Week 5 NFL Shocker: Eagles Fall to Broncos while Patriots Stun Bills
The last two undefeated squads in the NFL saw their perfect records shattered during the fifth week as both the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills suffered surprising home defeats.
The Denver Broncos transformed from dark horses to front-page news following an spectacular comeback victory against the reigning Super Bowl title holders Philadelphia, prior to boarding a flight for this Sunday's overseas contest.
New England's squad then traveled to Buffalo and ended the Bills' undefeated start with an impressive victory of their own in their first primetime appearance in twelve months.
The Baltimore Ravens experienced a third straight loss - their defensive struggles could be fatal for their postseason hopes - while Dallas, Indianapolis Colts, and Detroit Lions celebrated decisive victories on yet another eventful Sunday.
Denver Downs Champions
It wasn't just defeating the reigning title holders, but the manner of their 14-point comeback that made the Broncos' 21-17 victory in Philadelphia such a defining success.
Philadelphia had secured 10 contests consecutively, 12 in a row at home and 20 out of 21 overall before Denver's signal-caller Bo Nix engineered two scoring drives in five fourth-quarter minutes and a last-minute field goal.
Philadelphia are currently 4-1 but there is a big worry about their offensive unit, which sits among the poorest performing in the league. Receiver DaVonta Smith stated they are not "on the same page" with QB Jalen Hurts.
The Broncos' defensive unit, which sacked Hurts on six occasions, had much to contribute with the outcome, and, combined with a genuine franchise quarterback in Nix and top head coach in Sean Payton, they have all the ingredients to mount a legitimate playoff push.
Denver face the New York Jets at Tottenham Stadium on Sunday.
Patriots on National TV Upset Bills
Should the Broncos' victory was somewhat anticipated, nobody saw New England marching into Buffalo and defeating Josh Allen's Bills, but they did so with huge character.
A first primetime game for Drake Maye produced a star-making showing as he led a decisive scoring drive in the final moments to win 23-20.
The young QB was tough and made accurate passes at crucial moments, several to former Bills receiver Stefon Diggs, who had an outstanding performance for Mike Vrabel's team.
The head coach was expected to improve the situation in New England, but a win like this came earlier than most expected.
The Patriots defence bottled up the Buffalo Bills attack during their upset road victory.
Ravens Play-off Hopes Over?
The season is turning into a disaster for the Ravens, who were missing multiple defensive stars as they were dominated 44-10 by Houston's team.
It equaled their largest loss at home, and falling to 1-4 for this year means among the pre-season Super Bowl contenders have only a slim opportunity of making the play-offs.
Baltimore are now 4-11 when missing star QB Lamar Jackson, who was hurt, but it is a historically bad defensive unit that is the real problem - for a franchise that have been synonymous with stout defense over the years.
Houston coasted to victory as the Ravens became the initial squad in modern NFL history to concede at least 37 points in four out of five contests. Their campaign is already over.
Detroit, Tampa and Indianapolis Go 4-1
Detroit's backfield tandem Gibbs and Montgomery scored six points in one contest for the fourteenth occasion - a joint NFL record - as the Lions defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 37-24.
The win made it four wins consecutively for the league's top scorers Detroit, but none against teams with a winning record.
A more surprising 4-1 team are the Indianapolis Colts. With their star running back scoring a hat-trick in their 40-6 hammering of Las Vegas and signal-caller Daniel Jones appearing as 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 win in Seattle in which both teams traded nine touchdowns in 10 impressive possessions before Seattle cracked first with a final-minute turnover.
Chase McLaughlin booted the winner with the last kick of the game for the second time this season. All four of the Bucs' wins have been secured in the last minute.
Saints and Titans Receive Assistance for Initial Victories
Given how the New Orleans Saints and Tennessee started the season, they needed help to secure their initial victories, 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, New York committed five giveaways - one was decisively returned for a touchdown - while additionally permitting Rashid Shaheed to score on an 87-yard catch and run as New Orleans prevailed 26-14.
Arizona were more disastrous as they blew a substantial advantage mainly due to two massive mistakes.
Initially, Emari Demercado unexplainably dropped the ball moments before crossing the line for a 72-yard touchdown.
More disastrous followed when Arizona intercepted Cam Ward close to their end zone, then lost the football into the end zone for Tyler Lockett to recover as the Titans snapped a ten-contest losing streak with a 22-21 win.
Tyler Lockett registered one of the most farcical scores we'll see this year.
That left the Jets as the sole victory-less team remaining in the league after their bruising 37-22 loss by Dallas.
Jayden Daniels became the first player in NFL history to surpass 4,000 passing yards and 1K on the ground in his first 20 professional contests as he came back from being hurt to steer the Washington Commanders to an impressive 27-10 victory at Los Angeles.
The running back was the star man for the Carolina Panthers with over 200 yards on the ground in their thrilling 27-24 victory 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)
