Buffalo's Disappointing Performance Gives New England Route to Top Spot - Highlights of NFL Week 10

Quarterbacks in action
Josh Allen along with Drake Maye are scheduled to face in week 15 for what could be an American Football Conference 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 attracts so many people into the National Football League

This outcome may have opened things up for the Patriots to creep back into a top spot they formerly held, with a remaining games that gives them an advantage over their 8-2 rivals

Meanwhile in the NFC the Seattle Seahawks and Rams had ideal outcomes to set up a monster clash in week 11, while our player of the week is chasing records as well as the MVP award

The Breakdown - Just a Bad Day for the Bills?

Josh Allen in action
Did Josh Allen try too much or could it simply have been a poor performance for Buffalo?

Could it simply have been an emotional comedown from defeating Kansas City last week or a deeper issue? That's the question for the Bills to address

The Bills had secured seven victories in a row against Miami but were second best from the beginning as the Dolphins emerged as 30-13 winners in an surprising outcome - and performance

MVP quarterback Josh Allen only got the team's opening first down in the third period and initial scoring in the final quarter - yes the Dolphins had 10 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 rusher Achane was the devastating difference, with 225 combined yards and two scores

Bottling up the NFL's top rushing attack was crucial too, with Cook and company recording just 86 yards, their fewest of the year and slightly more than fifty percent their 161.5-yard average

Then there were the three critical turnovers, and the pair from Josh Allen specifically. An pass caught by defense in the scoring area resulting in a nine minute drive yielded no points, and his final quarter dropped ball that the Dolphins converted to a touchdown just later

It was classic 'previous Bills teams' as they hurt themselves in the foot, getting into a hole on defensive side and Josh Allen attempting to overcompensate to dig his team from the situation - not the calm, disciplined, balanced Bills we've seen this season

Miami have demonstrated a varied performances this year so the verdict is uncertain on whether this is the beginning of something, but for Buffalo they'll require an immediate bounce-back in a difficult matchup against Tampa Bay next week as the New England are sneaking into a comfortable advantage at the summit of the American Football Conference East

Spotlight - New England See Path to Surprise Top Seed

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

Regarding the Patriots, they're one of three eight and two squads in the league, all American Football Conference sides, but are they the best?

You can pick holes in the Patriots, Denver and the Colts really for feasting on the weaker opponents, with just five of their total 24 victories coming against opponents with a positive record - and one of those was the Indianapolis beating the Denver

Denver beat the champion Eagles in Philadelphia and are kings of the fourth-quarter while Indianapolis can ride Jonathan Taylor, but the Patriots including Sunday's win in Tampa to their prime time win in Orchard Park seems like a declaration

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

Maye's MVP claims continue to be discussed, and he certainly deserves credit for courage after absorbing some hard tackles in Tampa but hanging in there to steer his team to success

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

Although you can argue who 'the top team' is statistically, the Patriots should be favourites to end with the best record due to their schedule - which features just a single matchup against a winning team, although a huge one against Buffalo

Visiting Baltimore is challenging too, but the Broncos have it more difficult in the AFC West division with the Chiefs to play twice, the Chargers (who could also compete for first place but encounter the same problem) and also the Green Bay on the schedule

The Colts also play the Chiefs, and have the Seahawks, San Francisco and two games with the 5-4 Jacksonville to face. There's a long way to go but the opportunity is available for a surprise top seed in the American Football Conference

Next Week - Los Angeles and Seattle Prepare for Next Week Clash

Both squads with strong arguments to be better than all of the three 8-2 teams are National Football Conference West opponents the Seattle and Los Angeles, who each put up 40 burgers to go to seven and two ahead of next week's Hollywood blockbuster meeting between the pair in Los Angeles

They've both won four in a consecutive games, have quarterbacks in Stafford and Darnold performing at an high standard (although Sam Darnold had turnover issues on Sunday) with top receivers, and defenses giving up fewer than twenty points a game

Both could easily be undefeated as well - particularly the Los Angeles as their two defeats occurred in overtime against the San Francisco and then that painful defeat in Philadelphia when they had a potentially winning field goal with the final play deflected and run back by the Philadelphia for a touchdown

The Seahawks were also defeated to San Francisco, with a late touchdown in the opening week, before losing to the final play of the game against the Buccaneers - so they are truly two of the top teams in the NFL

The upcoming game on Sunday could be the best of the year to date

Player of the Week - Jonathan Taylor

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

Jonathan Taylor might be on for a historic year after his incredible display in Berlin - rushing for 244 yards, scoring three scores and contributing an additional forty-two {receiving yards

Mrs. Kelly Anderson
Mrs. Kelly Anderson

A data strategist with over a decade of experience in business intelligence, specializing in predictive analytics and performance optimization for SMEs.

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