NFL Week Five Shocker: Eagles Fall to Broncos and Patriots Stun Bills
The last two unbeaten teams in the NFL saw their perfect records broken during the fifth week as both the Philadelphia Eagles along with Buffalo Bills suffered shocking losses on their own turf.
Denver's football team evolved from dark horses to front-page news following an impressive rallying win against the reigning Super Bowl title holders the Eagles, before hopping on a flight for this Sunday's overseas contest.
New England's squad then visited Buffalo and ended Buffalo's perfect record with a statement win of their own in their initial primetime appearance in a full year.
Baltimore's team suffered a third straight defeat - their defensive struggles could be fatal for their postseason hopes - while the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts, and Detroit enjoyed blowout wins on another action-packed Sunday.
Broncos Defeat Title Holders
It wasn't just 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 signature success.
The Eagles had won 10 contests in a row, 12 in a row on home turf and 20 out of 21 overall before Denver's signal-caller Bo Nix engineered two touchdowns in five fourth-quarter minutes and a late three-pointer.
The Eagles are now 4-1 but there is significant concern about their offensive unit, which ranks as the poorest performing in the NFL. Receiver DaVonta Smith says they are not "on the same page" with quarterback Jalen Hurts.
The Broncos' defensive unit, which sacked Hurts on six occasions, had much to contribute with it, and, together with a genuine franchise quarterback in Nix and top head coach in Sean Payton, they possess all the components to mount a serious challenge.
The Broncos meet the New York Jets at Tottenham Stadium on Sunday.
Primetime Patriots Shock Buffalo
If Denver's win was somewhat anticipated, nobody saw the Patriots marching into Buffalo and beating Josh Allen's Bills, but they accomplished it with tremendous resilience.
A first primetime game for the rookie quarterback delivered a breakout performance as he directed a game-winning field goal drive in the dying seconds to secure victory 23-20.
The young QB was tough and executed the right throws at crucial moments, many to former Bills receiver Stefon Diggs, who had a big game for their coach's side.
Vrabel was expected to turn things around in New England, but a win like this came earlier than many predicted.
New England's defensive squad contained the Buffalo Bills attack during their surprising road victory.
Baltimore Postseason Hopes Over?
The season is becoming a disaster for Baltimore, who were missing a host of defensive stars as they were dominated 44-10 by Houston's team.
It matched their largest home defeat, and falling to 1-4 for the season means among the pre-season Super Bowl contenders have just a small opportunity of making the play-offs.
Baltimore are currently 4-11 playing without star QB Lamar Jackson, who was hurt, but the real issue is a historically bad defensive unit that is the real problem - for a franchise that have been synonymous with defensive toughness over the years.
Houston coasted to victory as the Ravens became the first team in modern NFL history to allow at least 37 points in four out of five contests. Their campaign is already in tatters.
Lions, Bucs and Colts Go 4-1
Detroit's running back duo Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery registered a touchdown in one contest for the fourteenth occasion - a shared NFL record - as the Lions defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 37-24.
Victory made it four victories in a row for the highest-scoring team the Lions, but not one against teams with a winning record.
A more surprising 4-1 team are the Indianapolis Colts. With Jonathan Taylor running in three touchdowns in their 40-6 rout of the Las Vegas Raiders and quarterback Daniel Jones looking like a transformed player, they will be a difficult opponent for any side.
Tampa Bay entered the four-win group with a mesmeric 38-35 victory in Seattle in which both teams traded nine touchdowns in 10 impressive drives before the Seahawks cracked first with a late turnover.
The kicker kicked the winner with the last kick of the contest for his second occasion this season. All four of the Bucs' victories have been secured in the final moments.
Saints and Titans Receive Assistance for First Wins
Given how New Orleans and Tennessee Titans began the season, they needed help to secure their initial victories, and they got plenty due to some farcical mistakes from New York and Arizona Cardinals.
Following a strong opening from New York rookie Jaxson Dart, the Giants made five giveaways - one was decisively returned for a touchdown - 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 squandered a 21-3 lead primarily due to two massive blunders.
Initially, Emari Demercado inexplicably fumbled the football moments before crossing the line for a long score.
Worse followed when the Cardinals picked off Cam Ward close to their own goal line, then fumbled the football across the goal line for Tyler Lockett to recover as Tennessee ended a ten-contest slide with a 22-21 win.
Tyler Lockett registered one of the most farcical touchdowns witnessed this year.
That left the Jets as the sole victory-less squad left in the NFL after their bruising 37-22 defeat by Dallas.
Jayden Daniels became the first player in NFL history to surpass 4,000 passing yards and 1K on the ground in his initial twenty career games as he came back from being hurt to steer Washington to a notable 27-10 victory at Los Angeles.
Rico Dowdle was the standout performer for Carolina with over 200 yards on the ground in their thrilling 27-24 victory over the Miami Dolphins.
Week 5 NFL Results and Key Moments
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)
