SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – OCTOBER 05: Baker Mayfield #6 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throws a pass against the Seattle Seahawks during the first half at Lumen Field on October 05, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images)
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The unbeatens have fallen, and there is chaos everywhere you look in the NFL. Each week of the 2025 NFL season has been its own story, and Week 5 was no different. Both the Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles suffered their first losses of the season, while six games saw teams come back and win from double-digit deficits. But who were the biggest winners and losers this week?
NFL Week 5 Winners
Drake Maye
If there was any time for a statement game from the New England Patriots and Drake Maye, it was Sunday night in Buffalo. And, boy, was a statement provided. Maye and the Patriots went into a stadium where the Bills hadn’t lost in the regular season since November 2023 and took down the five-time defending AFC East champions.
Maye showed poise and composure all night long, especially in the face of pressure. After Buffalo mounted a 10-point comeback in the fourth quarter, Maye calmly marched his team downfield for a game-winning field goal and a 23-20 win. It was something that Patriots fans got used to seeing from their quarterback against Buffalo for nearly two decades. It was a flashback to what once was for New England and what could be again.
Maye finished 22-of-30 for 273 and had the throw of the year in the NFL so far.
Will this be the win that propels the Patriots to the AFC East title? That remains to be seen, but New England is now just a game back with the current tiebreaker in the division.
Stefon Diggs
Sticking with New England one more time, take a bow, Stefon Diggs. For the first time since being traded from Buffalo—a move that he seemingly forced, remind you—Diggs showed the fans in the stands what they were missing.
Diggs came into Buffalo and, like the rest of his team, turned back the clock. Diggs caught 10 catches for 146 yards. Not only was he the receiver on the aforementioned Maye throw, but Diggs toyed with Buffalo’s defense all night long. He handled former teammate Tre’Davious White with ease, making the big plays he became known for during his time with Minnesota and Buffalo.
Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield
The 2018 quarterback class might turn out to be a great one after all. While all of the praise has been poured on Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson over the years, two other first-round signal callers continue to shine at this stage of their careers.
In the most aesthetically pleasing matchup of the season, Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold became the first opposing quarterbacks in NFL history to each pass for over 325 yards and complete 80% of their passes. Mayfield threw for 379 yards and two touchdowns on 29-of-33 passing, while Darnold went 28-of-34 for 341 yards and four scores.
The only blemish on the day came from Darnold when a pass deflected off Tampa Bay defensive end Logan Hall’s helmet and into the hands of Lavonte David for an interception at Seattle’s 35-yard line. That pick set up the game-winning 39-yard field goal from Chase McLaughlin.
The 1972 Miami Dolphins
Pop the champagne, Miami. There will be at least one more year of the 1972 Dolphins being the only team to complete a full season, championship included, undefeated. On Sunday, the last two unbeaten teams in Buffalo and Philadelphia fell to 4-1. That means the last undefeated teams lost more than six weeks earlier than last year’s final lossless team, the Kansas City Chiefs.
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – OCTOBER 05: Head coach Brian Daboll of the New York Giants reacts on the sideline during the fourth quarter against the New Orleans Saints in the game at Caesars Superdome on October 05, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
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NFL Week 5 Losers
New York Giants
To paraphrase the legendary Paul Simon: Hello, Darkness, we meet again.
After getting the first win of the season against the Los Angeles Chargers last week, the Giants came out and laid an egg against the New Orleans Saints. The game started strong for New York as it built a 14-3 lead in the second quarter. But then, everything went off the rails.
After the Saints pulled within a point late in the second, the Giants went on a run for the ages—and not in a good way. New York turned the ball over on five straight drives, committing three fumbles and two interceptions. One fumble even went 86 yards the other way for a Saints touchdown.
Jaxson Dart looked overwhelmed in his second start, and Brian Daboll couldn’t get the rookie quarterback settled. It just feels like the writing is on the wall for Daboll as head coach.
Double-Digit Leads
What a season it’s been so far. After special teams played a major role in Week 3, it was the comeback that took center stage this week. Six games saw teams come back from being down 10 or more to win their game. It was nearly seven had the Bills managed to beat New England.
In the early window of Sunday’s games, the New Orleans Saints, Denver Broncos, and Carolina Panthers all came back from 10+ down to win their games. In the case of Carolina, the Panthers came back from 17 down to beat Miami. For the Broncos, they outscored the previously unbeaten Eagles 18-0 in the fourth quarter to come back from 17-3.
If you thought that was wild, the late window games featured one of the strangest results ever. First, the Washington Commanders came back from an early 10-0 deficit, scoring 27-straight points to beat the Chargers 27-10.
Then you have Arizona and Tennessee. The Titans looked to be well on their way to falling to 0-5 on the year, trailing 21-6 in the fourth. But then, the Cardinals made mistake after mistake, letting Tennessee get their first win of the year. How did the Cardinals manage to lose this game? Well, you’ll see more on that later.
Lastly, the Jaguars managed to claw back from 14-0 to take a thriller against the Chiefs on Monday night to move to 4-1 and a tie with the Colts for first in the AFC South.
It marks the first time since 2013 that there have been six double-digit comebacks in a single week.
GLENDALE, ARIZONA – OCTOBER 05: Tyler Lockett #4 of the Tennessee Titans recovers a fumble for a touchdown in front of Budda Baker #3 of the Arizona Cardinals during the fourth quarter at State Farm Stadium on October 05, 2025 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
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Arizona Cardinals
Yes, six teams blew 10+ point leads to lose this weekend, but the way Arizona did it deserves its own callout.
Arizona was up 21-6 in the fourth quarter when Emari Demercado took a handoff through the line and blew past everyone. As he was about to cross the goalline, Demercado made a mistake that, for some reason, pro football players continue to make year after year. Rather than make sure he made it into the endzone, Demercado dropped the ball before scoring. The fumble ended up rolling out of the endzone, giving the Titans the ball and some life as they took the ball 80 yards in 2:14 for a touchdown.
But just when you thought it couldn’t get any stranger, this game left you scratching your head even more.
Tennessee, driving again after an Arizona punt, was down at the Cardinals’ 28-yard line when Cam Ward dropped back to pass. Ward’s pass was intercepted by Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, who subsequently fumbled the ball. The ball then bounced backwards off the foot of Kei’Trel Clark into the endzone, where veteran Tyler Lockett pounced on the ball, scoring the Titans another touchdown.
Tennessee would force another Arizona punt on the next drive before moving downfield for a game-winning field goal as time expired.
New York Jets
With the Titans’ win over the Cardinals, the New York Jets are the only team in the NFL without a win. A team that hasn’t made the playoffs since Barack Obama’s first term as President of the United States is looking at another year of no meaningful January games.
Averaging eight accepted penalties per game heading into the week, the Jets tallied another 10 against Dallas to bump that average up. While they aren’t last in the league in penalties right now, the Jets are on their way to finishing there for the third season in a row.
The offense is bad; the defense is bad; the Jets are just bad.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikestraw/2025/10/07/nfl-week-5-winners-and-losers-the-week-of-the-comeback/
