The Philadelphia Eagles maintained the NFL’s only unbeaten record as they scraped a 20-17 victory against the Arizona Cardinals to move to 5-0.

Elsewhere, the Buffalo Bills hammered Pittsburgh and Tom Brady enjoyed his customary win over the Atlanta Falcons.

The New York Jets scored 40 in a rare divisional win over the Miami Dolphins.

On a Sunday of big plays and big scores, the San Francisco 49ers dominated the Carolina Panthers 37-15.

The New England Patriots turned in an old school performance to match their commemorative throwback uniforms as they earned a 29-0 shut out of the Detroit Lions – who entered the game with the league’s top-ranked attack.

“It’s about as bad as it gets,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “I believe we’ve hit rock bottom, now the only place to go is back up.”

Eagles, Cowboys and Giants show NFC East is a force again

Once the powerhouse division in the NFL, the NFC East has been in the doldrums in recent years but it has now got the league’s only 5-0 team and two 4-1 outfits.

The New York Giants showed they are the real deal by upstaging Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in London to go 4-1, and the Dallas Cowboys matched them with an impressive 22-10 win over the Rams in Los Angeles.

Another dominant defensive display and power running game gave Dallas a fourth straight win under back-up quarterback Cooper Rush, who did just enough again to cover for injured starter Dak Prescott.

All eyes will now be on Prescott’s status before next week’s trip to fierce rivals Philadelphia, who moved to 5-0 for the season when Arizona kicker Matt Ammendola missed a late 43-yard kick to force overtime.

The Eagles had led 14-0 after two touchdowns from quarterback Jalen Hurts before the Cardinals produced their now customary comeback. Philadelphia, who are 5-0 for the first time since 2004, will have to be sharper in next week’s huge game with Dallas.

Big-play Buffalo Bills top highlight reel on Sunday

Sunday was littered with big plays, with 14 of them going for 50 yards or more across the league – and two of them came from Josh Allen passes to receiver Gabe Davies as Buffalo hammered the Pittsburgh Steelers 38-3.

“We just got smashed today,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said after Davies scored an incredible 98-yard touchdown and followed that up with a spectacular one-handed 62-yard score.

“Those ones are cool,” said Allen, who threw for 424 yards and four touchdowns as the Super Bowl favourites improved to 4-1 before a massive play-off rematch with the Kansas City Chiefs next week.

Another remarkable display came from the unique Taysom Hill, who is listed as a tight end for the New Orleans Saints but also operates as a back-up quarterback, receiver and running back at times.

The NFL’s own Swiss army knife accounted for four touchdowns as the Saints beat the Seattle Seahawks 39-32 – one passing score and three rushing touchdowns, including a 60-yarder in the fourth quarter.

“Look, I just work here and do what they ask,” said Hill, who turned just nine runs into 112 yards and those three scores to help the Saints end a three-game losing streak.

Brady continues Falcons streak, Jets smash winless run

Some streaks are meant to be broken, and some you feel will never end – like Tom Brady’s dominance over the Atlanta Falcons as he moved to 11-0 against them with a 21-15 victory for his Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Brady has lost three games in a row only once, 20 years ago, and after two defeats the Falcons were the perfect side for the Bucs to bounce back against – with the seven-time Super Bowl champion passing for 351 yards and a touchdown.

The New York Jets had lost 12 divisional games in a row so if beating the Miami Dolphins was a surprise, running out 40-17 winners in a blowout was a genuine shock.

Admittedly, Miami had to play with third-string quarterback Skylar Thompson as the rookie replaced Teddy Bridgewater after just one play because of the new concussion protocols that came into force on Sunday.

The NFL and NFL Players Association (NFLPA) agreed on stronger assessments after Miami’s starter Tua Tagovailoa was allowed to play on despite suffering a head injury, only to then suffer another in the very next game.

Bridgewater was examined for concussion and passed the tests, but a medical spotter saw him stumble so under the new rules he was not allowed to continue and will follow full concussion protocols before being cleared to play again.

Despite being huge favourites against the previously winless Houston Texans, the Jacksonville Jaguars lost their ninth game in a row against their rivals in a forgettable 13-6 result in Florida.

And spare a thought for last season’s Super Bowl losers the Cincinnati Bengals, who have now lost three games this season on the last kick of the contest after Justin Tucker booted the Baltimore Ravens to a 19-17 victory.