NFL Week Five Surprise: Eagles Fall to Broncos and Patriots Stun Bills

The final pair of unbeaten teams in the NFL saw their perfect records broken during the fifth week as both the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills suffered surprising home defeats.

The Denver Broncos transformed from underdogs to front-page news following an impressive comeback victory against the reigning Super Bowl champions Philadelphia, prior to boarding a plane for Sunday's overseas contest.

The New England Patriots then visited Buffalo and ended the Bills' perfect record with a statement win of their own in their first primetime game in a full year.

Baltimore's team experienced a third straight loss - their defensive struggles could be fatal for their play-off aspirations - while Dallas, Indianapolis Colts, and Detroit celebrated blowout wins on yet another eventful Sunday.

Denver Downs Champions

Not only was it beating the reigning title holders, but the way of their comeback from 14 points down that made the Broncos' 21-17 victory in Philadelphia such a defining achievement.

Philadelphia had won 10 games in a row, 12 in a row at home and 20 of their last 21 overall before Broncos quarterback Bo Nix orchestrated two scoring drives in five fourth-quarter minutes and a late three-pointer.

Philadelphia are currently 4-1 but there is significant concern about the offence, which ranks as one of the worst in the league. Wideout DaVonta Smith stated they are not "in sync" with quarterback Jalen Hurts.

The Broncos' defensive unit, which sacked Hurts on six occasions, 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 mount a serious challenge.

The Broncos meet New York's Jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.

Patriots on National TV Shock Buffalo

If Denver's win was almost half expected, few predicted the Patriots traveling to Buffalo and defeating Josh Allen's Bills, but they accomplished it with tremendous resilience.

Their initial national television appearance for the rookie quarterback delivered a breakout performance as he led a game-winning field goal drive in the dying seconds to secure victory 23-20.

The young QB was resilient and made accurate passes at crucial moments, several to former Bills receiver Stefon Diggs, who had an outstanding performance for their coach's team.

Vrabel was anticipated to improve the situation in New England, but such a significant victory came earlier than most expected.

The Patriots defence bottled up Buffalo's offensive efforts during their upset road victory.

Baltimore Postseason Dreams Dashed?

This campaign is turning into a disaster for Baltimore, who were without multiple key defenders as they were dominated 44-10 by Houston's team.

It equaled their largest home defeat, and dropping to 1-4 for this year means among the preseason Super Bowl contenders have only a slim chance of making the postseason.

Baltimore are now 4-11 when missing superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson, who was injured, but the real issue is an exceptionally poor defense that is the primary concern - for a franchise that have been known for defensive toughness historically.

Houston strolled to the win as Baltimore became the first team in the Super Bowl era to allow a minimum of 37 points in four of their first five contests. Their season is effectively over.

Detroit, Tampa and Indianapolis Reach 4-1

Detroit's running back duo Gibbs and Montgomery scored six points in one contest for the fourteenth occasion - a shared NFL record - as the Lions defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 37-24.

The win made it four victories consecutively for the league's top scorers Detroit, but not one 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 the Las Vegas Raiders and quarterback Daniel Jones appearing as a new man, they will be a difficult opponent for any side.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers entered the four-win group with a thrilling 38-35 victory in Seattle in which the sides exchanged nine touchdowns in 10 impressive possessions before the Seahawks cracked first with a late turnover.

Chase McLaughlin kicked the game-winner with the last kick of the game for the second time this year. Each of the Bucs' victories have been clinched in the final moments.

New Orleans and Tennessee Get Help for First Wins

Given how New Orleans and Tennessee Titans began the season, they required assistance to get their first wins, and they received ample due to some farcical errors from the New York Giants and Arizona.

After a strong opening from New York rookie Jaxson Dart, New York committed five turnovers - one was crucially taken back for six points - while additionally permitting Rashid Shaheed to find the end zone on an 87-yard catch and run as New Orleans won 26-14.

Arizona were more disastrous as they squandered a 21-3 lead primarily thanks to two massive blunders.

First, Emari Demercado unexplainably fumbled the football moments before crossing the line for a long touchdown.

Worse was to come when the Cardinals intercepted Cam Ward close to their end zone, then lost the football into the end zone for Tyler Lockett to score as Tennessee snapped a ten-contest losing streak with a narrow win.

Tyler Lockett scored among the most bizarre touchdowns witnessed this year.

This left the Jets as the sole victory-less team left in the NFL after their punishing 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 professional contests as he returned from being hurt to guide Washington to a notable 27-10 win at Los Angeles.

The running back was the star man for the Carolina Panthers with over 200 yards on the ground in their exciting 27-24 win 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)