NFL Week Five Shocker: Eagles Fall to Broncos while Bills Succumb to Patriots
The final pair of unbeaten squads in the NFL watched their flawless starts broken during the fifth week as both the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills endured shocking losses on their own turf.
The Denver Broncos evolved from dark horses to headline-makers thanks to an impressive rallying win against the current Super Bowl champions Philadelphia, before hopping on a plane for this Sunday's overseas contest.
The New England Patriots then traveled to Buffalo and halted Buffalo's undefeated start with a statement win of their own in their initial primetime appearance in twelve months.
The Baltimore Ravens experienced a third straight loss - their defensive struggles could be terminal for their play-off hopes - while the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts, and Detroit enjoyed decisive victories on yet another action-packed Sunday.
Broncos Defeat 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 signature success.
The Eagles had secured 10 contests consecutively, 12 in a row on home turf and 20 of their last 21 overall before Denver's signal-caller Bo Nix orchestrated two scoring drives in the final five minutes and a late three-pointer.
Philadelphia are now 4-1 but there exists significant concern about their offensive unit, which sits among one of the worst in the NFL. Wideout DaVonta Smith stated they are not "in sync" with QB Jalen Hurts.
The Broncos' defensive unit, which tackled Hurts six times, had a lot to do with it, and, combined with an established starting QB in Nix and top head coach in Sean Payton, they have all the ingredients to launch a legitimate playoff push.
The Broncos face New York's Jets at Tottenham Stadium on Sunday.
Patriots on National TV Shock Buffalo
If Denver's win was almost half expected, nobody saw New England traveling to Buffalo and beating Josh Allen's Bills, but they did so with tremendous resilience.
A first primetime game for Drake Maye produced a star-making showing as he directed a decisive field goal drive in the dying seconds to win 23-20.
Maye was resilient and executed the right throws 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 a win like this arrived sooner than many predicted.
The Patriots defence contained the Buffalo Bills attack during their upset away win.
Baltimore Postseason Hopes Over?
The season is turning into a disaster 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 this year means among the pre-season Super Bowl favourites have just a small opportunity of reaching the postseason.
The Ravens are now 4-11 when missing star QB Lamar Jackson, who was injured, but it is a historically bad defensive unit that is the primary concern - for a team that have been known for defensive toughness historically.
The Texans strolled to the win as Baltimore became the initial squad in the Super Bowl era to concede a minimum of 37 points in four out of five games. Their campaign is effectively in tatters.
Detroit, Tampa and Indianapolis Go 4-1
Detroit's running back duo Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery registered a touchdown in one contest for the 14th time - a shared NFL record - as Detroit defeated Cincinnati 37-24.
Victory made it four victories in a row for the highest-scoring team Detroit, but not one against opponents with positive records.
A more unexpected 4-1 team are the Indianapolis Colts. With Jonathan Taylor scoring a hat-trick in their 40-6 hammering of Las Vegas and quarterback Daniel Jones looking like a transformed player, they will be a difficult opponent for any team.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers entered the four-win group with a mesmeric 38-35 win in Seattle in which both teams traded nine touchdowns in 10 sparkling drives before the Seahawks faltered initially with a late turnover.
The kicker kicked the winner with the last kick of the game for his second occasion this year. Each of Tampa Bay's wins have been clinched in the final moments.
Saints and Titans Receive Assistance for Initial Victories
The way the New Orleans Saints and Tennessee Titans started this campaign, they required assistance to secure their first wins, and they got plenty thanks to some farcical mistakes from New York and Arizona.
Following a good start from New York rookie Jaxson Dart, the Giants committed five giveaways - one was crucially returned for a touchdown - while also allowing Rashid Shaheed to score on an 87-yard reception as New Orleans prevailed 26-14.
Arizona were even worse as they blew a substantial advantage primarily due to two massive blunders.
First, Emari Demercado inexplicably dropped the football just before reaching the end zone for a 72-yard touchdown.
Worse was to come when the Cardinals intercepted Cam Ward near their end zone, then lost the football across the goal line for Tyler Lockett to recover as the Titans ended a 10-game losing streak with a 22-21 victory.
The receiver scored among the most bizarre scores witnessed this year.
That left the Jets as the sole victory-less squad remaining in the NFL after their bruising 37-22 loss by the Cowboys.
Jayden Daniels became the first player in NFL history to surpass 4,000 passing yards and 1,000 yards rushing in his initial twenty professional contests as he came back from being hurt to steer the Washington Commanders to an impressive 27-10 win at the Los Angeles Chargers.
Rico Dowdle 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)
