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

Quarterbacks in action
Josh Allen along with Drake Maye will meet in week 15 for potentially 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 Sunday can bring surprises' mantra that draws so many fans into the NFL

That result may have opened things up for the New England Patriots to creep back into a leading position they formerly held, with a remaining games that provides them an edge over their eight and two rivals

Over in the NFC the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams had perfect results to arrange a monster clash in week 11, while our player of the week 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 attempt too much or was it just a bad day for the Bills?

Was it just an emotional letdown from defeating Kansas City the previous week or something more? That's the question for the Buffalo team to answer

The Buffalo squad had secured seven victories in a row against Miami but were outperformed from the beginning as the Miami team emerged as 30-13 victors in an surprising result - and performance

MVP quarterback Josh Allen only achieved the squad's initial first down in the third period and first points in the final quarter - yes Miami had ten days to get ready but it was nonetheless a significant failure produced by one of the league's best offenses

Dolphins quarterback Tua threw two touchdowns but rusher De'Von Achane was the game-changing factor, with 225 total yards and two touchdowns

Bottling up the league's best running game was also key, with James Cook and teammates recording just eighty-six yards, their fewest of the season and slightly more than fifty percent their 161.5-yard season average

Then there were the three critical turnovers, and the two from Allen specifically. An interception in the end zone meaning a nine minute possession yielded no points, and his final quarter dropped ball that the Dolphins turned into a touchdown just two plays

It was classic 'old Buffalo' as they hurt themselves in the foot, getting into a hole on defense and Allen attempting to overcompensate to dig his team from the situation - rather than the calm, controlled, balanced Buffalo team we've witnessed this season

The Dolphins have demonstrated a bit of everything this season so the jury's out on whether this is the start of something, but for the Bills they'll require an immediate bounce-back in a difficult matchup against the Buccaneers in week 11 as the Patriots are sneaking into a comfortable advantage at the summit of the American Football Conference East

Spotlight - New England Identify Route to Surprise Top Seed

TreVeyon Henderson running
TreVeyon Henderson recorded the fifth fastest velocity in the league this year

Regarding the Patriots, they're one of three eight and two teams in the NFL, all American Football Conference teams, but could they be the top team?

You can find flaws in the Patriots, the Broncos and the Colts really for feasting on the lesser sides, with only five of their combined twenty-four victories coming against opponents with a winning record - and one of those was the Colts defeating the Broncos

Denver beat the reigning champion Eagles in Philly and are kings of the fourth-quarter while Indy can rely on Jonathan Taylor, but the Patriots adding Sunday's win in Tampa to their prime time win in Buffalo seems like a declaration

Their pair of losses occurred in new head coach Vrabel's first three games, with seven straight victories, similar to Denver, from that point - but taking down Baker Mayfield after the Bucs had a week off to get ready was huge

Drake Maye's MVP claims continue to be discussed, and he certainly earns point for courage after absorbing some savage hits in Tampa Bay but persevering to steer his team to success

The defensive unit is reliable and rookie rusher Henderson burst onto the scene on game day with 147 rushing yards and two exciting scores of fifty-five and sixty-nine yards - becoming just the fifth runner to exceed 22mph this season on his initial touchdown

Although you can debate who 'the top team' is technically, the Patriots should be favorites to finish with the top record thanks to their schedule - which features just one game against a successful opponent, albeit a huge one against Buffalo

Visiting Baltimore is also tough, but the Broncos have it more difficult in the AFC West with the Kansas City 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 schedule

The Indianapolis also play the Chiefs, and have the Seattle, San Francisco and two matchups with the five and four Jacksonville to contend with. There's a long way to travel but the opportunity is available for a shock top seed in the American Football Conference

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

Both squads with strong arguments to be superior to all of the three 8-2 teams are National Football Conference West rivals the Seahawks and Los Angeles, who both put up forty points to go to seven and two before next week's major meeting between the two in LA

They've both won four in a consecutive games, have signal callers in Stafford and Darnold performing at an elite level (although Darnold had turnover issues on game day) with top receivers, and defensive units allowing fewer than twenty points a game

Each could easily be undefeated as too - especially the Rams as their pair of losses occurred in overtime against the San Francisco and then that painful defeat in Philadelphia when they had a potentially winning field goal with the last kick deflected and returned by the Eagles for a score

The Seahawks 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 Buccaneers - so they are truly two of the top teams in the league

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

Player of the Week - Jonathan Taylor

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

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

Melissa Carter
Melissa Carter

A seasoned gaming analyst with over a decade of experience in casino reviews and player strategy development.