Buffalo's Bay Day Gives Patriots Path to AFC East Lead - Best of NFL Week 10

Quarterbacks in action
Josh Allen along with Drake Maye will meet in week 15 for potentially an American Football Conference East championship showdown
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Week 10 again delivered, with a huge upset for the Bills demonstrating the 'any given Sunday' mantra that draws so many people into the National Football League

This outcome may have opened opportunities for the Patriots to creep back into a top spot they used to occupy, with a schedule that provides them an advantage over their 8-2 competitors

Over in the National Football Conference the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams had perfect results to set up a major confrontation in week 11, while our top performer is pursuing milestones as well as the Most Valuable Player award

Analysis - Simply an Off Day for Buffalo?

Josh Allen in action
Was Josh Allen try too much or was it just a poor performance for Buffalo?

Was it just an emotional letdown from defeating Kansas City last week or a deeper issue? That's the question for the Buffalo team to answer

The Bills had secured seven victories in a row against the Dolphins but were outperformed from the beginning as the Miami team emerged as 30-13 winners in an eye-opening result - and performance

MVP Josh Allen only got the squad's opening first down in the third quarter and first points in the fourth - yes the Dolphins had ten days to prepare but it was still a massive egg produced by one of the league's top offences

Tua Tagovailoa threw two scores but rusher Achane was the game-changing factor, with 225 total yards and two scores

Containing the NFL's top rushing attack was crucial too, with James Cook and company registering just 86 yards, their fewest of the year and just over fifty percent their 161.5-yard average

Additionally there were the three crucial ball losses, and the two from Allen specifically. An pass caught by defense in the end zone resulting in a nine minute drive yielded no points, and his fourth-quarter dropped ball that the Dolphins converted to a touchdown just later

It was classic 'previous Bills teams' as they hurt themselves in the foot, falling into a hole on defense and Allen trying to do too much to rescue his squad out of it - not the composed, disciplined, balanced Buffalo team we've witnessed this season

Miami have served up a bit of everything this year so the jury's out on if this is the start of a trend, but for the Bills they'll need an immediate bounce-back in a difficult matchup against Tampa Bay next week as the Patriots are quietly moving into a nice lead at the top of the AFC East

In Focus - Patriots See Path to Unexpected First Place

TreVeyon Henderson running
TreVeyon Henderson recorded the fifth quickest speed in the NFL this year

Regarding the Patriots, they're one of three eight and two squads in the NFL, all AFC sides, but are they the top team?

One could pick holes in the Patriots, Denver and the Colts really for dominating the lesser sides, with just five of their total 24 victories achieved against teams with a positive record - and one of those was the Colts defeating the Denver

Denver defeated the reigning champion Eagles in Philadelphia and are masters of the fourth-quarter while Indy can ride Taylor, but the Patriots including Sunday's win in Tampa to their prime time win in Orchard Park appears to be a statement

Their pair of losses came in recently appointed coach Vrabel's first three contests, with seven straight wins, similar to Denver, from that point - but defeating Mayfield after the Buccaneers had a week off to get ready was significant

Drake Maye's Most Valuable Player credentials won't go away, and he certainly earns credit for bravery after absorbing some savage hits in Tampa but persevering to steer his side to victory

The defense is reliable and first-year rusher Henderson exploded on Sunday with 147 rushing yards and two exciting scores of 55 and 69 yards - establishing himself as just the fifth different runner to exceed 22mph this season on his initial touchdown

Although you can debate who 'the top team' is statistically, the Pats should be favourites to finish with the best record thanks to their remaining opponents - which features just a single matchup against a winning team, although a significant contest against the Bills

Visiting the Ravens is also tough, but Denver have it even tougher in the AFC West division with the Chiefs to play twice, the Los Angeles Chargers (who might also challenge for top seed but encounter the identical challenge) and additionally the Packers on the fixture list

The Colts also play the Chiefs, and have the Seattle, San Francisco and two matchups with the five and four Jaguars to face. There's a long way to travel but the opportunity is open for a shock number one position in the AFC

Next Week - Rams & Seahawks Prepare for Week 11 Showdown

Two teams with solid claims to be superior to all of the three 8-2 sides are National Football Conference West rivals the Seattle and Los Angeles, who each scored forty points to reach seven and two before the upcoming major game between the two in Los Angeles

Both have secured four victories in a row, have signal callers in Stafford and Darnold performing at an high standard (although Sam Darnold had ball security problems on game day) with excellent pass catchers, and defensive units giving up fewer than twenty points a contest

Each could realistically be undefeated as well - especially the Los Angeles as their two defeats came in overtime against the 49ers and then that painful defeat in Philadelphia when they had a potentially winning field goal with the final play blocked and run back by the Philadelphia for a touchdown

Seattle were also defeated to San Francisco, with a last-minute score in week one, before losing to the last kick of the contest against the Tampa Bay - so they're genuinely among the top teams in the league

The upcoming game on Sunday could be the best of the year so far

Player of the Week - Jonathan Taylor

Jonathan Taylor running
Taylor is pursuing multiple rushing and touchdown records

Jonathan Taylor could be on for a historic year after his incredible display in Berlin - rushing for 244 yards, scoring three scores and adding an additional forty-two {receiving yards

Stephanie Hill
Stephanie Hill

A passionate gamer and content creator specializing in Minecraft mods and gaming tutorials.