Week 5 NFL Surprise: Eagles Fall to Broncos while Bills Succumb to Patriots
The final pair of unbeaten squads in the NFL watched their flawless starts shattered during the fifth week as both the Philadelphia Eagles along with Buffalo Bills endured surprising losses on their own turf.
Denver's football team transformed from dark horses to front-page news following an impressive rallying win against the current Super Bowl champions the Eagles, before hopping on a plane for this Sunday's overseas contest.
New England's squad then traveled to Buffalo and ended the Bills' perfect record with an impressive victory of their own in their first national television appearance in twelve months.
The Baltimore Ravens suffered a third consecutive loss - their defensive unit's struggles could be fatal for their postseason aspirations - while the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis, and Detroit enjoyed decisive victories on another eventful Sunday.
Denver Downs Champions
Not only was it beating 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 success.
The Eagles had secured 10 games in a row, 12 in a row at home and 20 of their last 21 overall before Broncos quarterback Bo Nix engineered two touchdowns in five fourth-quarter minutes and a last-minute three-pointer.
Philadelphia are currently 4-1 but there exists a big worry about the offence, which ranks as the poorest performing in the league. Wideout DaVonta Smith says they are not "in sync" with QB Jalen Hurts.
The Broncos' defensive unit, which sacked Hurts on six occasions, had a lot to do with it, and, combined with a genuine franchise quarterback in Nix and elite coach in Sean Payton, they possess all the components to mount a legitimate playoff push.
The Broncos meet New York's Jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
Patriots on National TV Shock Buffalo
Should the Broncos' victory was almost half expected, nobody saw the Patriots traveling to Buffalo and defeating Josh Allen's Bills, but they accomplished it with tremendous resilience.
Their initial national television appearance for Drake Maye produced a star-making showing as he directed a decisive field goal drive in the final moments to secure victory 23-20.
Maye was tough and made accurate passes at crucial moments, many to ex-Buffalo wideout Stefon Diggs, who delivered a big game for Mike Vrabel's side.
Vrabel was anticipated to turn things around in New England, but a win like this arrived sooner than many predicted.
New England's defensive squad bottled up the Buffalo Bills attack during their surprising road victory.
Ravens Play-off Dreams Dashed?
This campaign is turning into a disaster for Baltimore, who were missing multiple key defenders as they were hammered 44-10 by Houston's team.
It equaled their biggest home defeat, and falling to 1-4 for this year means among the pre-season Super Bowl favourites have just a small opportunity of making the postseason.
The Ravens are now 4-11 playing without star QB Lamar Jackson, who was hurt, but the real issue is an exceptionally poor defense that is the primary concern - for a franchise that have been known for stout defense over the years.
Houston strolled to victory as Baltimore became the initial squad in modern NFL history to concede at least 37 points in four out of five games. Their campaign is already in tatters.
Detroit, Tampa and Indianapolis Go 4-1
Detroit's backfield tandem Gibbs and Montgomery registered a touchdown in one contest for the 14th time - a joint NFL record - as Detroit defeated Cincinnati 37-24.
The win made it four victories consecutively for the league's top scorers the Lions, but none against opponents with a winning record.
A more surprising 4-1 side are the Indianapolis Colts. With their star running back running in 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 difficult opponent for any team.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers joined the four-win group with a thrilling 38-35 win in Seattle in which both teams traded nine scores in 10 sparkling possessions before Seattle cracked first with a late interception.
Chase McLaughlin kicked the game-winner with the last kick of the contest for his second occasion this season. Each of the Bucs' victories have been secured in the last minute.
Saints and Titans Receive Assistance for Initial Victories
The way the New Orleans Saints and Tennessee started the season, they needed help to secure their initial victories, and they received ample thanks to some farcical errors from the New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals.
After a good start from first-year player Jaxson Dart, New York committed five turnovers - one was decisively taken back for six points - while also allowing Rashid Shaheed to find the end zone on an 87-yard reception as the Saints prevailed 26-14.
The Cardinals were more disastrous as they blew a substantial advantage mainly thanks to two huge blunders.
Initially, Emari Demercado inexplicably dropped the ball moments before reaching the end zone for a long score.
More disastrous followed when the Cardinals intercepted Cam Ward close to their end zone, then fumbled the football across the goal line for Tyler Lockett to score as the Titans ended a ten-contest slide with a narrow victory.
The receiver scored one of the most farcical touchdowns we'll see this year.
This left New York's Jets as the sole victory-less team remaining in the league after their punishing 37-22 loss 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 professional contests as he returned from injury to steer Washington to an impressive 27-10 victory at Los Angeles.
The running back was the star man for Carolina with 206 rushing yards in their thrilling 27-24 win 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)
