NFL Week Five Surprise: Eagles Fall to Broncos and Patriots Stun Bills
The last two unbeaten squads in the NFL saw their perfect records shattered during the fifth week as the Philadelphia Eagles along with Buffalo Bills suffered surprising losses on their own turf.
Denver's football team transformed from underdogs to front-page news following an spectacular comeback victory against the current Super Bowl champions the Eagles, before hopping on a flight for this Sunday's London matchup.
New England's squad then visited Buffalo and halted the Bills' perfect record with an impressive victory of their own in their first primetime game in a full year.
The Baltimore Ravens experienced a third consecutive loss - their defensive unit's struggles could be terminal for their postseason aspirations - while the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts, and Detroit enjoyed blowout wins on another eventful Sunday.
Broncos Defeat Title Holders
It wasn't just defeating the Super Bowl champions, but the way of their comeback from 14 points down that made Denver's win by 21-17 in Philadelphia such a defining success.
The Eagles had secured 10 contests in a row, 12 straight on home turf and 20 out of 21 overall before Denver's signal-caller Bo Nix engineered two scoring drives in the final five minutes and a late field goal.
Philadelphia are currently 4-1 but there is a big worry about their offensive unit, which ranks as the poorest performing in the league. Receiver DaVonta Smith stated they are not "on the same page" with QB Jalen Hurts.
Denver's defence, which sacked Hurts on six occasions, had much to contribute with the outcome, and, combined with a genuine franchise quarterback in Nix and top head coach in Sean Payton, they have all the ingredients to mount a legitimate playoff push.
Denver meet the New York Jets at Tottenham Stadium on Sunday.
Primetime Patriots Upset Bills
If Denver's win was almost half expected, few predicted New England traveling to Buffalo and defeating Josh Allen's Bills, but they accomplished it with tremendous resilience.
A first primetime game for the rookie quarterback produced a star-making showing as he directed a decisive scoring drive in the dying seconds to secure victory 23-20.
The young QB was tough and made the right throws at the right times, many to former Bills receiver Stefon Diggs, who delivered a big game for Mike Vrabel's side.
The head coach was anticipated to turn things around in New England, but a win like this came earlier than many predicted.
New England's defensive squad bottled up the Buffalo Bills attack during their upset road victory.
Baltimore Postseason Hopes Over?
This campaign is becoming a nightmare for Baltimore, who were without multiple key defenders as they were hammered 44-10 by Houston's team.
It matched their largest loss at home, and falling to 1-4 for the season means one of the preseason Super Bowl favourites have just a small opportunity of making the play-offs.
Baltimore are currently 4-11 when missing star QB Lamar Jackson, who was injured, but the real issue is an exceptionally poor defense that is the primary concern - for a team that have been known for stout defense historically.
The Texans coasted to the win as Baltimore became the initial squad in modern NFL history to allow at least 37 points in four out of five contests. Their campaign is effectively over.
Lions, Bucs and Colts Reach 4-1
Detroit's backfield tandem Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery registered a touchdown in the same game for the fourteenth occasion - a joint NFL mark - as the Lions put away the Cincinnati Bengals 37-24.
The win made it four wins consecutively for the league's top scorers the Lions, but not one against opponents with positive records.
A more surprising 4-1 side are the Indianapolis Colts. With their star running back running in three touchdowns in their 40-6 rout of the Las Vegas Raiders and quarterback Daniel Jones appearing as a transformed player, they will be a tough match for any side.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers joined the 4-1 club with a mesmeric 38-35 win in Seattle in which the sides exchanged nine touchdowns in 10 impressive drives before the Seahawks faltered initially with a late turnover.
Chase McLaughlin booted the game-winner with the last kick of the game for the second time this season. All four of Tampa Bay's wins have been secured in the final moments.
New Orleans and Tennessee Get Help for First Wins
Given how the New Orleans Saints and Tennessee Titans started this campaign, they needed help to secure their first wins, and they got plenty thanks to some farcical mistakes from New York and Arizona.
Following a strong opening from first-year player Jaxson Dart, New York committed five turnovers - one was decisively returned for a touchdown - while additionally permitting Rashid Shaheed to score on a long catch and run as New Orleans won 26-14.
The Cardinals were more disastrous as they blew a substantial advantage primarily thanks to two huge blunders.
Initially, Emari Demercado unexplainably dropped the football just before crossing the line for a 72-yard touchdown.
Worse was to come when Arizona intercepted Cam Ward close to their end zone, then lost the football across the goal line for Tyler Lockett to score as the Titans ended a 10-game losing streak with a 22-21 win.
The receiver registered one of the most farcical touchdowns witnessed this year.
That left New York's Jets as the sole victory-less squad remaining in the NFL after their punishing 37-22 loss by the Cowboys.
Jayden Daniels became the first player in NFL history to eclipse 4,000 passing yards and 1,000 yards rushing in his initial twenty career games as he returned from being hurt to steer Washington to a notable 27-10 win at Los Angeles.
The running back was the star man 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)
