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In the second of this month’s crucial World Cup qualifiers, manager Steve Clarke wants to stage a “cup final” against Denmark. The manager has played down Scotland’s goalkeeping problem.

Due to injury, Falkirk’s Scott Bain, 33, who won his final three San Marino caps in 2019, will start the games against Greece and Denmark. Angus Gunn, who has started all four qualifiers, is out.

Bain, Liam Kelly, who has made one League Cup appearance for Rangers this term, and Craig Gordon, who turns 43 next month and hasn’t played any of his previous games, will make up Clarke’s starting lineup.

Scotland are currently second in Group C with three victories and a draw, and they have already clinched at least one spot in the March World Cup play-offs.

Given that the group leaders have a better goal difference and will face bottom side Belarus on November 15, they will likely need at least a point in Greece to prepare for a winner-takes-all showdown at Hampden against Denmark three days later.

“We’re in a good position,” he declared. What we need to do is ensure that the Greece game turns out to be the cup final, Clarke said.

“When someone misses out with an injury, it’s always a blow,” said Angus, who has played four games so far.

In September, Angus hadn’t played either of us, so we were in the same position. It’s a different position when you have goalkeepers.

They frequently have their clubs in the top two or third place. Goalkeepers can stay out of the team for a while if they’re given the opportunity to when they’re asked to join, so long as they’ve got boys who train well.

Former Heart of Midlothian striker Lawrence Shankland has also been called back, and Clarke states, “Lorraint is your man if you need goals.”

Josh Doig (Sassuolo), Grant Hanley (Hibernian), Jack Hendry (Al-Etiffaq), Aaron Hickey (Brentford), Ross McCrorie (Bristol City), Scott McKenna (Dinamo Zagreb), Andy Robertson (Liverpool), John Souttar (Rangers), and Kieran Tierney (Celtic) are the defenders.

Ryan Christie (Bournemouth), Lewis Ferguson (Bologna), Ben Gannon-Doak (Bournemouth), Billy Gilmour (Aston Villa), Kenny McLean (Norwich City), Scott McTominay (Napoli), Lennon Miller (Udinese),

With Che Adams of Torino, Birmingham City’s Lyndon Dykes, and George Hirst of Ipswich Town as the other strikers in the squad, Kieron Bowie of Hibernian misses out to make room for Shankland’s return.

Claudio Braga and Shankland have a good working relationship going forward for Hearts, with their goal in Saturday’s 4-0 win over Dundee setting him at the top of the domestic scoring charts.

Aaron Hickey is only just recovering from the injury he sustained during the previous international window, so Bristol City’s McCrorie, who made his only appearance against Gibraltar last year, makes a second-round return.

Max Johnston of Derby County, who has a hamstring injury, will miss up to eight weeks while Nathan Patterson of Everton will need a hernia operation.

One of the six Serie A players named in the 25-man pool for Sassuolo’s Doig, who was a member of the group in September, will compete for the left-back spot with captains Kieran Tierney and Andy Robertson.

Clarke’s eight midfielders are the same as the players who contributed to the team’s tireless victories over Belarus and Greece in October.

Shankland has a stunning season off, scoring 10 goals overall, thanks to Clarke.

“Lawrence has been good,” he said. This year, Clarke said, “His team is flying at the top of the league,” and he hit the ground running once more.

“Lawrence is getting his goals,” he says. Lawrence is your man if you need a goalkeeper for your team.

“We’re going to need experienced players, and Lawrence has that experience to help us,” Lawrence says.

“Most of my players and I have a good relationship. We always have open communication with one another. He thrives on and lives on goals.

Sunday of week nine had just about everything, and with so much to get through it has been tough to pick out the big talking points.

Obviously, we have to look at how the Bills beat the Chiefs for the fifth consecutive time in the regular season, but did their performance suggest they can finally beat them in the play-offs?

After largely being overlooked it is time to study the Seattle Seahawks, especially their surgical quarterback, while there is only one option for our game of the week when there is an 89-point thriller going down in Cincinnati.

The Patrick Mahomes v Josh Allen head-to-head now stands at 5-5, but the Kansas City star has won all four play-off meetings and has three Super Bowl rings.

So make no mistake, this version of the Bills has been built to beat the Chiefs and they produced an almost flawless display.

Buffalo dominated both lines of scrimmage and the time of possession, holding the ball for almost 10 minutes more than the Chiefs. The best way to beat Mahomes of course is to keep him off the field.

When he was on it, the Bills defence both swarmed him and covered his receivers – resulting in being hit a career-high 15 times and recording a career-low 44.1% completion.

Mahomes had never completed less than 50% of his passes in his nine-year career.

Those two ‘tush push’ touchdowns were a big difference, as the Chiefs largely stopped them in last season’s AFC Championship but could not on Sunday – while Mahomes ran three plays from the Bills’ one-yard line and failed to find the endzone.

Buffalo also cracked the Chiefs defence with Dalton Kincaid having the first 100-yard receiving game against them in 12 matches.

And with 114 yards James Cook was the first 100-yard rusher the Chiefs had allowed since Lamar Jackson on the opening day of the 2024 season – and first running back since Zamir White on 25 December 2023.

“Sam’s execution right now – he’s just ridiculous,” said Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald after another dazzling Sam Darnold display.

Yes, Josh Allen, Jackson and Mahomes have all shown glimpses, but the ‘other guys’ of the quarterback fraternity are showing up this season.

Second-year triggermen Drake Maye and Bo Nix are both 7-2 after leading the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos to wins on Sunday, while in Los Angeles Matthew Stafford is lighting it up for the Rams and Justin Herbert likewise for the Chargers.

But it was Darnold’s time to shine in Washington on Sunday with a surgical first half in which he completed all 16 passes and threw four touchdowns as the Seahawks dismantled the Commanders.

ESPN’s Total Quarterback Rating (QBR) system is an in-depth metric that takes into account opposing defensive strength and game state as well as yardage and scoring stats – and is a 0-100 system where 75 and above is regarded as excellent.

Darnold’s 97.8 mark on Sunday was the best of his career and his third over 97 this season – Jackson is the only other player to get over that mark so far.

In short, the 2018 third overall draft pick has been excellent this season, proving that his renaissance in Minnesota last year was no one-hit wonder.

Seattle are 6-2 but locked in a titanic NFC West struggle with the Rams and San Francisco 49ers also having six wins, but their impressive away form of 4-0 this season and 11-1 since the start of 2024 means they will not fear hitting the road in the play-offs.

Plus, general manager John Schneider has said “we’re in and we’ll see what’s shaking out there” regards the upcoming trade deadline, so obviously feel they are in the ‘Super Bowl window’ now with Darnold at the helm.

It started with a Bengals touchdown from the opening kick-off and ended with a Bears touchdown 17 seconds from the end – with everything in between being pure drama.

More than 1,000 yards of offence, 89 points and 11 touchdowns – four of them inside the final five minutes of a breathless 47-42 victory for Chicago in a stunned Cincinnati.

From Caleb Williams catching a touchdown pass to 40-year-old Joe Flacco having a career-best 470 yards and leading a 14-point comeback inside the final two minutes, this game had it all.

Yet the drama was still not over, as after getting the ball back with 54 seconds left, Williams hit rookie tight end Colston Loveland to gallop away for a 58-yard winning score.

“It’s like taking years off my life,” said Bears safety Kevin Byard. “It’s super special. This is the greatest game, greatest sport in the world – just the emotions up and down.”

Tom Dempsey – who was born without any toes on his kicking foot – held a field goal record of 63 yards that stood for 43 years before Matt Prater finally broke it in 2013.

But kicks are getting longer – in the past 14 months Prater’s 64-yard mark has been equalled or bettered four times, the latest being the ironically named Cam Little’s huge 68-yard effort on Sunday.

That beat Justin Tucker’s previous best by two yards, and cleared the crossbar with some room to spare as well.

There has now been seven 60-plus yard field goals already this season, with five being the previous best in a campaign, so three points are seemingly available from anywhere these days.

The Indianapolis Colts proved how crucial turnovers are in the NFL, with six of them in one game stifling the league’s top offence in the defeat by the Steelers. Was it just a blip for Daniel Jones, who committed five of them, or a worrying sign of things to come?

Christian McCaffrey is on his way to legend status with another huge 173-yard outing for the 49ers, in his 16th game with a rushing and receiving touchdown – putting him above the great Marshall Faulk for the most in the NFL.

There could be big trouble for the Washington Commanders who lost second-year quarterback Jayden Daniels to what is believed to be a dislocated left elbow.

In leading the Vikings to beat the Lions, JJ McCarthy became the first player ever to have two passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown in two of his first three career games.

It was difficult to identify the key points on Sunday of week nine because it almost had everything to pass through.

Evidently, we must examine how the Bills defeated the Chiefs for the fifth straight game of the regular season, but did their performance indicate that they could finally defeat them in the playoffs?

After being largely overlooked, it’s time to focus on the Seattle Seahawks, especially their surgical quarterback, because Cincinnati’s 89-point thriller is on the horizon.

The 5-5 tie between Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes is currently in place, but the Kansas City star has already won three Super Bowls and won all four of them.

Make no mistake: This version of the Bills was created to defeat the Chiefs, and they put on a nearly flawless performance.

Buffalo held the ball for almost 10 minutes more than the Chiefs, dominating both the possession line and the possession period. Of course, keeping Mahomes off the field is the best strategy.

The Bills defense both covered and sprayed him, which resulted in him being hit 15 times in a career-high and completing a career-low 44.1%.

In his nine years of work, Mahomes had never passed 50% of his passes.

The Chiefs largely stopped those two “tush push” touchdowns in last year’s AFC Championship but were unable to do so on Sunday, while Mahomes ran three plays from the Bills’ one-yard line and failed to find the endzone.

Dalton Kincaid’s 100-yard receiving game against Buffalo was the first of his 12 games against them, breaking their defense.

James Cook became the Chiefs’ first 100-yard rusher since Lamar Jackson on the opening day of the 2024 season and their first running back since Zamir White on December 25, 2023, with 114 yards.

After another impressive Sam Darnold display, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald remarked, “Sam’s execution right now is ridiculous.”

Josh Allen, Jackson, and Mahomes have all shown glimpses, but this season’s “other guys” from the quarterback fraternity are also showing up.

After leading the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos to victories on Sunday, second-year starters Drake Maye and Bo Nix are both 7-2, while in Los Angeles, Matthew Stafford leads the Chargers and Justin Herbert leads the Chargers.

However, Darnold had a chance to shine in Washington on Sunday, when he completed all 16 of his passes and threw four touchdowns for the Seahawks.

The Total Quarterback Rating (QBR) system from ESPN, which takes opponent defensive strength, game state, yardage, and scoring statistics into account, is a 0-100 system where a score of 75 or higher is regarded as excellent.

Jackson is the only other player to have over 97 this season, making it his best of his career and posting his third over 97 this year.

In summary, the third-round pick for 2018 has been excellent this year, demonstrating that his comeback from a one-hit wonder in Minnesota was not without merit.

Seattle are 6-2 but locked in a titanic NFC West battle with the Rams and San Francisco 49ers, both of whom have won six games, but their impressive away form of 4-0 this year and 11-1 since 2024 prevents them from avoiding road trips in the playoffs.

Plus, general manager John Schneider has stated that they are “in and we’ll see what’s going on” in regards to the upcoming trade deadline, making it obvious that Darnold is in charge of the “Super Bowl window.”

Everything in between, from the opening kickoff to the Bears touchdown, is pure drama, with everything beginning with a Bengals touchdown and ending with a Bear touchdown 17 seconds later.

In the final five minutes of Chicago’s breathless 47-42 victory over Cincinnati, the team scored 89 points and 11 touchdowns totaling more than 1, 000 yards and 89 points.

This game had everything, from Caleb Williams intercepting a touchdown pass to Joe Flacco, a 40-year-old quarterback with a career-best 470 yards and leading a 14-point comeback inside the final two minutes.

However, the drama continued after Williams hit Colston Loveland with 54 seconds left to snag the ball for a 58-yard winning score.

Bears safety Kevin Byard called it “like taking years off my life.” It is “super special.” The only difference between the emotions is that this game and sport are the best in the world.

Before Matt Prater finally broke the record for field goals with 63 yards, which Tom Dempsey had been born without any toes on his kicking foot, in 2013 he finally broke it.

However, kicks are getting longer; in the last 14 months, Prater’s 64-yard mark has been surpassed or bettered four times, with the most recent being ironically titled Cam Little’s enormous 68-yard effort on Sunday.

That surpassed Justin Tucker’s previous best by two yards and managed to cross the crossbar with some room.

Three points are conceivable from anywhere right now, with seven 60-plus yard field goals already in the makings this season, with five of those being the previous best in a campaign.

With his 16th game of rushing and receiving a touchdown, Christian McCaffrey is on the verge of legend status, surpassing the great Marshall Faulk by a combined score of 173 yards for the 49ers.

The Washington Commanders, who lost second-year quarterback Jayden Daniels to what is thought to be a dislocated left elbow, may face significant issues.

JJ McCarthy became the first player to have two passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown in two of his first three career games while leading the Vikings over the Lions.