After five days of the NFL regular season, the Philadelphia Eagles are so far clear. They won Sunday at the Arizona Cardinals (20-17) and are the last team still undefeated. However, the victory was hard to come by. Philadelphia led 14-0 after two one-yard touchdowns from quarterback Jalen Hurts. But Arizona came back at 17-17. The Eagles are back in the lead on a field goal. And, with 22 seconds remaining, the Cardinals missed theirs.
Next Sunday, Philadelphia will host the Dallas Cowboys, an opponent in its division, also in great shape. The Texans remain on four straight wins. They won at the Los Angeles Rams (22-10), the defending champions. The latter endured everything: a TD conceded on return of fumble (from Matthew Stafford, the quarterback) from the start of the match, a punt blocked immediately after, a missed field goal, an interception and another fumble conceded by Stafford. It’s already the Rams’ third loss.
Buffalo smashes Pittsburgh
The Cincinnati Bengals also lost, at the Baltimore Ravens (19-17), after a field goal from Justin Tucker scored at the last second. Just before, Cincinnati had taken the advantage, for the first time in the game, on a touchdown from Joe Burrow. But they couldn’t stop the Ravens’ last streak. It also makes three losses in five games for the Bengals.
The Buffalo Bills, considered by many observers as the favorites for the Super Bowl, crushed Pittsburgh (38-3), with a gala Josh Allen (424 yards, four TD’s) as QB.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tom Brady won a sluggish victory (21-15) against Atlanta. They led 21-0, before their opponent came back. And the Falcons were also victims of a dubious referee’s decision, which prevented them from having a last series in attack and perhaps to change the course of the match.
Miami still hit by concussions
Green Bay lost in London against the New York Giants (27-22), who continue to pleasantly surprise at the start of the season. The New Yorkers won on two running touchdowns from Gary Brightwell and Saquon Barkley, before stopping the Packers on their final series. New Orleans beat Seattle (39-32), thanks to Taysom Hill, their No. 2 quarterback, who shone… while running. Hill scored three such TD’s, including the winning one, after a 60-yard breakaway. He also threw a touchdown pass and covered a fumble.
The curse of concussions hangs over Miami. After losing Tua Tagovailoa, their starting QB, and after a controversy that led to a change in the concussion protocol, the Dolphins also saw Teddy Bridgewater, their second quarterback, be concussed in the loss to the New York Jets (40-17 ).
The Los Angeles Chargers beat Cleveland (30-28), in a game where the runners shone (173 yards for Austin Ekeler at the Chargers, 143 for Nick Chubb at Cleveland).
Houston’s first win
Finally Houston signed its first victory of the season, against Jacksonville (13-6). Trevor Lawrence, the Jaguars quarterback, was intercepted at the last second, while his team was at the gates of the opposing in-goal. After convincing victories, the Florida franchise, struggling in recent seasons, falls back into its ways. The day will end on Monday with the reception by Kansas City and Patrick Mahomes from Las Vegas.