Week 5 NFL Shocker: Eagles Fall to Broncos while Bills Succumb to Patriots
The final pair of unbeaten squads in the NFL watched their flawless starts broken during week five as both the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills suffered shocking losses on their own turf.
The Denver Broncos evolved from dark horses to headline-makers thanks to an impressive comeback victory against the current Super Bowl title holders Philadelphia, before hopping on a flight for this Sunday's overseas contest.
New England's squad then visited Buffalo and halted the Bills' undefeated start with an impressive victory of their own in their first primetime game in a full year.
Baltimore's team experienced a third straight defeat - their defensive woes could be fatal for their postseason aspirations - while Dallas, Indianapolis, and Detroit Lions enjoyed blowout wins on another action-packed Sunday.
Denver Downs Champions
It wasn't just defeating the reigning title holders, but the way of their comeback from 14 points down that made the Broncos' win by 21-17 in Philadelphia such a defining achievement.
The Eagles had secured 10 contests in a row, 12 straight at home and 20 out of 21 overall before Broncos quarterback Bo Nix engineered two scoring drives in the final five minutes and a last-minute field goal.
Philadelphia are now 4-1 but there exists significant concern about the offence, which ranks as the poorest performing in the league. Receiver DaVonta Smith stated they are not "in sync" with quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Denver's defence, which sacked Hurts six times, had a lot to do with it, and, combined with an established starting QB in Nix and elite coach in Sean Payton, they have all the ingredients to launch a legitimate playoff push.
The Broncos face New York's Jets at Tottenham Stadium on Sunday.
Primetime Patriots Upset Bills
If Denver's win was somewhat anticipated, few predicted the Patriots marching into Buffalo and beating Josh Allen's Bills, but they accomplished it with huge character.
A first primetime game for Drake Maye delivered a star-making showing as he led a game-winning scoring drive in the dying seconds to win 23-20.
The young QB was tough and executed the right throws at the right times, several to former Bills receiver Stefon Diggs, who delivered a big game for their coach's side.
The head coach was anticipated to turn things around in New England, but such a significant victory arrived sooner than many predicted.
The Patriots defence contained Buffalo's offensive efforts during their upset away win.
Baltimore Postseason Hopes Over?
The season is becoming a disaster for Baltimore, who were missing multiple key defenders as they were dominated 44-10 by the Houston Texans.
It equaled their largest home defeat, and dropping to 1-4 for the season means one of the pre-season Super Bowl favourites have only a slim chance of making the play-offs.
The Ravens are now 4-11 when missing star QB Lamar Jackson, who was hurt, but it is a historically bad defense that is the real problem - for a franchise that have been known for defensive toughness historically.
Houston coasted to the win as the Ravens became the initial squad in modern NFL history to concede a minimum of 37 points in four out of five contests. Their campaign is already in tatters.
Detroit, Tampa and Indianapolis Go 4-1
The Lions' running back duo Gibbs and Montgomery registered six points in one contest for the 14th time - a shared NFL mark - as the Lions defeated Cincinnati 37-24.
Victory made it four victories in a row for the league's top scorers Detroit, but none against opponents with positive records.
A more unexpected 4-1 side are the Indianapolis Colts. With their star running back running in three touchdowns in their 40-6 hammering of Las Vegas and signal-caller Daniel Jones appearing as a new man, they will be a difficult opponent for any team.
Tampa Bay joined the 4-1 club with a mesmeric 38-35 win in Seattle in which the sides traded nine scores in 10 sparkling drives before Seattle cracked first with a late interception.
The kicker booted the winner with the last kick of the contest for his second occasion this year. All four of the Bucs' victories have been secured in the last minute.
New Orleans and Tennessee Receive Assistance for First Wins
The way New Orleans and Tennessee Titans started the season, they needed help to secure their initial victories, and they got plenty thanks to several comical errors from the New York Giants and Arizona.
After a strong opening from New York rookie Jaxson Dart, New York made five turnovers - including one crucially returned for a touchdown - while additionally permitting Rashid Shaheed to find the end zone on an 87-yard catch and run as the Saints won 26-14.
Arizona were more disastrous as they squandered a substantial advantage mainly thanks to two huge blunders.
First, Emari Demercado unexplainably fumbled the football moments before crossing the line for a 72-yard score.
Worse followed when the Cardinals intercepted Cam Ward close to their own goal line, then lost the ball across the goal line for Tyler Lockett to recover as the Titans ended a ten-contest losing streak with a narrow victory.
Tyler Lockett registered among the most bizarre scores we'll see this year.
That left the Jets as the sole victory-less team remaining in the NFL after their bruising 37-22 loss by Dallas.
Jayden Daniels became the first player in NFL history to surpass 4K through the air and 1K on the ground in his initial twenty career games as he came back from injury to steer the Washington Commanders to an impressive 27-10 win at the Los Angeles Chargers.
Rico Dowdle was the standout performer for Carolina with over 200 yards on the ground in their exciting 27-24 victory over the Miami Dolphins.
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)
