Bills' Disappointing Performance Opens Patriots Path to AFC East Lead - Best of NFL Week 10

Quarterbacks in action
Josh Allen and Drake Maye are scheduled to face in week 15 for what could be an American Football Conference East title decider
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Week 10 again delivered, with a major surprise for the Bills proving the 'any Sunday can bring surprises' saying that attracts so many people into the NFL

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

Meanwhile in the NFC the Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams had ideal outcomes to arrange a monster clash in week 11, while our top performer is chasing records as well as the MVP award

The Breakdown - Simply an Off Day for Buffalo?

Josh Allen in action
Did Josh Allen try too much or could it simply have been a bad day for the Bills?

Was it just an emotional comedown from defeating Kansas City last week or something more? This remains the question for the Buffalo team to answer

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

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

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

Bottling up the league's best rushing attack was crucial too, with James Cook and teammates recording just eighty-six yards, their lowest of the year and slightly more than half their 161.5 yard average

Additionally there were the three crucial ball losses, and the two from Allen in particular. An interception in the scoring area meaning a nine-minute drive yielded no points, and his final quarter dropped ball that Miami converted to 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 Josh Allen attempting to do too much to rescue his squad out of it - not the calm, controlled, well-balanced Buffalo team we've seen this season

The Dolphins have demonstrated a varied performances this year so the jury's out on if this is the beginning of a trend, but for Buffalo they'll require an instant response in a difficult matchup against Tampa Bay next week as the New England are sneaking into a nice lead at the summit of the AFC East

In Focus - Patriots Identify Route to Unexpected First Place

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

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

You can find flaws in the Patriots, 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 of those was the Colts beating the Broncos

The Broncos beat the champion Eagles in Philly and are kings of the final quarter while Indianapolis can ride Jonathan Taylor, but the Patriots adding Sunday's win in Tampa to their prime time success in Buffalo appears to be a statement

Their two defeats occurred in recently appointed coach Mike Vrabel's first three contests, with seven consecutive victories, similar to the Broncos, since then - but taking down Mayfield after the Bucs had a bye to get ready was huge

Drake Maye's Most Valuable Player credentials continue to be discussed, and he certainly deserves credit for bravery after absorbing some hard tackles in Tampa Bay but hanging in there to guide his side to success

The defensive unit is solid and first-year running back TreVeyon Henderson burst onto the scene on Sunday with 147 yards and two exciting touchdowns of fifty-five and sixty-nine yards - establishing himself as just the fifth ball carrier to break 22 miles per hour this season on his first score

Although you can argue who 'the top team' is technically, the Pats should be favourites to finish with the best record due to their schedule - which features just one game against a winning team, albeit a huge one against Buffalo

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

The Indianapolis also face the Kansas City, and have the Seahawks, San Francisco and two matchups with the 5-4 Jacksonville to contend with. There's a long way to travel but the door is available for a shock top seed in the American Football Conference

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

Two teams with strong arguments to be superior to all of the three 8-2 sides are National Football Conference West rivals the Seattle and Rams, who each scored forty points to reach 7-2 ahead of the upcoming Hollywood blockbuster meeting between the two in Los Angeles

They've both secured four victories in a consecutive games, have quarterbacks in Matthew Stafford and Sam Darnold performing at an elite level (although Darnold had ball security problems on Sunday) with top receivers, and defensive units allowing under 20 points a game

Each could realistically be without a loss as too - especially the Los Angeles as their two defeats occurred in extra time against the 49ers and then that painful defeat in Philadelphia when they had a game-winning field goal with the last kick deflected and returned by the Eagles for a score

The Seahawks were also defeated to the 49ers, with a late touchdown in the opening week, before falling to the final play of the game against the Buccaneers - so they're truly two of the top teams in the league

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

Top Performer - Taylor

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

Taylor might be on for a record season after his incredible display in Germany - rushing for 244 yards, registering three scores and contributing another 42 {receiving yards

Nathan Smith
Nathan Smith

Data scientist with over a decade of experience in transforming raw data into actionable business insights across multiple industries.