Week 5 NFL Surprise: Eagles Fall to Broncos and Bills Succumb to Patriots
The last two undefeated squads in the NFL watched their flawless starts shattered during the fifth week as the Philadelphia Eagles along with Buffalo Bills endured surprising home defeats.
Denver's football team evolved from dark horses to front-page news following an impressive rallying win against the current Super Bowl title holders Philadelphia, before hopping on a flight for this Sunday's overseas matchup.
The New England Patriots then traveled to Buffalo and ended the Bills' undefeated start with an impressive victory of their own in their first primetime game in twelve months.
The Baltimore Ravens experienced a third consecutive loss - their defensive struggles could be fatal for their play-off hopes - while the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts, and Detroit celebrated decisive victories on yet another eventful 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 Denver's 21-17 victory in Philadelphia such a signature achievement.
Philadelphia had won 10 games in a row, 12 in a row at home and 20 out of 21 total before Broncos quarterback Bo Nix engineered two touchdowns in the final five minutes and a late three-pointer.
Philadelphia are now 4-1 but there is significant concern about the offence, which ranks as the poorest performing in the league. Receiver 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 the outcome, and, combined with a genuine franchise quarterback in Nix and elite coach in Sean Payton, they possess all the components to mount a legitimate playoff push.
Denver face the New York Jets at Tottenham 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 accomplished it with tremendous resilience.
A first primetime game for Drake Maye delivered 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 executed the right throws at crucial moments, several to ex-Buffalo wideout Stefon Diggs, who delivered an outstanding performance for Mike Vrabel's team.
Vrabel was expected to improve the situation in New England, but a win like this came sooner than most expected.
New England's defensive squad bottled up Buffalo's offensive efforts during their upset away win.
Baltimore Postseason Dreams Dashed?
This campaign is turning into a nightmare for the Ravens, who were missing a host of key defenders as they were hammered 44-10 by the Houston Texans.
It matched their biggest home defeat, and dropping to 1-4 for this year means among the pre-season Super Bowl favourites have just a small opportunity of making the play-offs.
Baltimore 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 primary concern - for a team that have been known for stout defense historically.
Houston strolled to the win as Baltimore became the first team in the Super Bowl era to concede a minimum of 37 points in four of their first five games. Their campaign is already over.
Detroit, Tampa and Indianapolis Reach 4-1
The Lions' backfield tandem Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery registered six points in one contest for the 14th time - a joint NFL mark - as Detroit defeated Cincinnati 37-24.
The win made it four victories consecutively for the highest-scoring team 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 a hat-trick in their 40-6 rout of Las Vegas and signal-caller Daniel Jones appearing as a new man, they will be a tough match for any side.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers entered the four-win group with a thrilling 38-35 win in Seattle in which the sides exchanged nine touchdowns in 10 impressive drives before Seattle faltered initially with a late turnover.
Chase McLaughlin kicked the winner with the final play of the game for the second time this season. Each of Tampa Bay's wins have been secured in the final moments.
New Orleans and Tennessee Receive Assistance for First Wins
The way the New Orleans Saints and Tennessee began the season, they needed help to secure their initial victories, and they received ample thanks to some farcical errors from New York and Arizona Cardinals.
Following a good start from first-year player Jaxson Dart, New York made five giveaways - one was crucially taken back for six points - while also allowing Rashid Shaheed to find the end zone on an 87-yard catch and run as New Orleans won 26-14.
The Cardinals were even worse as they blew a 21-3 lead mainly due to two massive mistakes.
Initially, Emari Demercado unexplainably dropped the football moments before reaching the end zone for a long score.
More disastrous followed when the Cardinals picked off Cam Ward close to their end zone, then lost the ball into the end zone for Tyler Lockett to score as Tennessee snapped a 10-game losing streak with a 22-21 victory.
The receiver registered one of the most farcical touchdowns witnessed this year.
This left New York's Jets as the only winless squad remaining in the NFL after their bruising 37-22 loss by Dallas.
The quarterback became the initial athlete in NFL history to surpass 4K through the air and 1,000 yards rushing in his initial twenty professional contests as he returned from being hurt to guide Washington to an impressive 27-10 victory at Los Angeles.
The running back was the standout performer for the Carolina Panthers with 206 rushing yards in their thrilling 27-24 win 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)
