Broncos upset Eagles and Patriots stun Bills
The final two unbeaten records in the NFL failed to make it beyond week five as the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills suffered shock home defeats.
The Denver Broncos went from dark horses to headline-makers thanks to a superb comeback win against Super Bowl champions the Eagles, before hopping on a plane for Sunday's game in London.
The New England Patriots then went to Buffalo and ended the Bills' unbeaten start with a statement win of their own in their first primetime game in a year.
The Baltimore Ravens suffered a third straight defeat - their defensive woes could be terminal for their play-off hopes - while the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts and Detroit Lions enjoyed blowout wins on another eventful Sunday.
Denver down champions
It was not only beating the Super Bowl champions, but the manner of their 14-point comeback that made Denver's 21-17 victory in Philadelphia such a signature success.
The Eagles had won 10 games in a row, 12 in a row at home and 20 out of 21 overall before Broncos quarterback Bo Nix engineered two touchdowns in five fourth-quarter minutes and a late field goal.
Philadelphia are 4-1 but there is a big worry about the offence, which ranks as one of the worst in the league. Receiver DaVonta Smith says they are not "on the same page" as quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Denver's defence, which sacked Hurts six times, had a lot to do with it, and, together with a genuine franchise quarterback in Nix and top head coach in Sean Payton, they have all the ingredients to mount a serious challenge.
The Broncos face the New York Jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
Primetime Patriots upset Bills
If Denver's win was almost half expected, nobody saw the Patriots marching into Buffalo and beating Josh Allen's Bills, but they did so with huge character.
A first primetime game for Drake Maye produced a breakout performance as he led a game-winning field goal drive in the dying seconds to win 23-20.
Maye was tough and made the right throws at the right times, many to former Bills receiver Stefon Diggs, who had a big game for Mike Vrabel's side.
Vrabel was expected to turn things around in New England, but a win like this came earlier than many predicted.
Ravens play-off hopes over?
The season is turning into a nightmare for the Ravens, who were missing a host of defensive stars as they were hammered 44-10 by the Houston Texans.
It matched their largest home defeat, and dropping to 1-4 for the season means one of the pre-season Super Bowl favourites have only a slim chance of making the play-offs.
Baltimore are now 4-11 playing without superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson, who was injured, but it is a historically bad defence that is the real problem - for a team that have been synonymous with defensive toughness over the years.
The Texans strolled to victory as the Ravens became the first team in the Super Bowl era to concede at least 37 points in four of their first five games. Their season is already in tatters.
Lions, Bucs and Colts go 4-1
Detroit's running back duo Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery scored a touchdown in the same game for the 14th time - a joint NFL record - as the Lions put away the Cincinnati Bengals 37-24.
Victory made it four wins in a row for the league's top scorers Detroit, but none against teams with a winning record.
A more surprising 4-1 side are the Indianapolis Colts. With Jonathan Taylor running in a hat-trick in their 40-6 hammering of the Las Vegas Raiders and quarterback Daniel Jones looking like a new man, they will be a tough match for any side.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers joined the 4-1 club with a mesmeric 38-35 win in Seattle in which the sides traded nine touchdowns in 10 sparkling possessions before the Seahawks cracked first with a late interception.
Chase McLaughlin booted the winner with the last kick of the game for the second time this season. All four of the Bucs' victories have been secured in the last minute.
Saints and Titans get help for first wins
The way the New Orleans Saints and Tennessee Titans started the season, they needed help to get their first wins, and they got plenty thanks to some farcical mistakes from the New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals.
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 an 87-yard catch and run as the Saints won 26-14.
Arizona were even worse as they blew a 21-3 lead mainly thanks to two huge mistakes.
First, Emari Demercado inexplicably dropped the ball just before crossing the line for a 72-yard touchdown.
He obviously did not watch the Colts' Adonai Mitchell
do exactly the same thing last week.
Worse was to come when Arizona intercepted Cam Ward near their own goal line, then fumbled the ball into the end zone for Tyler Lockett to score as Tennessee ended a 10-game losing streak with a 22-21 win.
That left the Jets as the only winless team left in the NFL after their bruising 37-22 defeat by the Cowboys.
Jayden Daniels became the first player in NFL history to eclipse 4,000 passing yards and 1,000 yards rushing in his first 20 career games as he returned from injury to steer the Washington Commanders to an impressive 27-10 win at the Los Angeles Chargers.
Rico Dowdle was the star man for the Carolina Panthers with 206 rushing yards in their thrilling 27-24 victory 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)
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