Bills' Bay Day Gives New England Route to Top Spot - Highlights of Week 10 NFL Action

Quarterbacks in action
Josh Allen along with Drake Maye will meet in the fifteenth week for what could be an American Football Conference East title decider
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Week 10 once more provided excitement, with a major surprise for the Buffalo Bills demonstrating the 'any Sunday can bring surprises' saying that draws so many people into the NFL

That result may have opened opportunities for the Patriots to creep back into a leading position they used to occupy, with a schedule that gives them an edge over their eight and two rivals

Over in the NFC the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams had ideal outcomes to set up a monster clash next week, while our player of the week is pursuing milestones as well as the Most Valuable Player award

The Breakdown - Simply an Off Day for the Bills?

Josh Allen in action
Did Josh Allen try too much or was it just a poor performance for the Bills?

Could it simply have been an emotional comedown from defeating Kansas City last week or something more? That's the question for the Buffalo team to answer

The Buffalo squad had won seven in a consecutive games against Miami but were outperformed from the start as the Miami team emerged as 30-13 winners in an eye-opening result - and performance

MVP quarterback Josh Allen only achieved the team's initial first down in the third period and first points in the final quarter - yes the Dolphins had 10 days to get ready but it was nonetheless a significant failure laid by one of the NFL's top offences

Tua Tagovailoa threw two scores but rusher Achane was the game-changing factor, with 225 total yards and two touchdowns

Bottling up the NFL's top running game was crucial too, with James Cook and teammates recording just 86 yards, their lowest of the year and slightly more than fifty percent their 161.5 yard season average

Then there were the three critical turnovers, and the two from Allen in particular. An interception in the scoring area meaning a nine-minute drive yielded no points, and his fourth-quarter fumble that Miami turned into seven points just two plays

It was typical 'previous Bills teams' as they hurt themselves in the foot, falling into a deficit on defensive side and Josh Allen attempting to overcompensate to dig his team out of it - rather than the composed, disciplined, well-balanced Buffalo team we've witnessed this season

Miami have demonstrated a bit of everything this year so the jury's out on whether this is the start of something, but for Buffalo they'll require an immediate bounce-back in a difficult matchup against the Buccaneers in week 11 as the New England are quietly moving into a comfortable advantage at the top of the AFC East

In Focus - Patriots Identify Route to Unexpected First Place

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

Regarding the Patriots, they're among three different 8-2 teams in the league, all American Football Conference sides, but could they be the best?

You can find flaws in New England, the Broncos and the Colts actually for feasting on the weaker opponents, with only five of their total twenty-four wins coming against teams with a positive record - and one of those was the Indianapolis beating the Denver

The Broncos beat the champion Eagles in Philadelphia and are masters of the final quarter while Indianapolis can rely on 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 came in recently appointed coach Mike Vrabel's first three games, with seven straight wins, just like the Broncos, from that point - but defeating Mayfield after the Buccaneers had a bye to prepare was huge

Maye's Most Valuable Player credentials continue to be discussed, and he certainly earns credit for courage after taking some savage hits in Tampa Bay but persevering to steer his side to victory

The defensive unit is reliable and first-year rusher Henderson burst onto the scene on Sunday with 147 yards and two exciting touchdowns of 55 and 69 yards - establishing himself as just the fifth different runner to break 22 miles per hour this year on his initial touchdown

While you can debate who 'the best' is statistically, the Patriots should be favorites to finish with the best record thanks to their remaining opponents - which includes just a single matchup against a successful opponent, albeit a huge one against the Bills

Visiting Baltimore is also tough, but Denver have it more difficult in the AFC West with the Kansas City to face two times, the Chargers (who could also compete for top seed but encounter the identical challenge) and also the Green Bay 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 contend with. There is a considerable distance to travel but the opportunity is available for a shock number one position in the American Football Conference

Next Week - Rams & Seahawks Set for Next Week Showdown

Both squads with strong arguments to be better than all of the three different 8-2 sides are National Football Conference West opponents the Seattle and Rams, who both put up 40 burgers to go to seven and two before next week's major game between the pair in LA

They've both won four in a consecutive games, have signal callers in Stafford and Sam Darnold playing at an high standard (although Sam Darnold had ball security problems on Sunday) with top receivers, and defensive units allowing fewer than twenty points a game

Both could realistically be undefeated as well - especially the Rams as their two defeats occurred in extra time against the San Francisco and then that agonising loss in Philadelphia when they had a game-winning kick with the final play deflected and run back by the Eagles for a touchdown

The Seahawks also lost to San Francisco, with a late touchdown 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 NFL

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

Top Performer - Jonathan Taylor

Jonathan Taylor running
Jonathan Taylor is pursuing several rushing and touchdown records

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

Johnny Olson
Johnny Olson

A senior software architect with over 15 years of experience in cloud computing and agile methodologies, passionate about mentoring developers.