NFL Week Five Shocker: Broncos Upset Eagles and Patriots Stun Bills
The final pair of undefeated squads in the NFL saw their perfect records broken during the fifth week as the Philadelphia Eagles along with Buffalo Bills endured shocking losses on their own turf.
Denver's football team transformed from dark horses to headline-makers thanks to an impressive comeback victory against the current Super Bowl champions the Eagles, before hopping on a plane for this Sunday's London contest.
New England's squad then visited Buffalo and halted Buffalo's perfect record with a statement win of their own in their initial primetime appearance in a full year.
Baltimore's team suffered a third consecutive defeat - their defensive struggles could be terminal for their postseason aspirations - while Dallas, Indianapolis Colts, and Detroit Lions enjoyed decisive victories on another action-packed Sunday.
Broncos Defeat Champions
It wasn't just defeating the Super Bowl champions, but the manner of their 14-point comeback that made the Broncos' win by 21-17 in Philadelphia such a signature success.
The Eagles had won 10 games in a row, 12 straight at home and 20 out of 21 overall before Broncos quarterback Bo Nix engineered two touchdowns in five fourth-quarter minutes and a late field goal.
Philadelphia are now 4-1 but there exists significant concern about their offensive unit, which ranks as the poorest performing in the league. Receiver DaVonta Smith says they are not "in sync" with QB Jalen Hurts.
The Broncos' defensive unit, which tackled Hurts on six occasions, had a lot to do with the outcome, and, combined with an established starting QB in Nix and top head coach in Sean Payton, they have all the ingredients to launch a legitimate playoff push.
Denver meet New York's Jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
Primetime Patriots Upset Bills
Should the Broncos' victory was somewhat anticipated, few predicted the Patriots traveling to Buffalo and beating Josh Allen's Bills, but they accomplished it with huge character.
A first primetime game for Drake Maye delivered a breakout performance as he directed a game-winning field goal drive in the final moments to secure victory 23-20.
Maye was tough and made accurate passes at the right times, several to ex-Buffalo wideout Stefon Diggs, who had an outstanding performance for Mike Vrabel's team.
Vrabel was expected to improve the situation in New England, but a win like this came earlier than many predicted.
The Patriots defence bottled up the Buffalo Bills attack during their surprising away win.
Baltimore Postseason Hopes Over?
The season is turning into a disaster for Baltimore, who were missing multiple defensive stars as they were hammered 44-10 by Houston's team.
It equaled their biggest loss at home, and dropping to 1-4 for this year means one of the preseason Super Bowl contenders have only a slim chance of reaching the play-offs.
The Ravens are currently 4-11 when missing star QB Lamar Jackson, who was hurt, but it is an exceptionally poor defensive unit that is the real problem - for a franchise that have been synonymous with stout defense historically.
The Texans strolled to victory 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 season is already in tatters.
Detroit, Tampa and Indianapolis Go 4-1
The Lions' running back duo Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery registered six points in one contest for the fourteenth occasion - a shared NFL record - as the Lions defeated Cincinnati 37-24.
Victory made it four victories in a row for the highest-scoring team Detroit, but not one against opponents with a winning record.
A more unexpected 4-1 side are Indianapolis. With Jonathan Taylor running in a hat-trick in their 40-6 hammering of the Las Vegas Raiders and signal-caller Daniel Jones appearing as a new man, they will be a difficult opponent for any side.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers entered the four-win group with a mesmeric 38-35 win in Seattle in which the sides traded nine touchdowns in 10 impressive possessions before the Seahawks cracked first with a final-minute turnover.
Chase McLaughlin booted the winner with the final play of the contest for his second occasion this season. Each of the Bucs' victories have been clinched in the last minute.
Saints and Titans Receive Assistance for First Wins
Given how the New Orleans Saints and Tennessee Titans started the season, they required assistance to secure their initial victories, and they got plenty thanks to several comical mistakes from New York and Arizona.
After a strong opening from New York rookie Jaxson Dart, the Giants made five giveaways - one was crucially returned for a touchdown - while also allowing Rashid Shaheed to find the end zone on a long catch and run as New Orleans won 26-14.
Arizona were even worse as they blew a 21-3 lead primarily thanks to two huge mistakes.
First, Emari Demercado inexplicably dropped the ball moments before crossing the line for a long score.
Worse was to come when the Cardinals intercepted Cam Ward near their own goal line, then fumbled the football into the end zone for Tyler Lockett to recover as Tennessee snapped a 10-game losing streak with a 22-21 victory.
Tyler Lockett scored among the most bizarre touchdowns witnessed this year.
That left the Jets as the sole victory-less team remaining in the NFL after their bruising 37-22 defeat by the Cowboys.
The quarterback became the first player in NFL history to surpass 4,000 passing yards and 1,000 yards rushing in his first 20 professional contests as he returned from being hurt to steer the Washington Commanders to an impressive 27-10 victory at the Los Angeles Chargers.
Rico Dowdle was the standout performer for the Carolina Panthers with over 200 yards on the ground in their exciting 27-24 victory over Miami.
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)
