NFL Week Five Surprise: Broncos Upset Eagles while Patriots Stun Bills
The final pair of unbeaten squads in the NFL watched their flawless starts shattered during week five as both the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills endured surprising losses on their own turf.
Denver's football team evolved from underdogs to front-page news thanks to an spectacular rallying win against the current Super Bowl champions the Eagles, prior to boarding a plane for this Sunday's London matchup.
The New England Patriots then visited Buffalo and halted Buffalo's undefeated start with a statement win of their own in their initial primetime game in a full year.
Baltimore's team experienced a third straight defeat - their defensive unit's woes could be fatal for their postseason hopes - while the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts, and Detroit Lions celebrated decisive victories on yet another eventful Sunday.
Broncos Defeat Title Holders
Not only was it defeating the Super Bowl champions, but the manner of their 14-point comeback that made Denver's win by 21-17 in Philadelphia such a defining success.
The Eagles had secured 10 games consecutively, 12 in a row at home and 20 out of 21 overall before Denver's signal-caller Bo Nix orchestrated two scoring drives in five fourth-quarter minutes and a late three-pointer.
The Eagles are now 4-1 but there exists significant concern about their offensive unit, which ranks as one of the worst in the league. Wideout DaVonta Smith stated they are not "in sync" with QB Jalen Hurts.
Denver's defence, which sacked Hurts six times, had a lot to do with the outcome, and, together with an established starting QB in Nix and elite coach in Sean Payton, they possess all the components to launch a serious challenge.
Denver face the New York Jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
Primetime Patriots Upset Bills
Should the Broncos' victory was almost half expected, few predicted New England marching into Buffalo and defeating Josh Allen's Bills, but they did so with huge character.
A first primetime game for the rookie quarterback produced a breakout performance as he led a decisive scoring drive in the dying seconds to win 23-20.
Maye was tough and executed accurate passes at the right times, many to former Bills receiver Stefon Diggs, who had a big game for Mike Vrabel's team.
Vrabel was expected to improve the situation in New England, but such a significant victory came sooner than most expected.
The Patriots defence bottled up Buffalo's offensive efforts during their upset road victory.
Baltimore Postseason Dreams Dashed?
The season is turning into a nightmare for the Ravens, who were without multiple defensive stars as they were dominated 44-10 by the Houston Texans.
It matched their biggest home defeat, and falling to 1-4 for the season means among the preseason Super Bowl favourites have only a slim opportunity of making the postseason.
Baltimore are currently 4-11 playing without superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson, who was hurt, but the real issue is a historically bad defense that is the primary concern - 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 a minimum of 37 points in four of their first five contests. Their campaign is effectively over.
Lions, Bucs and Colts Reach 4-1
The Lions' running back duo Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery registered six points in one contest for the fourteenth occasion - a shared NFL mark - as Detroit put away Cincinnati 37-24.
Victory made it four wins consecutively for the highest-scoring team the Lions, but none against teams with a winning record.
A more unexpected 4-1 side are Indianapolis. With their star running back scoring a hat-trick in their decisive rout of Las Vegas and signal-caller Daniel Jones appearing as a new man, they will be a difficult opponent for any team.
Tampa Bay joined the four-win group with a thrilling 38-35 win in Seattle in which the sides exchanged nine scores in 10 sparkling possessions before Seattle cracked first with a late interception.
The kicker kicked the game-winner with the last kick of the game for the second time this season. Each of the Bucs' victories have been clinched in the last minute.
Saints and Titans Receive Assistance for First Wins
Given how New Orleans and Tennessee Titans began the season, they required assistance to secure their first wins, and they received ample thanks to several comical mistakes from New York and Arizona.
Following a good start from New York rookie Jaxson Dart, the Giants committed five turnovers - one was crucially taken back for six points - while also allowing Rashid Shaheed to find the end zone on a long catch and run as New Orleans won 26-14.
Arizona were even worse as they blew a substantial advantage mainly due to two massive mistakes.
First, Emari Demercado inexplicably dropped the football just before crossing the line for a long score.
More disastrous was to come when Arizona picked off Cam Ward near their own goal line, then lost the football across the goal line for Tyler Lockett to recover as the Titans snapped a 10-game losing streak with a narrow win.
The receiver scored one of the most farcical scores we'll see this season.
This left New York's Jets as the only winless squad left in the league after their punishing 37-22 defeat by Dallas.
Jayden Daniels became the first player in NFL history to surpass 4K through the air and 1K on the ground in his first 20 professional contests as he came back from injury to steer Washington to a notable 27-10 win at Los Angeles.
Rico Dowdle was the star man for Carolina with 206 rushing yards in their thrilling 27-24 win over the Miami Dolphins.
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)
