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

Quarterbacks in action
Josh Allen and Drake Maye will meet in week 15 for potentially an American Football Conference East championship showdown
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Week 10 once more provided excitement, with a major surprise for the Buffalo Bills proving the 'any given Sunday' saying that attracts so many people into the NFL

That result could have created opportunities for the New England Patriots to move back into a top spot they used to occupy, with a remaining games that provides them an advantage over their eight and two competitors

Over in the National Football Conference the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams had ideal outcomes to set up a monster clash in week 11, while our top performer is pursuing milestones as well as the MVP award

The Breakdown - Just a Bad Day for Buffalo?

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

Could it simply have been an emotional comedown from defeating Kansas City last week or something more? This remains the question for the Buffalo team to address

The Bills had won seven in a row against Miami but were second best from the start as the Miami team emerged as 30-13 victors in an eye-opening result - and display

MVP quarterback Josh Allen only got the team's initial first down in the third quarter and first points in the fourth - yes the Dolphins had ten days to get ready but it was nonetheless a massive egg laid 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 combined yards and two touchdowns

Bottling up the NFL's top rushing attack was also key, with Cook and company recording just eighty-six yards, their lowest of the year and slightly more than fifty percent their 161.5 yard season average

Additionally there were the three critical turnovers, and the two from Allen in particular. An interception in the end zone resulting in a nine minute drive yielded no points, and his final quarter dropped ball that the Dolphins converted to seven points just two plays

It was typical 'previous Bills teams' as they shot themselves in the foot, getting into a hole on defensive side and Allen trying to do too much to rescue his squad out of it - not the calm, disciplined, balanced Bills we've seen this season

The Dolphins have served up a bit of everything this year so the verdict is uncertain on if this is the beginning of a trend, but for the Bills they'll require an instant response in a tough game against the Buccaneers in week 11 as the Patriots are quietly moving into a comfortable advantage at the summit of the American Football Conference East

In Focus - Patriots Identify Route to Unexpected First Place

TreVeyon Henderson running
Henderson clocked the fifth quickest velocity in the league this season

Speaking of the New England, they're among three 8-2 squads in the NFL, all American Football Conference teams, but are they the top team?

You can pick holes in the Patriots, Denver and the Colts really for feasting on the weaker opponents, with just five of their total twenty-four victories coming against opponents with a winning record - and one of those was the Indianapolis defeating the Broncos

The Broncos beat the champion Eagles in Philadelphia and are masters of the final quarter while Indianapolis can rely on Taylor, but the New England adding Sunday's win in Tampa Bay to their prime time success in Buffalo appears to be a statement

Their two defeats occurred in new head coach Mike Vrabel's first three games, with seven straight wins, just like the Broncos, since then - but defeating Baker Mayfield after the Buccaneers had a week off to prepare was significant

Drake Maye's MVP claims continue to be discussed, and he definitely earns credit for courage after taking some hard tackles in Tampa but hanging in there to steer his side to success

The defense is solid and rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson burst onto the scene on game day with 147 yards and two exciting touchdowns of 55 and 69 yards - becoming just the fifth ball carrier to exceed 22mph this year on his initial touchdown

Although you can debate who 'the best' is statistically, the Patriots should be favourites to end with the best record due to their remaining opponents - which features just a single matchup against a winning team, albeit a huge one against the Bills

Traveling to Baltimore is also tough, but Denver have it more difficult in the AFC West division with the Chiefs to face two times, the Los Angeles Chargers (who might also compete for top seed but encounter the same problem) and also the Packers on the fixture list

The Colts also face the Kansas City, and have the Seattle, 49ers and two matchups with the 5-4 Jacksonville to face. There is a long way to travel but the opportunity is available for a shock number one position in the AFC

Coming Up - Los Angeles and Seattle Prepare for Week 11 Showdown

Two teams with solid claims to be better than all of the three different 8-2 teams are NFC West rivals the Seahawks and Rams, who both put up forty points to go to 7-2 ahead of next week's major game between the two in LA

Both have won four in a consecutive games, have signal callers in Matthew Stafford and Sam Darnold playing at an high standard (although Sam Darnold had ball security problems on Sunday) with excellent pass catchers, and defensive units allowing under 20 points a contest

Each could easily be without a loss as too - particularly the Los Angeles as their pair of losses occurred in overtime against the 49ers and then that painful defeat in Philadelphia when they had a potentially winning field goal with the last kick blocked and run back by the Philadelphia for a touchdown

The Seahawks were also defeated to the 49ers, with a late touchdown in week one, before falling to the last kick of the game against the Tampa Bay - so they are truly among the best sides in the NFL

The next matchup on Sunday could be the best of the year to date

Top Performer - Taylor

Jonathan Taylor running
Jonathan Taylor is chasing down multiple rushing and scoring records

Jonathan Taylor might be on for a historic year after his remarkable performance in Berlin - rushing for 244 rushing yards, registering three touchdowns and contributing an additional forty-two {receiving yards

Terry Richards
Terry Richards

A Berlin-based tech enthusiast and digital strategist with over a decade of experience in web development and creative content.