NFL Week Five Surprise: Broncos Upset Eagles while Bills Succumb to Patriots
The final pair of unbeaten teams in the NFL watched their flawless starts broken during the fifth week as the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills endured shocking losses on their own turf.
Denver's football team transformed from dark horses to front-page news thanks to an spectacular rallying win against the reigning Super Bowl champions the Eagles, before hopping on a plane for Sunday's overseas matchup.
New England's squad then visited Buffalo and halted the Bills' perfect record with an impressive victory of their own in their initial national television game in twelve months.
Baltimore's team suffered a third consecutive defeat - their defensive struggles could be fatal for their postseason hopes - while Dallas, Indianapolis Colts, and Detroit celebrated blowout wins on yet another action-packed Sunday.
Denver Downs Champions
It wasn't just defeating the Super Bowl champions, but the way of their 14-point comeback that made the Broncos' win by 21-17 in Philadelphia such a defining achievement.
Philadelphia had secured 10 games consecutively, 12 straight at home and 20 of their last 21 total before Broncos quarterback Bo Nix engineered two scoring drives in five fourth-quarter minutes and a late three-pointer.
The Eagles are now 4-1 but there is significant concern about their offensive unit, which ranks as the poorest performing in the NFL. Receiver DaVonta Smith says they are not "in sync" with quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Denver's defence, which sacked Hurts on six occasions, had much to contribute with the outcome, and, combined with an established starting QB in Nix and top head coach in Sean Payton, they possess all the components to launch a legitimate playoff push.
The Broncos meet New York's Jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
Patriots on National TV Shock Buffalo
If Denver's win was almost half expected, few predicted New England marching into 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 led a game-winning scoring drive in the final moments to secure victory 23-20.
Maye was resilient and executed accurate passes at the right times, several to former Bills receiver Stefon Diggs, who had an outstanding performance for their coach's side.
The head coach was anticipated to improve the situation in New England, but a win like this came earlier than most expected.
New England's defensive squad contained the Buffalo Bills attack during their upset away win.
Baltimore Postseason Hopes Over?
This campaign is becoming a nightmare for the Ravens, who were without multiple defensive stars as they were dominated 44-10 by Houston's team.
It matched their biggest loss at home, and falling to 1-4 for this year means among the preseason Super Bowl contenders have just a small opportunity of making the postseason.
Baltimore are now 4-11 playing without star QB Lamar Jackson, who was hurt, but it is an exceptionally poor defense that is the primary concern - for a franchise that have been known for stout defense over the years.
The Texans 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 games. Their season is effectively over.
Lions, Bucs and Colts Go 4-1
Detroit's running back duo Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery registered a touchdown in the same game for the fourteenth occasion - a joint NFL record - as Detroit defeated Cincinnati 37-24.
The win made it four victories in a row for the league's top scorers the Lions, but none against teams with a winning record.
A more surprising 4-1 team are the Indianapolis Colts. With their star running back running in three touchdowns in their decisive rout of the Las Vegas Raiders and signal-caller Daniel Jones looking like a new man, they will be a tough match for any side.
Tampa Bay joined the four-win group with a mesmeric 38-35 win in Seattle in which both teams exchanged nine scores in 10 impressive possessions before Seattle faltered initially with a late interception.
The kicker booted the winner with the last kick of the game for the second time this season. All four of the Bucs' victories have been clinched in the last minute.
Saints and Titans Get Help for Initial Victories
Given how New Orleans and Tennessee Titans started this campaign, they required assistance to secure their initial victories, and they received ample due to several comical errors from the New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals.
After a good start from New York rookie Jaxson Dart, the Giants committed five turnovers - one was crucially returned for a touchdown - while also allowing Rashid Shaheed to find the end zone on a long catch and run as the Saints prevailed 26-14.
The Cardinals were more disastrous as they blew a substantial advantage primarily due to two massive blunders.
First, Emari Demercado unexplainably dropped the football moments before crossing the line for a 72-yard touchdown.
Worse was to come when Arizona picked off Cam Ward near their own goal line, then lost the ball across the goal line for Tyler Lockett to recover as Tennessee ended a ten-contest slide with a narrow victory.
The receiver registered one of the most farcical touchdowns we'll see this season.
This left New York's Jets as the only winless team remaining in the league after their punishing 37-22 defeat by the Cowboys.
The quarterback became the initial athlete in NFL history to eclipse 4K through the air and 1,000 yards rushing in his initial twenty career games as he returned from injury to steer Washington to an impressive 27-10 win at the Los Angeles Chargers.
The running back was the star man for Carolina with 206 rushing yards in their thrilling 27-24 win 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)
