There’s a few senior citizens with ties to South Florida that are gathering today to have a champagne toast. Not that that itself is news, as quite a few owe their longevity and ability to tolerate certain residents to regular imbibing of alcohol.
But members of the 1972 Miami Dolphins have a special reason to keep that regular date–it happens whenever the last NFL unbeaten team falls, thereby extending the record of what they accomplished en route to a Super Bowl title in that truly perfect year, both on the field and off. Usually, it happens far deeper down the line than Week Five–last year, for example, the Chiefs rattled off nine consecutive wins before finally falling to the perpetually revenge-motivated Buffalo Bills. (For the record, this still fell a week short of the all-time quick out of Week Four, which occurred in both 2010 and 2014). This year, it was the Bills that were the proverbial Last Man Standing before they saw both their current season streak and a 14-game home game streak dating back to 2023 fall late last night. As YAHOO! Sports’ Frank Schwab reported this morning:
Josh Allen is one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks. He has an MVP to prove it. Drake Maye isn’t on his level yet. But he had a performance on Sunday night that we could look back on as the start of a fun AFC East quarterback rivalry. Especially if Stefon Diggs, a former Bill, contributes like he did on Sunday night.
The Bills were the NFL’s lone undefeated team for about seven hours. Then the Bills got upset Sunday night when Maye put together a huge drive in the final minutes to get a field goal with 15 seconds left and the 23-20 win. The Patriots are just a game behind the Bills in the AFC East with a valuable head-to-head road win over Buffalo in hand.
One of the big catches of that game-winning drive was from Diggs, who gained 12 yards after grabbing a pass from Maye that the QB somehow delivered as he was being dragged to the ground. Diggs had 10 catches for 146 yards and got some revenge on the Bills, who traded him after the 2023 season.
As for that second-to-last bulwark to topple–well, they’ve arguably got no one to blame but themselves, as Glenn Erby of EAGLES WIRE explained yesterday:
(T)he Eagles (4-1) blew a late 14-point lead and struggled offensively again in the second half, falling 21-17 at Lincoln Financial Field. Looking to get the passing game going, Jalen Hurts targeted DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown often, as the two pass catchers combined for 13 catches, 157 yards, on 18 targets. The aerial focus took away from Saquon Barkley, who finished with just six carries for 30 yards, while adding three catches for 58 yards in the passing game.
CBS PHILA(I)DELPHIA added some additional Maalox-worthy details:
Bo Nix threw an 11-yard touchdown pass and J.K. Dobbins rushed for a 2-yard score in the fourth quarter as the …Broncos hand(ed) the Philadelphia Eagles their first loss of the season…The (Denver) Broncos batted down…Hurts’ last-gasp pass on the final play of the game to send the Super Bowl champions to just their second loss in their last 22 games.
The Broncos totaled just 199 yards and trailed 17-3 at the end of the third before Nix got the offense rolling. Dobbins, who followed his 101 yards rushing against Cincinnati with 79 yards on Sunday, punched in a 2-yard TD run in the fourth to make it 17-10… The Broncos got the ball back and Nix hit Courtland Sutton for 34 yards on the decisive drive. Nix connected over the middle with Evan Engram for the 11-yard TD.
Broncos coach Sean Payton gambled for the 2-point conversion and they got it when Nix hit Tony Franklin for an 18-17 lead with 7:36 left in the game. The play stunned and silenced the Philly crowd — a familiar gut punch to the fan base after the Phillies wasted a three-run lead a night earlier in a playoff loss to the Dodgers.
But just as Phillies fans can console themselves that they’re not stuck rooting for a New York team with roots in Shea Stadium, Iggles Nation, despite the DNA they possess to the contrary they thankfully are not stuck with the Jets. JETS WIRE’s Nick Wojton captured the basics:
The New York Jets are still looking for their first win under the watch of head coach Aaron Glenn and they were not particularly close in Week 5…While the final score wasn’t too drastically different, the Green and White had an ugly outing against Dallas in a 37-22 final. What went right? Not a whole lot. Just about nothing.
And THE NEW YORK POST’s Ryan Dunleavy threw in some specifics:
In the span of 138 seconds, the Jets went from the doorstep of a tying touchdown to a 20-point deficit and getting booed off the field. That’s the kind of damage that can be done by two penalties, a fumble and a three-and-out on offense, and allowing five gains of at least 10 yards to fuel two quick-strike touchdown drives.
With 11 minutes remaining and the scoreboard reading 30-6, MetLife Stadium sounded like Jerry’s World East as a “Let’s Go Cowboys!” chant rained down. Hours later, the Jets were left standing as the NFL’s last winless team.
It’s not like this is unprecedented for Jets fans; the 2020 train wreck that Adam Gase (hired away from Miami, no less) steered into a canyon began 0-13. But at least that team wasn’t playing in front of actual fans so they couldn’t be reminded of how horrific their “efforts” were being received. The 2025 version has already wasted 38 per cent of their home schedule with this even more putrid performance. With a jaunt to Woody Johnson’s old ambassador-ship and a Tottenham Stadium date with those very feisty Broncos awaiting this coming Sunday.
So yep, while perfection is no longer a possibility for any NFL team this year, these Jets could still make history by becoming the first 0-17 team. Considering what this year’s Dolphins look like (they fell to 1-4 with yet another inept defensive effort and a loss at Carolina), maybe a toast if that happens would be in order. Although considering the cost of champagne these days, I’d recommend New York tap water instread. Lord knows these Jets aren’t worth anything else.
Courage…