NFL Week Five Shocker: Eagles Fall to Broncos and Bills Succumb to Patriots
The last two unbeaten squads in the NFL watched their flawless starts shattered during the fifth week as the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills suffered surprising losses on their own turf.
The Denver Broncos evolved from dark horses to front-page news following an impressive comeback victory against the current Super Bowl title holders the Eagles, before hopping on a flight for Sunday's London matchup.
New England's squad then traveled to Buffalo and halted the Bills' perfect record with an impressive victory of their own in their initial national television appearance in twelve months.
The Baltimore Ravens suffered a third straight defeat - their defensive woes could be terminal for their play-off aspirations - while the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis, and Detroit Lions enjoyed blowout wins on another action-packed Sunday.
Denver Downs Title Holders
Not only was it beating the Super Bowl champions, but the manner of their 14-point comeback that made Denver's win by 21-17 in Philadelphia such a signature success.
The Eagles had won 10 contests consecutively, 12 straight at home and 20 of their last 21 total before Broncos quarterback Bo Nix engineered two touchdowns in five fourth-quarter minutes and a last-minute field goal.
The Eagles are now 4-1 but there is a big worry about the offence, which ranks as one of the worst in the league. Receiver DaVonta Smith says they are not "in sync" with quarterback Jalen Hurts.
The Broncos' defensive unit, which sacked Hurts six times, had much to contribute with it, and, combined with a genuine franchise quarterback in Nix and top head coach in Sean Payton, they have all the ingredients to launch a serious challenge.
The Broncos meet the New York Jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
Patriots on National TV Shock Buffalo
Should the Broncos' victory was almost half expected, nobody saw the Patriots traveling to Buffalo and defeating Josh Allen's Bills, but they did so with tremendous resilience.
A first primetime game for the rookie quarterback delivered a breakout performance as he directed a game-winning scoring drive in the dying seconds to win 23-20.
The young QB was resilient and made accurate passes at the right times, many to ex-Buffalo wideout Stefon Diggs, who delivered an outstanding performance for Mike Vrabel's team.
The head coach was expected to turn things around in New England, but a win like this arrived earlier than most expected.
New England's defensive squad contained the Buffalo Bills attack during their surprising road victory.
Ravens Play-off Dreams Dashed?
This campaign is turning into a disaster for the Ravens, who were missing multiple key defenders as they were dominated 44-10 by the Houston Texans.
It equaled their biggest loss at home, and dropping to 1-4 for the season means among the preseason Super Bowl contenders have only a slim opportunity of reaching the play-offs.
The Ravens are now 4-11 when missing star QB Lamar Jackson, who was injured, but it is an exceptionally poor defense that is the real problem - for a franchise that have been known for defensive toughness over the years.
Houston strolled to victory as Baltimore became the first team in modern NFL history to concede a minimum of 37 points in four out of five contests. Their season is already over.
Lions, Bucs and Colts Reach 4-1
The Lions' backfield tandem Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery scored a touchdown in one contest for the fourteenth occasion - a shared NFL mark - as the Lions defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 37-24.
The win made it four victories in a row for the league's top scorers the Lions, but not one against teams with positive records.
A more surprising 4-1 side are Indianapolis. With their star running back running in three touchdowns in their 40-6 rout of the Las Vegas Raiders and quarterback Daniel Jones looking like a new man, they will be a difficult opponent for any side.
Tampa Bay joined the four-win group with a thrilling 38-35 win in Seattle in which the sides exchanged nine scores in 10 impressive drives before Seattle faltered initially with a final-minute turnover.
Chase McLaughlin kicked the winner with the last kick of the contest for the second time this season. All four of Tampa Bay's wins have been clinched in the final moments.
Saints and Titans 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 got plenty due to several comical mistakes from New York and Arizona.
After a good start from first-year player Jaxson Dart, the Giants made five turnovers - one was crucially returned for a touchdown - while additionally permitting Rashid Shaheed to score on an 87-yard catch and run as the Saints prevailed 26-14.
Arizona were even worse as they blew a substantial advantage primarily thanks to two massive mistakes.
First, Emari Demercado inexplicably dropped the ball moments before crossing the line for a long touchdown.
Worse was to come when Arizona picked off Cam Ward near their end zone, then fumbled the football into the end zone for Tyler Lockett to recover as Tennessee snapped a 10-game slide with a narrow victory.
Tyler Lockett scored one of the most farcical scores we'll see this year.
That left New York's Jets as the only winless team remaining in the league after their bruising 37-22 defeat by Dallas.
Jayden Daniels became the initial athlete in NFL history to eclipse 4K through the air and 1,000 yards rushing in his first 20 career games as he came back from being hurt to steer Washington to an impressive 27-10 victory at the Los Angeles Chargers.
The running back was the standout performer for Carolina with over 200 yards on the ground in their exciting 27-24 victory over the Miami Dolphins.
NFL Week Five 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)
