicker to JuJu Smith-Schuster in the third quarter eased the tension for Rudolph and the offense, and everyone played loosely after that.

Surely offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner has some trickeration he hasn't used for a while. This might free him up to try some stuff.

And what helps Rudolph, college and NFL teammate James Washington says, is making extra time to throw with receivers during and after practices. There's not one pass-catcher in the offense that Rudolph doesn't know well, tendency-wise.

"He’s got a lot of weapons to play with," Washington said.

Make an imprint for the future

Rudolph now gets almost a full season to audition and, for the Steelers, this is his chance to inject clarity into the post-Roethlisberger succession plan. Roethlisberger is 37 and plans to play out the three years remaining on his deal, but the Steelers saw Rudolph as a first-round-caliber prospect in 2018.

"The reps in practice might change, but my [diligent] approach won't change," Rudolph said about how he prepares for this week.

Pittsburgh Steelers star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will have surgery on his right elbow and miss the remainder of the season, coach Mike Tomlin announced Monday.

In a statement released by the team, Tomlin announced that Roethlisberger will undergo the surgery at some point this week after having an MRI on Sunday night.

The Steelers, who will place Roethlisberger on injured reserve, have not yet provided details about the injury, and there is no timetable for when the six-time Pro Bowler will be able to play again.

Roethlisberger was hurt late in the second quarter of Sunday's 28-26 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, grabbing his elbow after attempting a pass on the team's final drive of the half.

In Roethlisberger's absence, second-year quarterback Mason Rudolph nearly led the Steelers to a fourth-quarter comeback in his first career appearance, completing 12 of 19 attempts for 112 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Now the Steelers will have to rely on Rudolph, a third-round draft pick in 2018, to help them overcome an 0-2 start.

Roethlisberger, 37, is the Steelers' franchise leader in passing yards and touchdowns and has led Pittsburgh to two Super Bowl titles. He led the NFL with 5,129 passing yards last season, his 15th with the Steelers, and signed a contract extension this past March that runs through the 2021 season.

Steelers receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster tweeted Monday that he was "sad to hear the news" of Roethlisberger's injury.

Prayers up to my guy Ben on his upcoming surgery. So sad to hear the news, but we're gonna hold it down for you ✊??? pic.twitter.com/Neje7pNzZq

— JuJu Smith-Schuster (@TeamJuJu) September 16, 2019

The news of Roethlisberger's injury had an immediate impact on the Steelers' odds at Caesars Sportsbook, where they went from 40-1 to 100-1 to win the Super Bowl and 18-1 to 40-1 to win the AFC.

The Roethlisberger injury also affected the odds to win the AFC North at Caesars, which dropped Pittsburgh to 16-1 for the division title -- well behind the Baltimore Ravens (-200) and the Cleveland Browns (+170).