NFL Week Five Surprise: Eagles Fall to Broncos while Bills Succumb to Patriots
The final pair of undefeated squads in the NFL watched their flawless starts broken during the fifth week as both the Philadelphia Eagles along with Buffalo Bills suffered surprising home defeats.
Denver's football team transformed from dark horses to front-page news following an spectacular rallying win against the reigning Super Bowl champions Philadelphia, before hopping on a plane for this Sunday's overseas matchup.
The New England Patriots then traveled to Buffalo and halted Buffalo's perfect record with an impressive victory of their own in their initial national television game in a full year.
The Baltimore Ravens experienced a third consecutive loss - their defensive struggles could be fatal for their postseason aspirations - while the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts, and Detroit enjoyed decisive victories on another action-packed Sunday.
Denver Downs Champions
Not only was it defeating the Super Bowl champions, but the manner of their comeback from 14 points down that made Denver's win by 21-17 in Philadelphia such a defining success.
Philadelphia had secured 10 games in a row, 12 straight at home and 20 of their last 21 total before Broncos quarterback Bo Nix engineered two scoring drives in the final five minutes and a late three-pointer.
The Eagles are now 4-1 but there is a big worry about the offence, which sits among one of the worst in the NFL. Receiver DaVonta Smith says they are not "in sync" with QB Jalen Hurts.
The Broncos' defensive unit, which sacked Hurts six times, had much to contribute with it, and, combined with a genuine franchise quarterback in Nix and elite coach in Sean Payton, they have all the ingredients to launch a serious challenge.
The Broncos face the New York Jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
Primetime Patriots Shock Buffalo
If Denver's win was somewhat anticipated, few predicted the Patriots marching into Buffalo and beating Josh Allen's Bills, but they did so with tremendous resilience.
Their initial national television appearance for Drake Maye delivered a star-making showing as he led a game-winning scoring drive in the dying seconds to secure victory 23-20.
Maye was resilient and made the right throws at crucial moments, many to former Bills receiver Stefon Diggs, who had a big game for Mike Vrabel's team.
The head coach was anticipated to improve the situation in New England, but such a significant victory arrived earlier than many predicted.
The Patriots defence contained the Buffalo Bills attack during their upset road victory.
Ravens Play-off Dreams Dashed?
This campaign is turning into a nightmare for the Ravens, who were missing a host of key defenders as they were hammered 44-10 by the Houston Texans.
It matched their biggest home defeat, and dropping to 1-4 for the season means among the preseason Super Bowl favourites have just a small opportunity of reaching the postseason.
The Ravens are now 4-11 playing without star QB Lamar Jackson, who was injured, but it is an exceptionally poor defensive unit that is the real problem - for a team that have been synonymous with stout defense over the years.
Houston coasted to the win as the Ravens became the first team in modern NFL history to allow a minimum of 37 points in four out of five games. Their season is effectively in tatters.
Detroit, Tampa and Indianapolis Reach 4-1
Detroit's backfield tandem Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery scored six points in the same game for the fourteenth occasion - a joint NFL record - as Detroit put away the Cincinnati Bengals 37-24.
The win made it four wins consecutively for the highest-scoring team Detroit, but not one against teams with positive records.
A more unexpected 4-1 team are Indianapolis. With Jonathan Taylor running in a hat-trick in their decisive rout of the Las Vegas Raiders and quarterback Daniel Jones appearing as a transformed player, they will be a difficult opponent for any side.
Tampa Bay joined the four-win group with a mesmeric 38-35 win in Seattle in which both teams traded nine touchdowns in 10 sparkling drives before the Seahawks faltered initially with a late interception.
Chase McLaughlin booted the winner with the final play of the contest for the second time this year. All four of the Bucs' wins have been clinched in the last minute.
New Orleans and Tennessee Receive Assistance for First Wins
The way New Orleans and Tennessee started the season, they needed help to secure their initial victories, and they got plenty due to several comical mistakes from the New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals.
Following a strong opening from New York rookie Jaxson Dart, New York committed five turnovers - one was decisively returned for a touchdown - while additionally permitting Rashid Shaheed to score on a long reception as the Saints prevailed 26-14.
Arizona were more disastrous as they blew a 21-3 lead primarily due to two huge blunders.
Initially, Emari Demercado inexplicably fumbled the football just before reaching the end zone for a long touchdown.
Worse was to come when Arizona intercepted Cam Ward near their end zone, then lost the ball across the goal line for Tyler Lockett to recover as Tennessee snapped a 10-game slide with a 22-21 victory.
The receiver scored one of the most farcical touchdowns we'll see this year.
That left the Jets as the only winless squad remaining in the NFL after their punishing 37-22 defeat by the Cowboys.
The quarterback became the initial athlete in NFL history to surpass 4K through the air and 1K on the ground in his first 20 career games as he returned from injury to steer Washington to a notable 27-10 win at the Los Angeles Chargers.
The running back was the standout performer for Carolina with 206 rushing yards in their exciting 27-24 victory over Miami.
NFL Week Five Scores and Highlights
Minnesota Vikings 21-17 Cleveland Browns
Houston Texans 44-10 Baltimore Ravens
Miami Dolphins 24-27 Carolina Panthers
Las Vegas Raiders 6-40 Indianapolis Colts
New York Giants 14-26 New Orleans Saints
Dallas Cowboys 37-22 New York Jets
Denver Broncos 21-17 Philadelphia Eagles
Tennessee Titans 22-21 Arizona Cardinals
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 38-35 Seattle Seahawks
Detroit Lions 37-24 Cincinnati Bengals
Washington Commanders 27-10 Los Angeles Chargers
New England Patriots 23-20 Buffalo Bills
San Francisco 49ers 26-23 Los Angeles Rams (OT)
