Week 5 NFL Shocker: Eagles Fall to Broncos while Patriots Stun Bills
The last two undefeated teams in the NFL saw their perfect records broken during the fifth week as both the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills suffered surprising losses on their own turf.
The Denver Broncos evolved from dark horses to front-page news thanks to an spectacular comeback victory against the reigning Super Bowl title holders Philadelphia, before hopping on a flight for Sunday's overseas matchup.
New England's squad then visited Buffalo and ended Buffalo's undefeated start with an impressive victory of their own in their first primetime appearance in twelve months.
Baltimore's team suffered a third straight loss - their defensive woes could be terminal for their postseason hopes - while the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis, and Detroit Lions celebrated blowout wins on yet another action-packed Sunday.
Denver Downs Champions
Not only was it beating the reigning title holders, but the manner of their 14-point comeback that made the Broncos' win by 21-17 in Philadelphia such a defining success.
The Eagles had won 10 contests in a row, 12 in a row at home and 20 of their last 21 overall before Denver's signal-caller Bo Nix engineered two scoring drives in five fourth-quarter minutes and a last-minute field goal.
The Eagles are currently 4-1 but there is a big worry about the offence, which ranks as one of the worst in the league. Wideout DaVonta Smith says they are not "in sync" with quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Denver's defence, which tackled 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 mount a serious challenge.
The Broncos face the New York Jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
Patriots on National TV Upset Bills
Should the Broncos' victory was somewhat anticipated, nobody saw New England traveling to Buffalo and defeating Josh Allen's Bills, but they did so with tremendous resilience.
Their initial national television appearance for Drake Maye delivered a breakout performance as he led a decisive scoring drive in the dying seconds to win 23-20.
Maye was tough and made the right throws at the right times, many to former Bills receiver Stefon Diggs, who had an outstanding performance for their coach's side.
The head coach was anticipated to improve the situation in New England, but a win like this arrived sooner than most expected.
The Patriots defence bottled up Buffalo's offensive efforts during their surprising road victory.
Ravens Play-off Dreams Dashed?
The season is turning into a nightmare for Baltimore, who were missing multiple defensive stars as they were dominated 44-10 by Houston's team.
It matched their biggest loss at home, and dropping to 1-4 for the season means among the pre-season Super Bowl favourites have only a slim opportunity of making the postseason.
Baltimore are currently 4-11 playing without superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson, who was injured, but the real issue is an exceptionally poor defensive unit that is the primary concern - for a franchise that have been known for defensive toughness historically.
Houston strolled to victory as the Ravens became the first team in modern NFL history to concede a minimum of 37 points in four of their first five games. Their campaign is already over.
Lions, Bucs and Colts Reach 4-1
Detroit's running back duo Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery registered a touchdown in one contest 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 the Lions, but none against teams with positive records.
A more surprising 4-1 team are the Indianapolis Colts. With Jonathan Taylor scoring a hat-trick in their decisive hammering of Las Vegas and signal-caller Daniel Jones looking like 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 the sides traded nine scores in 10 sparkling possessions before the Seahawks faltered initially with a late interception.
The kicker kicked the game-winner with the final play of the game for his second occasion this season. Each of Tampa Bay's victories have been clinched in the final moments.
Saints and Titans Receive Assistance for Initial Victories
The way the New Orleans Saints and Tennessee began this campaign, they needed help to secure their initial victories, and they got plenty thanks to some farcical mistakes from New York and Arizona Cardinals.
After a strong opening from New York rookie Jaxson Dart, the Giants made five turnovers - one was decisively taken back for six points - while also allowing Rashid Shaheed to score on an 87-yard reception as the Saints won 26-14.
Arizona were even worse as they blew a substantial advantage primarily due to two huge blunders.
First, Emari Demercado inexplicably dropped the football just before crossing the line for a 72-yard score.
Worse followed when Arizona picked off Cam Ward near their end zone, then lost the football across the goal line for Tyler Lockett to recover as the Titans snapped a 10-game losing streak with a 22-21 victory.
Tyler Lockett scored one of the most farcical scores witnessed this year.
This left New York's Jets as the only winless squad left in the NFL after their punishing 37-22 defeat by the Cowboys.
Jayden Daniels became the initial athlete in NFL history to eclipse 4,000 passing yards and 1K on the ground in his first 20 career games as he came back from injury to guide the Washington Commanders to a notable 27-10 victory at Los Angeles.
Rico Dowdle was the standout performer for the Carolina Panthers with over 200 yards on the ground in their thrilling 27-24 win over the Miami Dolphins.
Week 5 NFL 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)
