NFL Week Five Surprise: Broncos Upset Eagles and Patriots Stun Bills
The final pair of undefeated squads in the NFL watched their flawless starts broken during the fifth week as both the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills suffered shocking home defeats.
Denver's football team transformed from underdogs to front-page news following an spectacular rallying win against the current Super Bowl title holders the Eagles, before hopping on a flight for this Sunday's London matchup.
New England's squad then visited Buffalo and ended Buffalo's undefeated start with a statement win of their own in their initial primetime appearance in twelve months.
The Baltimore Ravens suffered a third consecutive defeat - their defensive woes could be fatal for their play-off hopes - while the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts, and Detroit Lions celebrated blowout wins on yet another action-packed Sunday.
Denver Downs Champions
It wasn't just defeating the reigning title holders, but the manner of their 14-point comeback that made Denver's win by 21-17 in Philadelphia such a signature success.
Philadelphia had secured 10 games in a row, 12 in a row at home and 20 out of 21 overall before Broncos quarterback Bo Nix orchestrated two scoring drives in the final five minutes and a late field goal.
Philadelphia are now 4-1 but there exists a big worry about their offensive unit, which ranks as one of the worst in the league. Receiver DaVonta Smith says they are not "in sync" with quarterback Jalen Hurts.
The Broncos' defensive unit, which tackled Hurts six times, had a lot to do with it, and, together with a genuine franchise quarterback in Nix and elite coach in Sean Payton, they possess all the components to mount a serious challenge.
Denver face the New York Jets at Tottenham Stadium on Sunday.
Patriots on National TV Shock Buffalo
Should the Broncos' victory was somewhat anticipated, nobody saw the Patriots marching into Buffalo and defeating Josh Allen's Bills, but they did so with huge character.
Their initial national television appearance for Drake Maye delivered a star-making showing as he directed a game-winning scoring drive in the final moments to win 23-20.
Maye was resilient and made accurate passes at the right times, several to former Bills receiver Stefon Diggs, who delivered an outstanding performance for their coach's team.
Vrabel was expected to improve the situation in New England, but a win like this arrived earlier than many predicted.
New England's defensive squad bottled up Buffalo's offensive efforts during their upset away win.
Baltimore Postseason Dreams Dashed?
This campaign is becoming a nightmare for the Ravens, who were missing multiple key defenders as they were dominated 44-10 by the Houston Texans.
It matched their largest loss at home, and dropping to 1-4 for this year means among the pre-season Super Bowl favourites have only a slim opportunity of making the play-offs.
The Ravens are now 4-11 when missing star QB Lamar Jackson, who was injured, but the real issue is an exceptionally poor defense that is the real problem - for a team that have been synonymous with stout defense historically.
The Texans coasted to victory as Baltimore became the initial squad in the Super Bowl era to concede at least 37 points in four of their first five games. Their campaign is already over.
Lions, Bucs and Colts Reach 4-1
Detroit's running back duo Gibbs and Montgomery registered six points in one contest for the 14th time - a joint NFL mark - as the Lions put away Cincinnati 37-24.
Victory made it four victories consecutively for the league's top scorers Detroit, but none against teams with a winning record.
A more unexpected 4-1 side are the Indianapolis Colts. With Jonathan Taylor scoring a hat-trick in their decisive rout of Las Vegas and quarterback Daniel Jones appearing as a transformed player, they will be a tough match for any team.
Tampa Bay joined the 4-1 club with a mesmeric 38-35 victory in Seattle in which the sides traded nine scores in 10 sparkling possessions before Seattle cracked first with a late interception.
The kicker kicked the game-winner with the last kick of the game for his second occasion this season. All four of the Bucs' victories have been clinched in the final moments.
Saints and Titans Get Help for First Wins
The way New Orleans and Tennessee Titans began the season, they needed help to get their first wins, and they got plenty thanks to several comical mistakes from the New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals.
Following a strong opening from first-year player Jaxson Dart, the Giants committed five turnovers - including one decisively taken back for six points - while additionally permitting Rashid Shaheed to score on a long reception as the Saints prevailed 26-14.
The Cardinals were even worse as they squandered a substantial advantage mainly thanks to two massive mistakes.
Initially, Emari Demercado unexplainably dropped the football moments before crossing the line for a 72-yard score.
Worse was to come when Arizona picked off Cam Ward near their own goal line, then lost the ball into the end zone for Tyler Lockett to recover as the Titans ended a 10-game losing streak with a narrow victory.
The receiver registered among the most bizarre scores we'll see this season.
This left New York's Jets as the sole victory-less team left in the NFL after their bruising 37-22 loss by Dallas.
The quarterback became the initial athlete in NFL history to surpass 4K through the air and 1,000 yards rushing in his initial twenty career games as he came back from being hurt to guide Washington to an impressive 27-10 victory at Los Angeles.
The running back was the standout performer for Carolina with 206 rushing yards in their exciting 27-24 win over the Miami Dolphins.
NFL Week Five 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)
