NFL Week Five Surprise: Eagles Fall to Broncos while Bills Succumb to Patriots
The last two unbeaten squads in the NFL watched their flawless starts shattered during week five as both the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills endured surprising home defeats.
The Denver Broncos evolved from underdogs to headline-makers following an spectacular rallying win against the current Super Bowl champions Philadelphia, before hopping on a plane for this Sunday's London matchup.
New England's squad then traveled to Buffalo and halted Buffalo's perfect record with an impressive victory of their own in their initial national television game in twelve months.
The Baltimore Ravens suffered a third consecutive defeat - their defensive unit's struggles could be fatal for their play-off aspirations - while Dallas, Indianapolis, and Detroit Lions celebrated blowout wins on another action-packed Sunday.
Denver Downs Title Holders
Not only was it beating the Super Bowl champions, but the manner of their comeback from 14 points down that made the Broncos' 21-17 victory in Philadelphia such a signature achievement.
The Eagles had won 10 games in a row, 12 straight on home turf and 20 out of 21 total before Broncos quarterback Bo Nix engineered two touchdowns in five fourth-quarter minutes and a late field goal.
Philadelphia are currently 4-1 but there is a big worry about their offensive unit, which ranks as one of the worst in the league. Wideout DaVonta Smith says they are not "in sync" with QB Jalen Hurts.
Denver's defence, which tackled Hurts six times, had much to contribute with the outcome, 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.
Denver face New York's Jets at Tottenham Stadium on Sunday.
Patriots on National TV Upset Bills
If Denver's win was somewhat anticipated, nobody saw the Patriots traveling to Buffalo and defeating Josh Allen's Bills, but they did so with tremendous resilience.
Their initial national television appearance for Drake Maye delivered a breakout performance as he directed a game-winning field goal drive in the dying seconds to win 23-20.
The young QB was resilient and executed accurate passes at crucial moments, several to former Bills receiver Stefon Diggs, who had a big game for their coach's team.
Vrabel was expected to turn things around in New England, but a win like this arrived earlier than many predicted.
The Patriots defence bottled up Buffalo's offensive efforts during their upset road victory.
Baltimore Postseason Hopes Over?
This campaign is becoming a nightmare for Baltimore, who were without multiple defensive stars as they were dominated 44-10 by Houston's team.
It matched their largest home defeat, and falling to 1-4 for this year means one of the pre-season Super Bowl favourites have only a slim 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 real problem - for a team that have been synonymous with stout defense historically.
Houston strolled to victory as the Ravens became the initial squad in modern NFL history to allow at least 37 points in four of their first five games. Their campaign is effectively in tatters.
Detroit, Tampa and Indianapolis Go 4-1
The Lions' backfield tandem Gibbs and Montgomery registered a touchdown in the same game for the 14th time - a shared NFL mark - as Detroit put away Cincinnati 37-24.
The win made it four victories consecutively for the league's top scorers the Lions, but not one against teams with a winning record.
A more surprising 4-1 side are Indianapolis. With Jonathan Taylor scoring three touchdowns in their decisive rout of Las Vegas and signal-caller Daniel Jones looking like a new man, they will be a tough match for any team.
Tampa Bay entered the 4-1 club with a mesmeric 38-35 victory in Seattle in which both teams exchanged nine touchdowns in 10 sparkling possessions before Seattle cracked first with a late turnover.
The kicker booted the game-winner with the final play of the contest for the second time this year. All four of Tampa Bay's wins have been clinched in the final moments.
New Orleans and Tennessee Receive Assistance for Initial Victories
The way New Orleans and Tennessee began this campaign, they needed help to get their first wins, and they got plenty due to several comical errors from the New York Giants and Arizona.
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 score on a long reception as New Orleans won 26-14.
The Cardinals were even worse as they blew a substantial advantage mainly due to two huge mistakes.
Initially, Emari Demercado inexplicably fumbled the ball just before crossing the line for a 72-yard score.
More disastrous was to come when Arizona intercepted Cam Ward close to their end zone, then fumbled the football across the goal line for Tyler Lockett to recover as the Titans ended a ten-contest losing streak with a narrow victory.
The receiver scored among the most bizarre scores witnessed this year.
That left the Jets as the sole victory-less team remaining in the NFL after their bruising 37-22 defeat by Dallas.
Jayden Daniels became the initial athlete in NFL history to surpass 4K through the air and 1K on the ground in his initial twenty career games as he came back from injury to steer the Washington Commanders to a notable 27-10 win at the Los Angeles Chargers.
The running back was the star man for the Carolina Panthers with over 200 yards on the ground in their thrilling 27-24 win over the Miami Dolphins.
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)
