NFL Week Five Surprise: Eagles Fall to Broncos while Patriots Stun Bills
The last two unbeaten teams in the NFL saw their perfect records shattered during week five as the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills endured surprising losses on their own turf.
Denver's football team evolved from underdogs to front-page news thanks to an impressive rallying win against the current Super Bowl champions Philadelphia, before hopping on a plane for Sunday's overseas matchup.
The New England Patriots then visited Buffalo and halted the Bills' undefeated start with a statement win of their own in their first primetime game in a full year.
The Baltimore Ravens suffered a third straight defeat - their defensive unit's struggles could be fatal for their play-off aspirations - while the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis, and Detroit Lions celebrated decisive victories on yet another action-packed Sunday.
Broncos Defeat Champions
Not only was it defeating the Super Bowl champions, but the way of their comeback from 14 points down that made the Broncos' 21-17 victory in Philadelphia such a signature achievement.
The Eagles had secured 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 touchdowns in the final five minutes and a last-minute field goal.
The Eagles are currently 4-1 but there is significant concern about their offensive unit, which sits among the poorest performing in the NFL. Wideout DaVonta Smith says they are not "in sync" with QB Jalen Hurts.
The Broncos' defensive unit, which tackled Hurts six times, had a lot to do with the outcome, and, combined with an established starting QB in Nix and elite coach in Sean Payton, they have all the ingredients to mount a legitimate playoff push.
The Broncos face New York's Jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
Primetime Patriots Shock Buffalo
Should the Broncos' victory was somewhat anticipated, few predicted New England traveling to Buffalo and defeating Josh Allen's Bills, but they did so with tremendous resilience.
A first primetime game for Drake Maye produced a star-making showing as he directed a game-winning scoring drive in the final moments to win 23-20.
Maye was tough and executed accurate passes at crucial moments, several to former Bills receiver Stefon Diggs, who delivered a big game for Mike Vrabel's team.
Vrabel was anticipated to improve the situation in New England, but such a significant victory arrived sooner than many predicted.
The Patriots defence bottled up Buffalo's offensive efforts during their surprising away win.
Ravens Play-off Dreams Dashed?
The season is turning into a nightmare for Baltimore, who were missing multiple key defenders as they were hammered 44-10 by Houston's team.
It matched their biggest home defeat, and falling to 1-4 for the season means one of the preseason Super Bowl favourites have only a slim chance of making the postseason.
The Ravens are now 4-11 playing without superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson, who was injured, but the real issue is an exceptionally poor defensive unit that is the real problem - for a franchise that have been known for stout defense over the years.
The Texans strolled to the win as the Ravens became the first team in modern NFL history to allow a minimum of 37 points in four of their first five games. Their campaign is already in tatters.
Detroit, Tampa and Indianapolis Reach 4-1
The Lions' backfield tandem Gibbs and Montgomery scored a touchdown in the same game for the fourteenth occasion - a shared NFL mark - as the Lions put away the Cincinnati Bengals 37-24.
Victory made it four wins consecutively for the league's top scorers the Lions, but none against teams with a winning record.
A more unexpected 4-1 side are Indianapolis. With Jonathan Taylor scoring three touchdowns in their 40-6 rout of Las Vegas and quarterback Daniel Jones appearing as a new man, they will be a difficult opponent for any side.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers entered the 4-1 club with a mesmeric 38-35 victory in Seattle in which both teams traded nine touchdowns in 10 impressive drives before Seattle cracked first with a late interception.
Chase McLaughlin kicked the winner with the final play of the game for the second time this season. Each of Tampa Bay's victories have been clinched in the last minute.
Saints and Titans Receive Assistance for Initial Victories
The way the New Orleans Saints and Tennessee Titans started the season, they needed help to get their first wins, and they received ample due to some farcical errors from the New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals.
After a strong opening from first-year player Jaxson Dart, the Giants made five turnovers - one was decisively returned for a touchdown - while additionally permitting Rashid Shaheed to score on an 87-yard reception as New Orleans prevailed 26-14.
The Cardinals were more disastrous as they squandered a substantial advantage mainly due to two huge mistakes.
First, Emari Demercado inexplicably fumbled the football moments before reaching the end zone for a 72-yard touchdown.
Worse followed when the Cardinals picked off Cam Ward near their end zone, 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 season.
This left New York's Jets as the sole victory-less squad left in the league after their punishing 37-22 defeat by Dallas.
The quarterback became the first player in NFL history to surpass 4K through the air and 1K on the ground in his first 20 professional contests as he returned from injury to steer Washington to an impressive 27-10 victory at the Los Angeles Chargers.
The running back was the standout performer for Carolina with 206 rushing yards in their thrilling 27-24 win over Miami.
Week 5 NFL Results and Key Moments
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)