The last two undefeated teams in the NFL saw their perfect records broken during week five as both the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills endured surprising losses on their own turf.
Denver's football team evolved from underdogs to headline-makers following an spectacular comeback victory against the current Super Bowl title holders the Eagles, before hopping on a plane for Sunday's overseas contest.
New England's squad then visited Buffalo and halted the Bills' undefeated start with an impressive victory of their own in their first national television game in twelve months.
The Baltimore Ravens experienced a third consecutive loss - their defensive struggles could be terminal for their postseason hopes - while the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis, and Detroit enjoyed decisive victories on yet another action-packed Sunday.
Broncos Defeat Champions
It wasn't just defeating the Super Bowl champions, but the way of their 14-point comeback that made Denver's win by 21-17 in Philadelphia such a defining success.
Philadelphia had secured 10 contests in a row, 12 straight at home and 20 of their last 21 total before Denver's signal-caller Bo Nix engineered 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 the poorest performing in the league. Wideout DaVonta Smith says they are not "in sync" with quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Denver's defence, which sacked Hurts six times, had a lot to do with the outcome, and, combined with an established starting QB in Nix and elite coach in Sean Payton, they have all the ingredients to launch a serious challenge.
Denver face the New York Jets at Tottenham Stadium on Sunday.
Primetime Patriots Shock Buffalo
Should the Broncos' victory was almost half expected, few predicted the Patriots marching into Buffalo and defeating Josh Allen's Bills, but they accomplished it with tremendous resilience.
A first primetime game for Drake Maye delivered a star-making showing as he led a decisive scoring drive in the dying seconds to secure victory 23-20.
Maye was resilient and executed accurate passes at crucial moments, several to ex-Buffalo wideout Stefon Diggs, who had a big game for their coach's side.
The head coach was expected to turn things around in New England, but such a significant victory arrived sooner than most expected.
The Patriots defence contained Buffalo's offensive efforts during their upset road victory.
Ravens Play-off Dreams Dashed?
The season is turning into a nightmare for the Ravens, who were missing a host of key defenders as they were hammered 44-10 by Houston's team.
It equaled their biggest loss at home, and dropping to 1-4 for this year means one of the preseason Super Bowl contenders have just a small opportunity of making the play-offs.
The Ravens are currently 4-11 when missing star QB Lamar Jackson, who was injured, but it is an exceptionally poor defense that is the real problem - for a franchise that have been known for stout defense over the years.
The Texans coasted to the win as the Ravens became the first team in the Super Bowl era to allow a minimum of 37 points in four out of five games. Their season is already in tatters.
Lions, Bucs and Colts Go 4-1
The Lions' running back duo Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery scored six points in one contest for the fourteenth occasion - a joint NFL record - as Detroit 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 positive records.
A more surprising 4-1 side are the Indianapolis Colts. With Jonathan Taylor running in three touchdowns in their decisive hammering of Las Vegas and quarterback Daniel Jones appearing as a transformed player, they will be a tough match for any side.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers entered the four-win group with a thrilling 38-35 win in Seattle in which the sides exchanged nine scores in 10 impressive drives before the Seahawks cracked first with a late interception.
Chase McLaughlin kicked the game-winner with the final play of the contest for the second time this season. Each of the Bucs' victories have been clinched in the final moments.
Saints and Titans Receive Assistance for First Wins
The way the New Orleans Saints and Tennessee started the season, they needed help to secure their first wins, and they received ample due to several comical errors from New York and Arizona Cardinals.
Following a strong opening from first-year player Jaxson Dart, the Giants made five giveaways - one was decisively taken back for six points - while additionally permitting Rashid Shaheed to score on a long reception as the Saints prevailed 26-14.
Arizona were even worse as they squandered a 21-3 lead mainly due to two huge blunders.
First, Emari Demercado inexplicably dropped the ball just before crossing the line for a 72-yard score.
More disastrous was to come when the Cardinals picked off Cam Ward near their end zone, then fumbled the football into the end zone for Tyler Lockett to recover as Tennessee snapped a ten-contest slide with a 22-21 victory.
The receiver registered among the most bizarre scores witnessed this season.
This left New York's Jets as the sole victory-less squad remaining 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 professional contests as he came back from injury to guide Washington to a notable 27-10 victory at the Los Angeles Chargers.
The running back was the star man for Carolina with 206 rushing yards in their thrilling 27-24 victory 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)
