Week 5 NFL Shocker: Eagles Fall to Broncos while Bills Succumb to Patriots
The final pair of undefeated squads in the NFL saw their perfect records shattered during the fifth week as both the Philadelphia Eagles along with Buffalo Bills suffered surprising home defeats.
Denver's football team evolved from underdogs to front-page news thanks to an impressive comeback victory against the reigning Super Bowl champions Philadelphia, before hopping on a flight for Sunday's London contest.
New England's squad then visited Buffalo and ended the Bills' undefeated start with an impressive victory of their own in their initial national television appearance in a full year.
Baltimore's team experienced a third straight loss - their defensive struggles could be terminal for their play-off aspirations - while the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis, and Detroit Lions enjoyed blowout wins on another action-packed Sunday.
Broncos Defeat Title Holders
It wasn't just beating 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 signature achievement.
The Eagles had won 10 games consecutively, 12 in a row on home turf 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 now 4-1 but there exists a big worry about the offence, which sits among one of the worst in the league. Wideout DaVonta Smith says they are not "in sync" with QB Jalen Hurts.
Denver's defence, which tackled Hurts six times, had much to contribute with the outcome, and, combined with a genuine franchise quarterback in Nix and elite coach in Sean Payton, they have all the ingredients to launch a serious challenge.
Denver face the New York Jets at Tottenham Stadium on Sunday.
Primetime Patriots Shock Buffalo
Should the Broncos' victory was almost half expected, 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 decisive field goal drive in the final moments to win 23-20.
The young QB was tough and executed accurate passes at the right times, many to ex-Buffalo wideout Stefon Diggs, who delivered an outstanding performance for their coach's side.
The head coach was expected to improve the situation in New England, but such a significant victory came sooner than most expected.
New England's defensive squad contained the Buffalo Bills attack during their surprising away win.
Ravens Play-off Hopes Over?
This campaign is turning into a nightmare for the Ravens, who were without multiple defensive stars as they were hammered 44-10 by the Houston Texans.
It equaled their largest home defeat, and dropping to 1-4 for this year means one of the pre-season Super Bowl favourites have only a slim opportunity of reaching the play-offs.
The Ravens are currently 4-11 when missing superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson, who was hurt, but the real issue is an exceptionally poor defense that is the real problem - for a team that have been known for stout defense over the years.
The Texans strolled to victory as the Ravens became the first team in the Super Bowl era to concede a minimum of 37 points in four of their first five games. Their season is already over.
Lions, Bucs and Colts Go 4-1
Detroit's backfield tandem Gibbs and Montgomery registered six points in the same game for the 14th time - a shared NFL mark - as Detroit defeated Cincinnati 37-24.
The win made it four wins consecutively for the league's top scorers the Lions, but none against opponents with positive records.
A more surprising 4-1 side are Indianapolis. With Jonathan Taylor running in three touchdowns in their 40-6 hammering of the Las Vegas Raiders and quarterback Daniel Jones looking like 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 victory in Seattle in which the sides traded nine scores in 10 impressive possessions before the Seahawks cracked first with a final-minute turnover.
The kicker kicked the winner with the last kick of the game for his second occasion this year. All four of the Bucs' wins have been clinched in the last minute.
Saints and Titans Get Help for First Wins
Given how the New Orleans Saints and Tennessee started this campaign, they required assistance to secure their initial victories, and they got plenty due to several comical mistakes from New York and Arizona.
After a good start from New York rookie Jaxson Dart, New York committed five turnovers - including one crucially returned for a touchdown - while additionally permitting Rashid Shaheed to score on an 87-yard reception as New Orleans won 26-14.
The Cardinals were more disastrous as they squandered a substantial advantage mainly thanks to two massive blunders.
First, Emari Demercado inexplicably dropped the football just before crossing the line for a 72-yard score.
Worse was to come when Arizona picked off Cam Ward close to their own goal line, then fumbled the football across the goal line for Tyler Lockett to recover as the Titans snapped a 10-game losing streak with a narrow win.
Tyler Lockett scored among the most bizarre scores witnessed this season.
This left the Jets as the sole victory-less team left in the NFL after their bruising 37-22 loss by the Cowboys.
Jayden Daniels became the initial athlete in NFL history to surpass 4,000 passing yards and 1K on the ground in his initial twenty professional contests as he came back from injury to guide Washington to an impressive 27-10 victory at the Los Angeles Chargers.
The running back was the star man for the Carolina Panthers with 206 rushing yards in their exciting 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)
