Bills' Bay Day Opens Patriots Route to Top Spot - Best of NFL Week 10

Quarterbacks in action
Josh Allen and Drake Maye will meet in the fifteenth week for potentially an American Football Conference East title decider
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Week 10 again delivered, with a major surprise for the Buffalo Bills proving the 'any Sunday can bring surprises' saying that attracts so many people into the NFL

This outcome 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 gives them an edge over their eight and two rivals

Over in the NFC the Seattle Seahawks and Rams had perfect results to set up a monster clash next week, while our top performer 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 attempt too much or was it just a poor performance for Buffalo?

Was it just an emotional comedown from beating the Chiefs the previous week or a deeper issue? That's the question for the Bills to answer

The Buffalo squad had won seven in a consecutive games against the Dolphins but were outperformed from the beginning as the Dolphins ran out 30-13 victors in an surprising 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 NFL's top offences

Dolphins quarterback Tua passed for two touchdowns but rusher Achane was the game-changing factor, with 225 combined yards and two touchdowns

Containing the NFL's top rushing attack was also key, with James Cook and teammates registering just 86 yards, their lowest of the year and just over fifty percent their 161.5 yard season average

Additionally there were the three critical ball losses, and the pair from Allen in particular. An interception in the end zone meaning a nine minute drive produced nothing, and his final quarter dropped ball that Miami turned into seven points just later

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 dig his team from the situation - rather than the composed, disciplined, well-balanced Bills we've witnessed this year

The Dolphins have demonstrated a varied performances this year so the verdict is uncertain on if this is the start of something, but for Buffalo they'll need an immediate bounce-back in a difficult matchup against the Buccaneers in week 11 as the Patriots are sneaking into a nice lead at the top of the AFC East

In Focus - New England Identify Route to Unexpected First Place

TreVeyon Henderson running
Henderson clocked the fifth quickest speed in the NFL this season

Regarding the Patriots, they're one of three 8-2 teams in the league, all AFC teams, but could they be the top team?

You can pick holes in New England, Denver and the Colts really for feasting on the weaker opponents, with just five of their total 24 wins achieved against opponents with a winning record - and one example was the Indianapolis defeating the Broncos

Denver defeated the reigning champion Eagles in Philly and are masters of the final quarter while Indy can ride Jonathan Taylor, but the Patriots adding Sunday's win in Tampa to their prime time win in Orchard Park seems like a statement

Their pair of losses occurred in new head coach Mike Vrabel's initial three games, with seven straight wins, just like the Broncos, since then - but taking down Mayfield after the Buccaneers had a week off to prepare was huge

Maye's MVP claims won't go away, and he certainly earns point for bravery after absorbing some hard tackles in Tampa but hanging in there to steer his team to victory

The defense is reliable and rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson burst onto the scene on Sunday with 147 rushing yards and two exhilerating scores of 55 and 69 yards - becoming just the fifth runner to exceed 22 miles per hour this year on his initial touchdown

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

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

The Indianapolis also face the Chiefs, and have the Seattle, San Francisco and two matchups with the five and four Jaguars to face. There's a considerable distance to travel but the door is open for a shock number one position in the AFC

Coming Up - Los Angeles and Seattle Set for Next Week Showdown

Both squads with solid claims to be better than all of the three eight and two sides are National Football Conference West rivals the Seattle and Rams, who each scored forty points to reach seven and two before the upcoming Hollywood blockbuster game between the pair in LA

They've both won four in a row, have quarterbacks in Stafford and Darnold playing at an elite level (although Darnold had ball security problems on Sunday) with top receivers, and defensive units giving up under 20 points a contest

Both could realistically be undefeated as well - particularly the Rams as their two defeats occurred in overtime against the San Francisco and then that painful defeat in Philadelphia when they had a game-winning kick with the last kick deflected and returned by the Philadelphia for a touchdown

Seattle also lost to San Francisco, with a last-minute score in the opening week, before losing to the last kick of the game against the Tampa Bay - so they're truly two of the top teams in the league

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

Top Performer - Jonathan Taylor

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

Taylor might be on for a historic year after his incredible display in Berlin - rushing for 244 yards, registering three scores and adding another 42 {receiving yards

Richard Riley
Richard Riley

A tech strategist with over a decade of experience in digital innovation and AI implementation across global enterprises.