NFL Week Five Shocker: Broncos Upset Eagles while Patriots Stun Bills
The final pair of undefeated squads in the NFL saw their perfect records shattered during week five as both the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills suffered shocking home defeats.
Denver's football team transformed from dark horses to front-page news following an impressive comeback victory against the reigning Super Bowl title holders Philadelphia, before hopping on a flight for Sunday's London matchup.
New England's squad then traveled to Buffalo and halted the Bills' perfect record with an impressive victory of their own in their initial national television appearance in a full year.
Baltimore's team experienced a third straight defeat - their defensive unit's woes could be terminal for their play-off aspirations - while the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis, and Detroit celebrated blowout wins on another action-packed Sunday.
Denver Downs Champions
Not only was it beating the Super Bowl champions, but the manner of their comeback from 14 points down that made Denver's win by 21-17 in Philadelphia such a defining success.
Philadelphia had secured 10 contests consecutively, 12 in a row at home and 20 of their last 21 overall before Broncos quarterback Bo Nix engineered two scoring drives in five fourth-quarter minutes and a last-minute field goal.
Philadelphia are now 4-1 but there exists a big worry about their offensive unit, which ranks as the poorest performing in the league. Wideout DaVonta Smith stated they are not "on the same page" with QB Jalen Hurts.
Denver's defence, which sacked 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 have all the ingredients to mount a serious challenge.
Denver meet New York's Jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
Patriots on National TV Upset Bills
If Denver's win was almost half expected, few predicted New England traveling to Buffalo and beating Josh Allen's Bills, but they did so with huge character.
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.
Maye was resilient and executed the right throws at crucial moments, several to ex-Buffalo wideout Stefon Diggs, who delivered a big game for Mike Vrabel's side.
Vrabel was anticipated to improve the situation in New England, but such a significant victory arrived sooner than most expected.
The Patriots defence bottled up Buffalo's offensive efforts during their surprising away win.
Ravens Play-off Dreams Dashed?
The season is becoming a disaster for Baltimore, who were without multiple key defenders as they were hammered 44-10 by the Houston Texans.
It matched their biggest loss at home, and dropping to 1-4 for the season means one of the preseason Super Bowl favourites have just a small chance of making the play-offs.
The Ravens are currently 4-11 playing without superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson, who was injured, but it is a historically bad defense that is the primary concern - for a franchise that have been synonymous with stout defense over the years.
Houston strolled to victory as Baltimore became the initial squad in modern NFL history to concede a minimum of 37 points in four out of five games. Their season is already in tatters.
Detroit, Tampa and Indianapolis Go 4-1
Detroit's running back duo Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery scored six points in one contest for the 14th time - a joint NFL record - as Detroit defeated Cincinnati 37-24.
Victory made it four victories consecutively for the league's top scorers the Lions, but none against teams with positive records.
A more unexpected 4-1 team are the Indianapolis Colts. With their star running back scoring a hat-trick in their 40-6 hammering of the Las Vegas Raiders and signal-caller Daniel Jones looking like a new man, they will be a tough match for any side.
Tampa Bay joined the four-win group with a mesmeric 38-35 win in Seattle in which both teams traded nine touchdowns in 10 impressive drives before Seattle cracked first with a late interception.
Chase McLaughlin kicked the game-winner with the last kick of the contest for the second time this season. Each of the Bucs' wins have been secured in the final moments.
New Orleans and Tennessee Get Help for First Wins
Given how the New Orleans Saints and Tennessee began the season, they required assistance to get their initial victories, and they received ample thanks to several comical errors from New York and Arizona.
After a good start from first-year player Jaxson Dart, New York committed five turnovers - including one decisively taken back for six points - while also allowing Rashid Shaheed to score on a long catch and run as the Saints won 26-14.
Arizona were more disastrous as they squandered a substantial advantage primarily due to two massive mistakes.
First, Emari Demercado inexplicably dropped the football just before crossing the line for a 72-yard touchdown.
More disastrous was to come when the Cardinals picked off Cam Ward near their own goal line, then fumbled the football into the end zone for Tyler Lockett to score as the Titans ended a 10-game losing streak with a narrow win.
Tyler Lockett scored one of the most farcical scores we'll see this season.
That left New York's Jets as the only winless squad left in the league after their punishing 37-22 defeat by Dallas.
The quarterback became the first player in NFL history to eclipse 4,000 passing yards and 1K on the ground in his first 20 career games as he returned from injury to guide Washington to an impressive 27-10 win at Los Angeles.
Rico Dowdle was the star man for Carolina with 206 rushing yards in their thrilling 27-24 win over Miami.
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)
