Daniel James has said his key role at Manchester United this season has come as a surprise.

The £15 million summer signing was battling to get into the Swansea team in the Championship this time last year but has established himself as a central figure for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in just a matter of months at Old Trafford.

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"Coming in was always going to be tough and it was going to be different from playing in the Championship," James, who has scored three goals in 16 games so far this season, said.

"I think I've taken it in my stride, tried to calm myself down a bit and think 'I'm here for a reason.'

"At the start of the season, I maybe didn't think I would play as much. Every game I've been learning and the gaffer has trusted me and I've really enjoyed it."

After a rocky start to the season, United have won five of their last six games in all competitions, including an impressive 3-1 win over Brighton at Old Trafford on Sunday.

The upturn in form has coincided with Anthony Martial's return from a thigh injury and James said having the Frenchman back has given the squad a boost.

"Since he's come back in we've got that focal point," the Wales winger said. "He's a great link up player. He can come short or go in behind. It's been important for me and for Marcus since he's come back into the team to get that interlink. Since he's come back he's got goals and he's got assists and he's been great for us."

James, who turned 22 on Sunday, will spend the international break with Wales before returning to Carrington ahead of the trip to Sheffield United on Nov. 24.

Up to seventh in the table and through to the Europa League knockout rounds, the mood around Old Trafford is much improved than it was after going six games without a win before the October internationals and James is keen to push on.

"It was important to get three points going into the international break and move up the table," he said.

"When we get back we've got a tough opposition against Sheffield United. The boys that aren't going away on internationals can have a break now and then we've got a nice build up next week to go there and really perform."

Liverpool have major concerns over Mohamed Salah's ankle injury after the forward took another knock to it in the 3-1 victory over Manchester City, sources have told ESPN FC.

The Premier League league leaders wanted the 27-year-old to remain on Merseyside and undertake a scan on the problem, which has been carefully managed by Liverpool, but was aggravated after a fair but firm challenge from Fernandinho at Anfield on Sunday.

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The injury has been troubling Salah since Hamza Choudhury's "dangerous as hell" tackle in the 2-1 win over Leicester in October.

However, he insisted on reporting for Egypt duty and doing the assessment with the national team.

Liverpool now face a nervy wait on feedback from the scan.

Salah missed the 1-1 draw at Manchester United following October's FIFA break as he nursed the issue and the European champions are loath to lose him as the busiest period of the season approaches.

Jurgen Klopp shed light on the nagging element of the injury earlier this month, saying: "I think it is more really annoying -- for him, not me -- the fact that it always has a bit of fluid in, and he has to deal with it, we get it out and it comes back, and stuff like that."

Egypt host Kenya in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Thursday, before an away test against Comoros next Monday.

SEATTLE -- Seattle's 3-1 win over Toronto FC to claim MLS Cup 2019, in front of a sellout crowd of nearly 70,000 fans on Sunday, was the culmination of a love affair between the city and the Sounders a decade in the making.

It's easy to forget, in the wake of the successful expansion launches of Portland, LAFC and particularly Atlanta -- which won MLS Cup in front of a similar sellout crowd last year and has surpassed the Sounders as the attendance leader -- just how unbelievable Seattle's support once seemed. When the Sounders played their first Major League Soccer game 10 years ago, no team in league history had averaged 30,000 fans per match. The Sounders broke the MLS record in their inaugural season, and again in each of the next four before eventually peaking at more than 44,000 fans per game in 2015.

None of that was predictable in 2009. At the time, the big question in Seattle sports circles was whether the excitement over the Sounders' debut could last. After all, it's common for expansion franchises to see their attendance decline in Year 2. The WNBA's Seattle Storm, for example, saw their average decrease by almost a third during their second season. And though the Storm have carved out an important place in Seattle's sports scene, winning three championships of their own, they've still yet to reach that inaugural attendance again.

Several factors helped the Sounders not only maintain, but actually improve their fan support in Year 2 and beyond.

First, the timing of the team's debut on the MLS stage couldn't possibly have been better. Without question, 2008 was the most miserable year in Seattle sports history. The University of Washington fielded the only winless FBS team. MLB's Mariners lost 100 games for the first time in 25 years. The NFL Seahawks, just three years removed from reaching the Super Bowl, bottomed out at 4-12. And, most painfully, the NBA SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City after 41 years in Seattle.

Though the Sounders could never replace the history lost with the Sonics' move, their arrival helped fill a void in the Seattle sports landscape and the Sounders took full advantage by nailing the expansion process. Even their one misstep -- the team originally excluded Sounders, part of Seattle's soccer heritage dating back to their NASL participation from 1974 to 1983, from a fan naming vote -- only ended up increasing excitement when they reversed course.

Second, the atmosphere created by Sounders supporters made CenturyLink Field an experience unlike almost any in American professional sports at that point, with the Emerald City Supporters in the south stands leading chants for the full 90 minutes. That made Sounders matches more entertaining for casual fans and the home stadium a fortress for the team, rather than depressingly cavernous like other NFL stadiums used by MLS teams.

Thanks in part to their home crowd, the Sounders won -- and kept winning. From Day 1, they've consistently been one of the best teams in MLS. They've reached the playoffs in all 11 of their seasons, a new league record. And while it wasn't until Brian Schmetzer's promotion to head coach in 2016 that the Sounders were able to break through in the postseason and reach MLS Cup, they claimed the US Open Cup three consecutive years starting in their inaugural MLS season and added a fourth in 2014.

Still, none of that -- not even the MLS Cup the Sounders did win on the road in Toronto in 2016 -- could compare to the enthusiasm hosting MLS Cup generated in Seattle.

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"This week was a week I will not forget," majority owner Adrian Hanauer, who led the group that brought the Sounders to MLS, said in the winning locker room. "Starting 10 days ago with Toronto knocking off Atlanta and realizing, 'Holy crap, we're going to host an MLS Cup,' I made a concerted effort to appreciate it and breathe it all in a little bit, because that's not really in my nature."

The first two Sounders wins en route to the MLS Cup, over FC Dallas and Real Salt Lake, were modestly attended by Seattle standards with 37,000-plus fans. The combination of the Sounders' improbable upset over Supporters' Shield winner LAFC in the Western Conference finals and the opportunity to win a league championship at home -- something only the Storm, among the city's major pro sports teams, have done -- put them in the front of Seattle sports fans' consciousness and made the Sounders a hot ticket. When MLS Cup tickets went on sale nine days ahead of the match, the building sold out within 20 minutes, guaranteeing both the largest attendance ever for a sporting event at CenturyLink Field as well as the largest to watch soccer in the state of Washington. On resale sites, tickets were running more than $200 just to get in the door.

For Sounders forward and Seattle-area native Jordan Morris, the chance to play for a trophy in his hometown was a unique experience.

"I got emotional before the game because I was thinking about that," said Morris, whose father is the team's chief medical officer. "I was here at the first game 10 years ago, and now I'm on the field playing for a championship. It's pretty special."

Hanauer had a similar feeling a few hours earlier, when he reached Pioneer Square and saw fans already gathering hours before the match. More than anyone, he knows the hard work, planning and luck it took to get to this point.

"You're never quite sure how it's all going to shake out, but obviously you want to play for championships, you want to win championships," Hanauer said. "Doing it in your home city, where you were born and raised, it's pretty special to see the joy that you give fans and how beloved these players and coaches are. It's pretty cool.

"Sports moves communities and brings people together. To see what this group of players and coaches was able to do for this community, for those 69,000, for the hundreds of thousands watching on TV and giant watch parties, it's awesome. It's great for the city."

Sri Lanka has become the first South Asian nation to criminalise several offences related to match-fixing, after its parliament passed all three readings of a bill entitled "Prevention of Offences Related to Sports" on Monday. Offences related to corruption in sports will carry a prison term of up to 10 years, as well as various fines.

Aside from Sports Minister Harin Fernando, who presented the bill to parliament, former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga, who is a cabinet minister, was a strong supporter of the new legislation during Monday's parliamentary debates. The sports ministry in particular is understood to have worked closely with the ICC's Anti Corruption Unit during the process of drafting the bill. In fact, although the bill covers all sports, it is the recent ACU investigation into Sri Lankan cricket that is believed to have prompted this legislation.

The bill's ambit is broad. It seeks not only to punish "any person related to a sport" who is directly involved in fixing, but also those who "provide… inside information", curators who prepare playing surfaces to suit betting operators, and match officials who "deliberately misapply the rules" for money. In addition, it is now also illegal for former players (and others involved in sports) to provide corrupt figures access to current players.

Just as significantly, the bill also criminalises "acts of omission", which includes failure to report corrupt approaches. This means that Sri Lankan cricketers who are approached by potential corruptors may now have to report these approaches not only to the ICC's ACU under the ICC code, but also to a Special Investigation Unit appointed by Sri Lanka's government.

Although parliament passed this legislation during Monday's special sitting, it is not law until the Act is gazetted, probably in the course of the next 10 days. A parliament spokesperson said the gazetting is expected to be a mere formality.

While Ranatunga was a leading figure during the debate, urging parliament to push an unamended bill through as soon as possible, former SLC president Thilanga Sumathipala proposed amendments to the bill that were ultimately defeated on the floor. Sumathipala was at pains to mention, however, that he was not against the passing of the bill as a whole, only the contents of certain clauses.

Sri Lanka's cricket has been under investigation by the ICC's ACU since 2017. Several former players have been charged under the ICC code, the most notable of whom is Sanath Jayasuriya, who was banned for two years in February this year.

CHICAGO -- The NFL is looking into how the Detroit Lions handled the reporting of quarterback Matthew Stafford's back injury in the week leading up to Sunday's loss to Chicago, including the designation of Stafford as questionable before he was ruled out, a source said.

"We'll look into it and gather all the facts," a league source told ESPN, "as is standard in situations like this."

This isn't the first time in recent memory the league has looked into potential injury report violations. The NFL investigated similar situations regarding Ben Roethlisberger and Pittsburgh earlier this year and the Miami Dolphins with Ryan Tannehill last season.

A message left by ESPN for the Lions was not immediately returned.

Detroit had listed Stafford as limited in practice all week and then listed him as questionable on the injury report Friday. Here's where it then got a little bit dicey. Media reports started to surface Saturday saying Stafford would be a game-time decision. By Sunday morning, those same reports said he would be ruled out -- ending a 136-game starting streak that had been the second-longest active streak among quarterbacks.

Lions general manager Bob Quinn said Sunday that Stafford suffered the injury late in Detroit's Week 9 loss to Oakland. However, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter the injury dates back to last season, when Stafford played through the pain and didn't miss a game.

Following Sunday's game, multiple players told ESPN and other outlets that they were informed at various points Saturday that Stafford would be unable to play.

"We found out yesterday," Lions left tackle Taylor Decker said Sunday. "It was kind of a surprise. For him to not be out there, we know it's a really serious situation."

Offensive guard Joe Dahl told ESPN on Sunday that the Lions found out "last night, maybe." And tight end Logan Thomas said the team found out Saturday as well.

Stafford's replacement at quarterback Sunday, Jeff Driskel, said he went through a typical week of practice with a "sprinkling" of first-team reps and he was told Sunday he would be the starter.

However, Lions coach Matt Patricia, in his postgame news conference, said the decision was made Sunday that "it was unsafe" for Stafford to play. Schefter reported that Stafford has fractured bones in his back.

"I'm not going to get into too many specifics but he truly was limited. Participated but truly limited through the week and we were hoping by the time we got to today that we were going to be able to do it," Patricia said. "And like I said, it just wasn't safe to put him in that situation. So the information that we got, talking with the doctors, it wasn't the right thing to do. Again, I'm more concerned about him more than anything else. He's got a great family. He's a great guy.

"So for us, that was a decision that we made and we moved forward and the team, you know, they moved forward with the decision and I think a lot of those guys were trying to fight and do everything they could because they know how tough he is and they know how much it means to him and I think they were trying to do everything we could for him. That's it."

Quinn said the Lions "deactivated him" Sunday morning because doctors decided he wasn't medically cleared to play.

The league's typical protocol in this matter is to contact the club and ask for all relevant documents pertaining to the injury and the handling of it. In the league's manual, it states "if, prior to the team's arrival at the stadium on game day, an event occurs that causes the club to decide that a player will not start or will not play, the club must update its Game Status Report, as required by the Policy."

That goes up until the earliest time the team is instructed to report to the stadium on the day of the game. If the decision is made after the team arrives at the stadium and a workout is conducted that decides a player will be unable to start or play, they are not required to change the status report until the typical window 90 minutes before kickoff.

In an NFL season in which we're down to just one undefeated team after the better part of 10 weeks, just about everyone has laid an egg. Even the league's most competitive teams have floundered in a disappointing loss this season, often with no explanation or notice. The Saints made their way to that list Sunday after shockingly falling to the 1-7 Falcons, who were 14-point underdogs heading into the Superdome.

Let's see whether we can learn anything from the worst of the best. I went through each team with six wins or more and identified their worst performance, leaving out the 49ers and Seahawks in advance of their game Monday night (8:15 ET on ESPN and the ESPN App). From there, I tried to figure out if there was something meaningful to take away from that disastrous performance and if there were opponents who could exploit those weaknesses in a similar way later on this season.

I mentioned the Saints, but I'll start with another team that lost a shocker Sunday afternoon ...

Jump to a contending team:
BAL | BUF | GB | HOU
KC | MIN | NE | NO

Kansas City Chiefs (6-4)

The disaster game: Losing 35-32 to the Titans on Sunday

While the Chiefs have four losses in their past six games, this was the first time they lost a game in which Patrick Mahomes went a full 60 minutes without clearly aggravating his ankle injury. He nearly had an ill-advised pass intercepted on the opening snap of the game, but the reigning MVP quickly settled down and finished 36-of-50 for 446 yards with three touchdowns and no picks. He certainly wasn't the issue.

Problem 1: The Chiefs still can't stop the run.

Kansas City came into Week 10 ranked 28th in rush defense DVOA. It won't be climbing the charts when those numbers get updated Tuesday. The combination of Derrick Henry and Ryan Tannehill ran the ball 26 times for 225 yards with nine first downs and two touchdowns. Tennessee didn't control the clock -- it held the ball for only just over 22 minutes -- because it was too effective running the ball to stay on the field for long.

The biggest play of the day, of course, was Henry's 68-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. There's no way it should have gone for 68 yards. The Chiefs had eight men in the box. This is the league's 23rd-ranked rushing offense by DVOA. It probably should have been a loss or a small gain at best.

Instead, when we look at NFL Next Gen Stats, the Chiefs lose their gap integrity. It looks like Reggie Ragland (59) overpursues what appears to be an outside zone play and ends up one gap over from where he's supposed to be. Alternatively, it could be that defensive tackle Joey Ivie (93) ends up getting blocked out of his gap. Either way, Henry has a huge cutback lane and turns upfield at the line of scrimmage. Rookie safety Juan Thornhill (22) is the last line of defense, but he whiffs badly on the tackle attempt and only momentarily slows Henry, who proceeds to outrun the Kansas City defense to the house.

Later in the fourth quarter, with Tannehill scrambling on third-and-10 and bracing for contact 5 yards short of the sticks while surrounded by four Chiefs players, he manages to drag Rashad Fenton several yards forward for a conversion. That drive ended with Henry plunging in the end zone from a yard out.

Tannehill would get Fenton for the winning touchdown, when the Titans ran four verticals and Adam Humphries saw the Chiefs were playing with two deep safeties. Humphries faked an out, juked Fenton to the point in which the young defensive back fell down and then brought in Tannehill's pass for the leading score. The former Dolphins starter finished the drive by running through Thornhill on a zone-read keeper for a 2-pointer.

Problem 2: The Chiefs beat themselves.

Even given their defensive woes, the Chiefs still should have won this game. They held a 98.2% win expectancy with the ball in their hands on the Titans' 24-yard line with 1:36 to go. By ESPN's model, the Titans had been favorites in-game for a grand total of only one play up to that point, back when they had a 13-10 lead in the second quarter.

A first down on a third-and-2 would have sealed things up for the Chiefs, while a field goal would have given them an eight-point lead and forced the Titans to drive the length of the field, score a touchdown, convert a 2-pointer and then win in overtime. The only thing they couldn't do was turn the ball over without converting or scoring. Instead, the Chiefs called a slow-developing downfield pass, and a scrambling Mahomes gave himself up to keep the clock running.

On the ensuing field goal try, a bad snap led holder James Winchester to throw the ball away, which ended the drive and resulted in an intentional grounding call. After the Titans scored to take the lead, Mahomes completed two passes to set up a 52-yard field goal try, only for the Titans to block Harrison Butker's would-be tying kick and seal a Titans win.

Butker also missed an extra point in the third quarter. I wouldn't count on Kansas City's special teams playing the team out of close games on a regular basis, given that Dave Toub is regarded as one of the best special-teams coaches in football. The Chiefs also ranked ninth in special-teams DVOA heading into the week, so this hasn't been a consistent problem for them.

What is a concern, though, is the other way the Chiefs cost themselves the game. They benched Shady McCoy after a Week 8 fumble before naming him as a healthy scratch on Sunday, claiming that they needed to rest the 31-year-old. (McCoy played just 36% of Kansas City's snaps before the benching.) Damien Williams regained the starting job at McCoy's expense, but he fumbled on a second-quarter run against the Titans, with Rashaan Evans recovering and taking the ball to the house for a 53-yard score.

The Chiefs have now fumbled 17 times this season, the third-highest total in the league. They fumbled 18 times in 16 games last season. Fumbles won't always result in touchdowns, but the Chiefs need to do a better job of protecting the football. A less self-destructive team would have beaten the Titans on Sunday.

Green Bay Packers (8-2)

The disaster game: Losing 26-11 to the Chargers in Week 9

Problem 1: The interior of the offensive line struggles against excellent pass-rushers.

The Chargers had a defined game plan against the Packers in Los Angeles: win with the front four. Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley sent just three blitzes against 38 Aaron Rodgers dropbacks on Nov. 3, producing a blitz rate of just 2.6%. That's the lowest blitz rate for any defense in any single game this season. The Chargers stayed in their sub packages with five or more defensive backs on 45 of 49 snaps and relied on their front four to control the game.

It worked. They were able to control the running game, didn't give up big plays and turned things over to Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram on third downs. Bradley's strategy was to line up Bosa and Ingram next to each other on third downs and obvious passing situations, and it gave the Packers fits. I saw nine plays in which Bosa and Ingram were lined up next to each other during the game, and those plays resulted in two sacks, two hurries and just two completions for 18 yards, one of which resulted in a first down.

While rookie Packers left guard Elgton Jenkins has impressed since taking over for the injured Lane Taylor, he naturally struggled against two of the league's best pass-rushers. Right guard Billy Turner has graded out reasonably well by ESPN's pass block win rate metric, but he hasn't looked as effective on tape and was repeatedly targeted by Bradley as the weak link of the line. By the end of the game, Bradley was using both Bosa and Ingram as interior rushers against the two guards, totally bypassing Green Bay's star tackles, David Bakhtiari and Bryan Bulaga.

The good news for the Packers is that most teams won't have the sort of fourth-quarter lead that will allow them to line up their star edge rushers on the interior and pin their ears back as pass-rushers. Most defenses also don't have a pair of pass-rushers as good as Bosa and Ingram, who are capable of taking over games against just about any team.

Unfortunately for the Packers, though, there are several NFC teams with star duos lurking on their schedule. After the bye, Green Bay will go up against the 49ers, who have Nick Bosa and Dee Ford to go with stud defensive tackle DeForest Buckner. The Bears have Khalil Mack and Leonard Floyd. The Vikings have Danielle Hunter and Everson Griffen. Looking into the playoffs, the Cowboys could call on DeMarcus Lawrence, Robert Quinn and frequent interior rusher Michael Bennett. The Eagles can kick Brandon Graham or Derek Barnett inside next to Fletcher Cox. The Rams have Aaron Donald, who is a one-man wrecking crew. After watching the Chargers, I suspect many of them will try to move their star rushers inside more frequently and dare Green Bay's guards to keep up.

Problem 2: The Packers couldn't get off the field on defense.

While Green Bay was able to come up with a fourth-and-goal stop of Christian McCaffrey to seal a victory against the Panthers in the snow on Sunday, its defense has slipped badly since a hot start to the season. Since Week 4, the Packers have allowed opposing offenses to convert on 43.8% of their third-down tries, as well as a 3-for-4 performance on fourth down. The former figure ranks 25th in the NFL and is up from 34.9% over the first three weeks of the season, when the Packers ranked 10th.

In the Chargers game, Philip Rivers & Co. were 5-of-11 (45.5%) on third down and converted their only fourth-down attempt. That's how you end up launching a 15-play drive to start the game and pick up at least one first down on each of your eight meaningful drives on offense.

While Preston Smith and Za'Darius Smith continue to produce sacks, the Packers aren't getting functional pressure on a regular basis. Mike Pettine's defense ranked second in the league in pressure rate after three weeks at 36.9%. Since the Eagles game, though, the Packers have the third-worst pressure rate in football, all the way down at 22.6%. This was actually down even further before the Packers pressured Kyle Allen on 35.4% of his dropbacks Sunday.

The Packers will hope that the pass rush from September is back, but if it's not, they could run into problems during their stretch run. Kirk Cousins leads the league in passer rating (127.0) and is sixth in Total QBR (82.7) when he's not pressured; those marks fall to 16th and 25th, respectively, when the former Washington starter is pressured by the opposing defense. This seems like a good time to bring up ...

Minnesota Vikings (7-3)

The disaster game: Losing 16-6 to the Bears in Week 4

Problem 1: Cousins is a totally different quarterback when he's under siege.

Every quarterback is going to play worse under heavy pass pressure, but this Bears game was a reminder of just how sensitive Cousins can be to waves of pass-rushers. He has faced pressure on more than 30% of his dropbacks in just three games this season, each of which took place in September; the opening win against the Falcons (in which he threw just 10 times), the 21-16 loss to the Packers and the 16-6 brutalization by the Bears.

The difference between how Cousins played in those three games versus his performances across the other seven Minnesota games this season is stark:

While the Packers posted the highest pressure rate of the season against Cousins, it was the Bears who made him look the worst. He threw for just three first downs and averaged just 3.1 yards per dropback on 23 tries through the first three quarters, only to pad his stats with some relatively meaningless yardage in the fourth quarter. It didn't seem as if the Vikings trusted their protection long enough to try play fakes often, given that he attempted only five play-action passes for a total of 18 yards during the game.

Cousins will finish out the season with games against the Packers and Bears, with the former game plausibly serving as the NFC North championship game. Before that, he'll face a Broncos team that ranks eighth in pressure rate, as well as the aforementioned Chargers, who are a different team when both Bosa and Ingram are healthy.

Problem 2: There's nobody to cover top receivers.

Mike Zimmer placed a serious emphasis on drafting and developing corners during his time in Cincinnati and has kept it up after taking over the Vikings. Minnesota has three former first-round picks (Xavier Rhodes, Trae Waynes and Mike Hughes) and a former second-rounder (Mackensie Alexander) at corner. Zimmer inherited Rhodes and former first-round safety Harrison Smith, but he drafted the other three players and retained Rhodes and Smith on expensive deals.

Cornerback has typically been a source of strength for the Vikings, but it has been a major weakness this season. Rhodes has been a shell of his former self. He has allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete 84.3% of their passes when he has been the closest defender in coverage, per NFL Next Gen Stats. That's nearly 17 percentage points ahead of what NGS estimates as the expected completion percentage (67.4%) on those passes. Among players who have been targeted 50 times or more, Rhodes ranks last in both completion percentage and completion percentage above expectation.

Waynes hasn't been much better; he ranks third in completion percentage above expectation and has the sixth-worst passer rating as the nearest defender in coverage this season. He missed the win over the Cowboys on Sunday with an ankle injury, which turned a starting job over to Hughes, who looked impressive as a rookie last season before tearing his ACL. The Cowboys ruthlessly targeted Hughes throughout the night, including repeated attempts on what was to be the ill-fated failed drive in the fourth quarter. Nobody in the stadium was more relieved that the Cowboys ran the ball twice in a row on the final series of that drive than Hughes, who was targeted on five straight attempts for four completions and 39 yards.

A limited Amari Cooper finished with 11 catches on 14 targets for 147 yards and a touchdown, and it wasn't the first time the Vikings have struggled against the opposing team's top wideout. There just isn't anybody on this roster who can cover top-tier wideouts at this point. Last week, even with Matt Moore at quarterback for the Chiefs, Tyreek Hill had six catches for 140 yards and a touchdown. Minnesota quieted Lions wideout Kenny Golladay, but Marvin Jones had 10 catches for 93 yards and four touchdowns. Alshon Jeffery had 10 catches on 12 targets for 76 yards and a score for the Eagles. Davante Adams had seven catches for 106 yards for the Packers.

The Bears don't have much on offense besides their No. 1 receiver, and Allen Robinson helped win them the game in Week 4 after Mitchell Trubisky went down in the first quarter with a shoulder injury. Robinson caught all seven of the passes thrown in his direction for 77 yards, although he was whistled for pass interference to wipe away an eighth completion for 42 yards. Five of Chase Daniel's 11 first downs through the air came through Robinson.

Pass interference also has been a concern for Zimmer's team. The Vikings have racked up 147 yards across six pass interference penalties this season, including four penalties of 25 yards or more. The 147-yard figure ranks as the third-worst in the NFL and already tops the 115 yards on pass interference calls the Vikings allowed last season. Teams have multiple paths toward creating big plays against the Vikings, who still have to face the likes of Courtland Sutton, Tyler Lockett, Golladay, Jones, Keenan Allen, Adams and Robinson over the remainder of their season.

Buffalo Bills (6-3)

The disaster game: Losing 16-10 to the Patriots in Week 4

Problem 1: Josh Allen struggles against disciplined blitzes.

The Patriots were able to easily bottle up Allen before knocking him out of the game in Buffalo, with the second-year starter producing one of the ugliest lines of the season. He went 13-of-28 passing for 153 yards with four sacks, three interceptions and a fumble, although he did run the ball five times for 26 yards and Buffalo's lone touchdown of the day. I wrote at length about Allen's performance back when it happened, but the short version is that the Patriots contained Allen in the pocket and then collapsed on him when he tried to escape.

Other teams don't have the Patriots' defensive backs, so they can't be quite as effective with the blitz as the Pats were, but extra pressure continues to give Allen fits. When teams don't blitz the second-year quarterback, he averages 7.2 yards per attempt and posts a passer rating of 86.0 to go with a Total QBR of 44.8. The latter mark ranks 24th in the NFL. Blitz Allen, though, and he averages just 6.2 yards per attempt, with a passer rating of 76.1 and a QBR of 34.1. He ranks 30th among the 32 starting quarterbacks in QBR against the blitz, ahead of only Sam Darnold and Mitchell Trubisky. The Browns, perhaps coincidentally, blitzed Allen a season-high 23 times during Sunday's win, allowing a QBR of just 26.9 on those plays.

Total QBR includes rushing and scrambles by quarterbacks, and when teams don't get home with their blitzes, Allen can make them pay with his arm and his legs. When they do get home, though, he really struggles. Five of his final seven games come against teams that rank in the top 10 in terms of blitz rate, including the top-ranked Ravens and the sixth-ranked Patriots.

Problem 2: Special-teams woes.

The Bills might very well have handed the Patriots their first loss of the season in Week 4 if it weren't for an early mistake on special teams. J.C. Jackson was able to make his way through and block a Corey Bojorquez punt, with Matthew Slater recovering it for a 14-yard touchdown. The Bills outscored the Patriots on offense and defense 10-9, but the score off the blocked punt was enough to give the Patriots a 16-10 win.

More special-teams problems reared their head during Sunday's narrow loss to Cleveland. This time, it was kicker Stephen Hauschka, who missed field goals from 34 and 53 yards out in a game that was eventually decided by three points. A Bojorquez punt downed inside the 10-yard line led to a safety against Baker Mayfield, but the missed field goals were enough to turn the day into a net negative for Buffalo's special teams.

The Bills ranked 24th in special-teams DVOA heading into this week, up from 30th. They'll be heading back toward 30th this time around. Buffalo can win games with its great defense, but it needs Heath Farwell's special-teams units to come along for the ride.

New England Patriots (8-1)

The disaster game: Losing 37-20 to the Ravens in Week 9

Problem 1: The offensive line isn't very good.

The Patriots have a Hall of Fame-caliber offensive line coach in Dante Scarnecchia and a habit of eventually figuring out their best offensive line combination as the season goes along. By the time the postseason rolls around, they are usually firing on all cylinders in terms of creating holes in the running game, as we saw last season.

In part owing to injuries, Scarnecchia has his work cut out for him this season. The line has been a problem since Week 1. Center David Andrews went down for the year with blood clots in his lungs. Left tackle Isaiah Wynn, who missed all of 2018 with a torn Achilles, suffered a toe injury against the Dolphins in Week 2 and is on injured reserve. He's due to return shortly and should be an upgrade on Marshall Newhouse, whom the Patriots signed out of free agency in September and immediately inserted into the starting lineup.

The offensive line woes have affected Tom Brady. When opposing teams blitz, he ranks 25th in Total QBR at 46.8, down from eighth in the NFL (at 88.1) from 2016-18. It was no surprise that the Ravens, who are the only team in the league to blitz more than 50% of the time on defense, gave Brady fits. He simply hasn't been good under pressure this season, as the future Hall of Famer has posted a passer rating of 29.9 and a QBR of just 3.1 under pressure this season. All of those numbers rank among the bottom four in their respective categories. I don't need to tell you that Brady typically ranks much higher than the bottom four in anything.

The good news for the Patriots, at least in the short term, is that only two defenses that rank in the top 10 in pressure rate remain on their schedule: the fifth-placed Eagles and a rematch against the 10th-placed Bills. Wynn should help solidify the most important part on their line, although we've still seen the Georgia product play only 78 offensive snaps as a pro, and there's no guarantee he will stay healthy after returning. The susceptibility to pressure makes me think the Pats might be better off facing the Chiefs in the playoffs than the Ravens.

Problem 2: There's no go-to guy in the red zone.

In years past, the Patriots had one obvious target inside the 20-yard line in Rob Gronkowski. When Brady wasn't throwing the ball to Gronk, he was taking advantage of the attention Gronk drew from opposing defenses by exploiting a one-on-one matchup elsewhere on the field. The legendary tight end was also a battering ram as a blocker, which meant that he could block overmatched linebackers as an in-line tight end or motion out and make run-first defenders look foolish in space. Gronkowski dictated -- and then exploited -- opposing defensive packages.

With Gronk retired, Josh Gordon mostly missing before being cut and N'Keal Harry on injured reserve to start the season, there hasn't been that sort of tall, dominant weapon in the red zone to use this season. As a result, the Pats have struggled. Even after taking their bye this week, they lead the league in trips to the red zone, with 40 in nine games. What happens next isn't impressive; the Pats are scoring touchdowns only 50% of the time and rank 22nd in the NFL in points per trip. Against the Ravens, the Patriots scored two touchdowns and kicked two short field goals from 19 and 22 yards. The math is in favor of going for it in both of those situations, especially given that the Patriots were trailing throughout this game. Bill Belichick had such little faith in his red zone offense that he kicked anyway.

Maybe Harry, a first-round pick, can be that guy. Gronk could come back. My suspicion is that the Patriots expected Sony Michel to become that force, and he has been disappointing in the red zone, scoring five times on 12 touches inside the 5. With a better line, Michel could regain the form he showed near the goal line during the 2018 playoffs. Maybe the Patriots turn to more Brady sneaks. Red zone inefficiency cost them against the Ravens and nearly cost the Pats against the Bills in Week 4.

Houston Texans (6-3)

The disaster game: Losing 16-10 to the Panthers in Week 4

Problem: The offense struggles when defenses get pressure and take away big plays.

The idea of anybody stopping Deshaun Watson seems quaint and naive given his past month, but the Panthers unquestionably shut down the Watson juggernaut in September. Ron Rivera's defense held Watson to a line of 21-of-33 passing for 160 yards and no touchdowns. DeAndre Hopkins caught just five passes for 41 yards, with the star wideout also throwing an interception on an ill-advised trick play.

There's no way to totally stop Watson. The best thing teams can realistically do, as Rivera & Co. seemed to think, is try to take away his big plays and force him to slowly march down the field. Watson didn't complete a single pass for more than 14 yards in the Panthers game. While he completed nearly 64% of his passes, he averaged less than 5 yards per throw.

This isn't a new thing for the Panthers, who are great at keeping teams from creating big plays. On deep passes -- throws traveling 16 or more yards in the air -- the Panthers rank second in passer rating allowed (42.0) and third in QBR allowed (47.2) this season. Only the Patriots are better in both categories.

Rivera also was able to rely on rotating through a deep defensive line to keep fresh pass-rushers on the field against an exhausting quarterback in Watson. The Panthers sacked Watson six times, including at least three I would characterize as coverage sacks. It was a roughly similar formula to what the Jaguars did in Week 2 with their own deep line, when they limited Watson to nothing longer than 31 yards, sacked him four times on 33 dropbacks and nearly won the game with a late touchdown, only to fail on the 2-point try and lose 13-12.

The Jaguars just applied that same formula in London during Houston's last game, and it kept things close deep into the second half. The Texans were narrowly ahead at 12-3 before Carlos Hyde broke a 48-yard run, and after going down 19-3 with 30 seconds left to go in the third quarter, Gardner Minshew and the Jacksonville offense melted down. The Jags were happy to let the Texans run the ball, but Watson didn't complete a single pass for more than 21 yards.

Some teams capable of limiting big plays remain on the Texans' schedule. The Patriots have the league's best deep-ball defense by a significant margin. The Broncos have allowed just 18 such completions this season. The Titans (10th in passer rating allowed on deep throws) have been up for the challenge on deep passes, but the Buccaneers (30th) certainly have not. Watson faces Tampa in the traditional fantasy football championship week of Week 16 if you're looking for a reason to try to trade for the MVP candidate now.

Baltimore Ravens (7-2)

The disaster game: Losing 40-25 to the Browns in Week 4

Problem: Teams can exploit this run defense.

For a team that has to practice against Lamar Jackson and the league's most devastating rushing attack during the week, it's a bit of a surprise that the Ravens struggle when other teams run the ball. Baltimore ranked 24th in rush defense DVOA heading into Sunday's blowout victory over the Bengals, and while the result wasn't in doubt for most of the game, the Bengals did run the ball 40 times for 157 yards and 11 first downs.

Against the Browns in late September, though, Baltimore's difficulties against the run actually mattered. Nick Chubb and Dontrell Hilliard combined to carry the ball 26 times for 192 yards and four touchdowns, including an 88-yard highlight-reel score from Chubb in the second half when the Ravens overpursued on a pitch. The long run matters, but it's not the only time the Ravens have struggled; they rank 24th in first-down rate against the run throughout the season.

Baltimore's best run-defense performance of the season might also be an aberration. In Week 2, it held Kyler Murray and the Arizona rushing attack to just 20 rushing yards in a 23-17 victory, but that was really before the Cardinals got their rushing offense going. Murray and the Cards rank third in rush offense DVOA, and most of their success has come in recent weeks; they would have more success against the Ravens with a second try.

One isn't coming for several years given the vagaries of the NFL schedule, but I want to see how the Ravens do when faced with an impressive rushing attack. We'll get a variety of different looks against them in weeks to come, including the hyper volume of the 49ers, a rematch against the Browns, and a taste of Jackson's own medicine when the Ravens face the Bills and Josh Allen, Jackson's draft classmate from the opening round in 2018.

New Orleans Saints (7-2)

The disaster game: Losing 26-9 to the Falcons on Sunday

Problem 1: The Saints struggled with ... the Falcons' pass rush?

I can't believe what I saw. Even the Falcons themselves seemed surprised. A pass rush that has been downright appalling all season and had gone five games without a sack nearly matched its season-long total against one of the league's most slippery quarterbacks. After racking up seven sacks across their first eight games, the Falcons' defense working under new coordinator Jeff Ulbrich sacked Drew Brees six times during Sunday's upset victory.

It's scary to say, but there really wasn't much in the way of fluky pressure on those six sacks. One was a coverage sack off a three-man rush on third-and-long. Fullback Zach Line wasn't able to come up with a blitz pickup against linebacker De'Vondre Campbell on third-and-goal from the 2-yard line, leading the Saints to instead kick a field goal from the 11-yard line in a place where they probably would have simply gone for it if Brees had thrown an incomplete pass on third down.

Grady Jarrett, one of the few Falcons defenders who could watch his tape this season without needing to draft an apology letter, was arguably the best player on the field. The defensive tackle finished the day with 2.5 sacks and five knockdowns of Brees. He mostly picked on backup left guard Will Clapp, who came in for an injured Andrus Peat and played just over 71% of the Saints' offensive snaps. Jarrett threatened Brees on his own and took away places for Brees to step up in the pocket as others created pressure, too.

The presence of Clapp on the field is in itself interesting. The Saints have been healthy up front in 2019, with four of their five offensive linemen playing at least 98% of the offensive snaps. Peat, who missed half of the Week 2 game against the Rams, was the only lineman who hadn't been on the field for virtually every single play before Sunday. He left with an arm injury and did not return. Star left tackle Terron Armstead played through an illness but didn't look like his usual self. The stability on the offensive line has obviously been a cornerstone for this offense as players such as Brees and Alvin Kamara have gone down with injuries.

Every quarterback plays worse under pressure, and as good as he has been, Brees is no exception. Going through history, though, it's hard to find any split where he has been worse than 2019. In what is admittedly a small sample, a pressured Brees is 10-of-22 passing for 71 yards with an interception and seven sacks. Brees' passer rating is 34.5 when pressured, while his Total QBR is just 0.8, which is microscopic and 40th among passers with 50 attempts or more. His QBR when pressured in 2019 is just between that of Ben Roethlisberger and Luke Falk.

While the Saints are obviously ecstatic to get him back, QBR hasn't been especially impressed with the future Hall of Famer this season. Brees' raw numbers look like typical Brees -- a 74.3% completion percentage, 7.9 yards per attempt -- but he has thrown three interceptions in four starts, has played a remarkably easy slate of opposing defenses and has a pick and two sacks across 22 plays in the red zone, where his QBR is just 2.4.

Brees' overall mark is at 46.2, which ranks 28th in the league. I don't think he's really the league's 28th-best quarterback, and I wouldn't dream to suggest that the Saints should think about putting Teddy Bridgewater in, but it's worth monitoring how Brees plays to see whether he can hit the lofty heights of 2018. After facing the Cardinals (28th in pass defense DVOA) and Falcons (30th), Brees gets the Buccaneers (26th) this upcoming week. A performance like the 373-yard, three-touchdown day Brees racked up against the Cardinals would seem to be in order against the dismal Tampa secondary.

The schedule does get tougher afterward. Brees still has a home-and-home against the Panthers and their third-ranked pass defense. In between, he gets the league-leading 49ers pass defense and the 11th-ranked Colts, as well as a rematch against the suddenly spry Falcons. I'm inclined to chalk up Sunday to a weird game with poorly timed big plays for the Falcons and some mental mistakes from the Saints. If Peat misses time and Brees continues to struggle under pressure, though, the Saints could be a less imposing matchup in the playoffs than they were a year ago.

Problem 2: Injuries.

After they went 5-0 without Brees, you would forgive the Saints for feeling just a little bit untouchable when it came to being affected by injuries. They have great coaches and one of the deepest rosters in football. Lose Brees? Kamara? Next guy up.

Sunday was a reminder that injuries can still hurt the Saints, even if it's not an issue with their most famous player. Peat went down with an arm injury, and the Falcons beat up his replacement. Armstead looked less than his usually excellent self after missing practice Friday with an illness, committing two penalties. The Saints' offensive line should have been a huge mismatch against what has been a wildly disappointing defensive line. Instead, the Falcons won in the trenches.

The most concerning injury, though, is the thigh of star corner Marshon Lattimore. The 23-year-old left the game in the second quarter and did not return, leaving the Saints with Eli Apple, P.J. Williams and C.J. Gardner-Johnson as their primary cornerbacks. Patrick Robinson is likely close to returning from his hamstring injury, but there's nobody on the team who can do what Lattimore does. With the Saints still heavy favorites to make the postseason -- the ESPN Football Power Index pegs them with a 93.8% chance of making the playoffs after the Atlanta loss -- the Saints need to make sure Lattimore is fully healed before returning him to the lineup. The former first-round pick is simply too valuable to the Saints' chances of winning once Sean Payton & Co. actually get to January.

Highlights from the Lindsays Short Course Championships and Cross Internacional de Atapuerca, a world 5km record and more

Coverage of Saturday’s British Athletics Cross Challenge in Milton Keynes is here, while reports on World Para Athletics Championships action in Dubai are here. Other recent highlights are below.

Lindsays Scottish Short Course Cross Country Championships, Kirkcaldy, November 9

Andrew Butchart claimed his fifth Scottish title in cross country, getting gold at the Lindsays Short Course Championships.

The Olympian held off challenges led by Sol Sweeney and Carl Avery in the final stages to win over the 4km course in 11:54, one second ahead of Glasgow Uni athlete Sweeney.

Butchart’s win helped Central AC to team success once again in this race, while Edinburgh Uni Hare and Hounds took the golds in the women’s team race.

The consolation there for host club Fife AC was a one-two by Annabel Simpson and Jenny Selman as under-20 champion Megan Keith took third.

“I thoroughly enjoyed it and it’s always good to claim a Scottish championship title,” said Butchart, who now has three 4km titles in cross country to his name as well as two at the National at Falkirk.

“If that’s five individual golds in cross country then I’m very pleased with that given I’m much more of a track runner now. But my roots were in cross country and I still love it.

“The Euro Cross trials are in Liverpool in a couple of weeks and I have yet to make my mind up on that. The Euro Cross itself is in Lisbon so that will be a much more European-style course and that might suit me.”

Simpson always looked likely to claim gold in the women’s race and she won by seven seconds in 13:57. Keith, giving chase towards the final finish, slipped to allow Selman to come through for silver.

Keith took the under-20 gold from Cera Gemmell of Team East Lothian and Holly Page of Edinburgh Uni Hare and Hounds.

Freddie Carcas of Edinburgh AC took the men’s under-20 gold from Hamish Hickey of Central AC and Kristoff Horynik of Dundee Hawkhill.

Jack Patton of Kilbarchan AAC and Anna Hedley of Fife were crowned champions at U17 level, while Tendai Nyabadza of Harmeny and Anna Cairns of Inverness Harriers took the golds at U15.

Urban Trail Lille 5km, France, November 9

Kenya’s Robert Keter broke the official 5km road world record, clocking 13:22, while 17-year-old Mercy Jerop completed a Kenyan double by winning the women’s race in 16:21.

The 5km road distance became an official world record event in November 2017 but a number of athletes have gone quicker than the current ratified marks, with Sammy Kipketer’s 13:00 from 2000 remaining the fastest ever 5km road time.

Cross Internacional de Atapuerca, Spain, November 9

Ethiopia’s Senberi Teferi won the women’s race and Spain’s Ouassim Oumaiz the men’s.

The now four-time winner Teferi ran 25:38 for the 8km event as Britain’s Charlotte Arter placed seventh as first European in 26:29 and Jenny Nesbitt finished ninth in 27:18.

European under-20 cross-country silver medallist Oumaiz claimed a surprise 9km victory in 25:54.

Bobby Rea International Cross Country, Belfast, November 9

In incredibly wet and muddy conditions Adam Craig won the men’s 8km in 29:56 ahead of James Hunt and Ieuan Thomas, while Michelle Finn clocked 19:11 to win the women’s 5km ahead of Mhairi Maclennan and Fionnuala Ross.

Athens Marathon, Greece, November 10

At the age of 42, Kenya’s John Komen came through to upset the favourites and win the Athens Marathon in 2:16:34. Felicien Muhitira was second in 2:16:43 while Daniel Muteti dropped back to fourth in 2:21:39. Greece’s Konstantinos Gkelaouzos came through to snatch third place in 2:19:02.

Greece’s Eleftheria Petroulaki provided the home fans in the stadium with plenty to cheer in winning the women’s title in 2:45:50 in mixed weather conditions including some heavy rain showers and warm temperatures.

Premiership club Harlequins have appointed Laurie Dalrymple as their new chief executive.

The 44-year-old left Premier League football club Wolves in July following four and a half years at Molineux.

"While I've worked in football most recently, rugby has always been my passion," he told the club website.

"Following an inspiring World Cup, CVC's investment into the league and a growing supporter base, Harlequins are well placed to capitalise."

Dalrymple, who served as managing director of Wolves for three years, was previously executive director at the Ricoh Arena and international sales director at global event producer EMAP.

Quins chairman David Morgan said he will bring "a wealth of experience" to The Stoop.

"Laurie helped transform Wolves from a Championship club to an established member of the Premier League," he added.

"I would again also like to thank David Ellis (Harlequins' outgoing chief executive) for all his dedication, hard work and achievements over the past eight years."

Harlequins are 10th in the Premiership table, having won only one of the their first four games of the season.

EASTABOGA, Ala. – Mark Smith completed a weekend sweep of the USCS Fall Brawl at the Talladega Short Track on Sunday night.

It was Smith’s 11th USCS win of the season.

Johnny Bridges, who started the 25-lap contest from the pole, finished in the runner-up spot. He chased Smith from close range the entire distance.

Several cautions and a red flag incident after Jim Shuster did an easy rollover after making contact with Ronny Howard after he spun slowed the action. These incidents brought Bridges and Smith’s teammate, Dale Howard, back up on Smith’s rear bumper.

Each time Smith would stretch his lead just enough to avoid a serious threat to his eventual arrival in victory lane.

Howard finished third, followed by Danny Smith and Mallie Shuster.

The finish:

Mark Smith, Johnny Bridges, Dale Howard, Danny Smith, Mallie Shuster, Connor Leoffler, Ryan Harrison, Landon Britt, Kyle Amerson, Terry Gray, Danny Sams, Justin Barger, Morgan Turpen, Shelby Brown, R.J. Jacobs, Gregg Jones, Tanner Witherspoon, Jeff Willingham, Tony Agin, Ronny Howard, Jim Shuster, Michael Miller.

IRWINDALE, Calif. – Bobby Santos III finished his King of the Wing season the same way he started it, with a victory on Sunday night at Irwindale Speedway.

Santos took the lead from Monty Bergener on lap 13 and never looked back. The win was his eighth consecutive in King of the Wing competition dating back to 2018.

Justin Segura lead the opening eight laps, with Bergener and Santos in tow. Prior to lap eight, smoke began to come from Segura’s mount, forcing King of the Wing officials to call for the caution and inspect the race leader’s smoking car.

It was confirmed Segura was throwing oil on the track and Segura was forced out of the event. Once the race resumed it didn’t take Santos long to take the top spot when he went to the high side of Bergener on lap 13. Santos then went on to lead the final 17 circuits uncontested for his sixth King of the Wing victory of the season and a clean sweep of the King of the Wing tour through California to close out the season.

“It feels good to close the year out like this,” explained Santos in victory lane. ”We had a good car all weekend. My crew worked really hard. I love coming out to the west coast and racing. Irwindale Speedway is my favorite track in the country. Love being here.”

Following Santos to the stripe was Eric Humphries and A.J. Russell. Humphries clinched his second consecutive King of the Wing championship with his runner-up effort.

Sunday’s win was the ninth pavement sprint car victory of the season for Santos. He now finds himself in a tie with Troy DeCaire for the national pavement sprint car wins total on the season. Santos indicated he has no plans to compete in anymore events this year.

The finish:

Bobby Santos III, Eric Humphries, A.J. Russell, Audra Sasselli, Ron Larson, Monty Bergener, Richie Larson, Cameron Neisinger, Hunter Stanley, Alan Beck, Mike Anderson, Justin Segura.