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

Quarterbacks in action
Josh Allen along with Drake Maye are scheduled to face in the fifteenth week for what could be an AFC East title decider
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The tenth week once more provided excitement, with a major surprise for the Buffalo Bills demonstrating the 'any given Sunday' mantra that draws so many fans into the National Football League

That result could have created things up for the New England Patriots to creep back into a leading position they used to occupy, with a remaining games that provides them an advantage over their eight and two rivals

Meanwhile in the National Football Conference the Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams had perfect results to arrange a major confrontation in week 11, while our player of the week is chasing records as well as the Most Valuable Player award

Analysis - Just a Bad Day for the Bills?

Josh Allen in action
Did Josh Allen try too much or was it just a poor performance for the Bills?

Could it simply have been an emotional letdown from beating the Chiefs the previous week or something more? That's the question for the Bills to answer

The Bills had secured seven victories in a consecutive games against Miami but were outperformed from the beginning as the Dolphins emerged as 30-13 winners in an surprising result - and display

MVP Josh Allen only got the team's opening first down in the third quarter and first points in the fourth - admittedly Miami had ten days to prepare but it was still a significant failure produced by one of the league's top offences

Dolphins quarterback Tua passed for two scores but running back Achane was the devastating difference, with 225 total yards and two touchdowns

Containing the NFL's top running game was also key, with James Cook and company registering just 86 yards, their fewest of the season and slightly more than fifty percent their 161.5 yard season average

Additionally there were the three crucial ball losses, and the pair from Allen specifically. An pass caught by defense in the end zone resulting in a nine minute possession produced nothing, and his fourth-quarter dropped ball that the Dolphins turned into a touchdown just two plays

It was classic 'previous Bills teams' as they hurt themselves in the foot, getting into a deficit on defensive side and Allen attempting to do too much to rescue his squad from the situation - not the composed, disciplined, balanced Buffalo team we've witnessed this season

The Dolphins have demonstrated a varied performances this season so the jury's out on whether this is the beginning of a trend, but for Buffalo they'll need an immediate bounce-back in a difficult matchup against Tampa Bay in week 11 as the New England are sneaking into a nice lead at the summit of the American Football Conference East

In Focus - New England See Path to Unexpected First Place

TreVeyon Henderson running
Henderson recorded the fifth quickest speed in the league this season

Speaking of the New England, they're one of three 8-2 teams in the league, all AFC teams, but are they the top team?

You can find flaws in New England, the Broncos and the Colts really for dominating the lesser sides, with only five of their combined 24 victories achieved against opponents with a winning record - and one of those was the Indianapolis beating the Broncos

The Broncos defeated the reigning champion Eagles in Philly and are kings of the fourth-quarter while Indianapolis can ride Taylor, but the New England adding Sunday's win in Tampa Bay to their primtime win in Orchard Park seems like a declaration

Their two defeats came in new head coach Mike Vrabel's first three games, with seven consecutive wins, just like the Broncos, from that point - but defeating Baker Mayfield after the Buccaneers had a bye to prepare was significant

Maye's MVP claims won't go away, and he definitely deserves credit for bravery after absorbing some savage hits in Tampa but persevering to steer his side to success

The defensive unit is reliable and rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson burst onto the scene on Sunday with 147 rushing yards and two exhilerating touchdowns of 55 and 69 yards - becoming just the fifth different runner to exceed 22mph this season on his first score

While you can argue who 'the top team' is technically, the Patriots should be favorites to end with the best record due to their remaining opponents - which features just a single matchup against a successful opponent, albeit a huge one against Buffalo

Visiting Baltimore is challenging too, but the Broncos have it even tougher in the AFC West with the Chiefs to face two times, the Los Angeles Chargers (who might also compete for first place but encounter the identical challenge) and additionally the Green Bay on the fixture list

The Indianapolis also face the Chiefs, and have the Seattle, 49ers and two games with the five and four Jaguars to contend with. There is a long way to go but the opportunity is available for a shock top seed in the American Football Conference

Next Week - Rams & Seahawks Set for Week 11 Showdown

Two teams with solid claims to be better than all of the three different 8-2 sides are National Football Conference West rivals the Seahawks and Rams, who both scored forty points to reach seven and two before next week's major meeting between the two in LA

They've both won four in a row, have signal callers in Stafford and Darnold performing at an high standard (although Darnold had turnover issues on game day) with top receivers, and defensive units giving up fewer than twenty points a game

Each could realistically be without a loss as too - particularly the Rams as their two defeats occurred in extra time against the 49ers and then that painful defeat in Philly when they had a potentially winning field goal with the final play deflected and returned by the Philadelphia for a touchdown

The Seahawks also lost to the 49ers, with a last-minute score in the opening week, before losing to the final play of the contest against the Tampa Bay - so they are genuinely among the top teams in the league

The upcoming game on Sunday could be the most exciting of the season so far

Player of the Week - Taylor

Jonathan Taylor running
Jonathan Taylor is pursuing multiple running and touchdown records

Taylor might be on for a record season after his remarkable performance in Berlin - rushing for 244 yards, scoring three touchdowns and adding an additional forty-two {receiving yards

Christopher Hendricks
Christopher Hendricks

A lighting design specialist with over a decade of experience in smart home integration and sustainable technology.