NFL Week Five Shocker: Broncos Upset Eagles and Patriots Stun Bills
The final pair of unbeaten teams in the NFL saw their perfect records broken during week five as the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills endured surprising home defeats.
Denver's football team evolved from dark horses to headline-makers thanks to an impressive rallying win against the current Super Bowl champions Philadelphia, before hopping on a flight for this Sunday's overseas matchup.
New England's squad then traveled to Buffalo and halted the Bills' undefeated start with an impressive victory of their own in their initial national television appearance in twelve months.
Baltimore's team experienced a third straight loss - their defensive struggles could be fatal for their play-off aspirations - while Dallas, Indianapolis Colts, and Detroit celebrated blowout wins on yet another action-packed Sunday.
Denver Downs Champions
Not only was it beating the reigning title holders, but the manner of their 14-point comeback that made the Broncos' win by 21-17 in Philadelphia such a signature success.
Philadelphia had secured 10 contests in a row, 12 straight on home turf and 20 of their last 21 overall before Broncos quarterback Bo Nix orchestrated two touchdowns in the final five minutes and a late field goal.
Philadelphia are now 4-1 but there exists significant concern about the offence, which ranks as the poorest performing in the NFL. Wideout DaVonta Smith stated they are not "in sync" with QB Jalen Hurts.
Denver's defence, which tackled Hurts on six occasions, had a lot to do with the outcome, and, combined with a genuine franchise quarterback in Nix and elite coach in Sean Payton, they possess all the components to launch a serious challenge.
Denver meet New York's Jets at Tottenham Stadium on Sunday.
Primetime Patriots Upset Bills
If Denver's win was somewhat anticipated, nobody saw New England traveling to Buffalo and defeating Josh Allen's Bills, but they accomplished it with huge character.
A first primetime game for Drake Maye produced a star-making showing as he directed a game-winning field goal drive in the final moments to win 23-20.
Maye was resilient and executed the right throws at crucial moments, several to former Bills receiver Stefon Diggs, who delivered an outstanding performance for Mike Vrabel's team.
Vrabel was anticipated to improve the situation in New England, but a win like this arrived earlier than many predicted.
The Patriots defence contained Buffalo's offensive efforts during their upset away win.
Ravens Play-off Dreams Dashed?
The season is turning into a nightmare for the Ravens, who were without a host of key defenders as they were dominated 44-10 by the Houston Texans.
It matched their largest home defeat, and dropping to 1-4 for the season means one of the pre-season Super Bowl favourites have just a small opportunity of making the postseason.
The Ravens are currently 4-11 playing without superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson, who was injured, but the real issue is an exceptionally poor defense that is the primary concern - for a franchise that have been known for stout defense historically.
The Texans coasted to victory as the Ravens became the initial squad in the Super Bowl era to allow a minimum of 37 points in four of their first five contests. Their campaign is already in tatters.
Lions, Bucs and Colts Reach 4-1
The Lions' backfield tandem Gibbs and Montgomery registered a touchdown in one contest for the fourteenth occasion - a shared NFL mark - as the Lions defeated Cincinnati 37-24.
The win made it four wins consecutively for the league's top scorers the Lions, but none against teams with a winning record.
A more unexpected 4-1 side are Indianapolis. With Jonathan Taylor scoring three touchdowns in their decisive rout of the Las Vegas Raiders and signal-caller Daniel Jones appearing as a new man, they will be a tough match for any side.
Tampa Bay joined the four-win group with a thrilling 38-35 victory in Seattle in which the sides traded nine scores in 10 sparkling possessions before the Seahawks faltered initially with a late interception.
Chase McLaughlin kicked the winner with the final play of the contest for his second occasion this year. Each of the Bucs' wins have been clinched in the final moments.
New Orleans and Tennessee Receive Assistance for First Wins
The way the New Orleans Saints and Tennessee Titans started this campaign, they needed help to secure their initial victories, and they got plenty due to some farcical errors from New York and Arizona.
After a good start from New York rookie Jaxson Dart, New York committed five giveaways - one was decisively returned for a touchdown - while additionally permitting Rashid Shaheed to score on a long reception as the Saints prevailed 26-14.
Arizona were even worse as they blew a 21-3 lead primarily thanks to two massive blunders.
Initially, Emari Demercado unexplainably fumbled the football just before reaching the end zone for a long score.
Worse was to come when the Cardinals picked off Cam Ward close to their end zone, then lost the football into the end zone for Tyler Lockett to recover as Tennessee snapped a 10-game slide with a 22-21 win.
The receiver scored one of the most farcical scores witnessed this season.
This left New York's Jets as the only winless team left in the league after their bruising 37-22 defeat by the Cowboys.
Jayden Daniels became the first player in NFL history to eclipse 4,000 passing yards and 1K on the ground in his initial twenty career games as he came back from injury to guide Washington to an impressive 27-10 victory at the Los Angeles Chargers.
Rico Dowdle was the standout performer for Carolina with 206 rushing yards in their exciting 27-24 victory over Miami.
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)
