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

Quarterbacks in action
Josh Allen and Drake Maye will meet in week 15 for potentially an American Football Conference East championship showdown
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Week 10 again delivered, with a major surprise for the Buffalo Bills proving the 'any Sunday can bring surprises' mantra that attracts so many fans into the National Football League

This outcome could have created things up for the New England Patriots to creep back into a top spot they used to occupy, with a schedule that gives them an advantage over their 8-2 rivals

Over in the National Football Conference the Seahawks and Rams had perfect results to set up a monster clash next week, while our player of the week is pursuing milestones as well as the MVP award

The Breakdown - Simply an Off Day for Buffalo?

Josh Allen in action
Was Josh Allen attempt too much or was it just a poor performance for Buffalo?

Was it just an emotional letdown from defeating Kansas City last week or something more? That's the question for the Bills to address

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

MVP Josh Allen only achieved the squad's initial first down in the third quarter and first points in the final quarter - yes the Dolphins had 10 days to prepare but it was still a massive egg produced by one of the NFL's best offenses

Tua Tagovailoa passed for two touchdowns but rusher De'Von Achane was the game-changing factor, with 225 total yards and two scores

Bottling up the NFL's top running game was crucial too, with Cook and teammates registering just eighty-six yards, their fewest of the year and slightly more than half their 161.5-yard average

Additionally there were the three critical ball losses, and the pair from Allen specifically. An pass caught by defense in the end zone resulting in a nine minute possession yielded no points, and his final quarter dropped ball that Miami turned into a touchdown just later

It was typical 'previous Bills teams' as they shot themselves in the foot, getting into a deficit on defense and Allen trying to overcompensate to dig his team out of it - rather than the calm, disciplined, well-balanced Bills we've witnessed this season

The Dolphins have served up a varied performances this year so the jury's out on if this is the beginning of something, but for Buffalo they'll require an instant response in a difficult matchup against the Buccaneers in week 11 as the Patriots are sneaking into a comfortable advantage at the top of the AFC East

Spotlight - New England Identify Route to Surprise Top Seed

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

Regarding the Patriots, they're among three different 8-2 squads in the league, all AFC teams, but are they the best?

One could pick holes in the Patriots, the Broncos and Indianapolis really for dominating the lesser sides, with only five of their combined 24 victories coming against teams with a positive record - and one of those was the Colts beating the Broncos

Denver defeated the reigning champion Eagles in Philadelphia and are masters of the fourth-quarter while Indy can rely on Jonathan Taylor, but the New England adding Sunday's victory in Tampa to their prime time win in Buffalo seems like a declaration

Their two defeats came in new head coach Vrabel's initial three games, with seven consecutive wins, just like the Broncos, from that point - but defeating Baker Mayfield after the Buccaneers had a bye to get ready was significant

Drake Maye's MVP claims won't go away, and he certainly deserves credit for courage after taking some savage hits in Tampa but persevering to steer his side to success

The defense is solid and first-year running back Henderson burst onto the scene on game day with 147 rushing yards and two exciting touchdowns of fifty-five and sixty-nine yards - establishing himself as just the fifth different runner to exceed 22 miles per hour this year on his initial touchdown

While you can debate who 'the top team' is technically, the Patriots should be favourites to finish with the best record due to their remaining opponents - which features just one game against a successful opponent, albeit a huge one against the Bills

Visiting the Ravens is challenging too, but the Broncos have it more difficult in the AFC West with the Kansas City to face two times, the Chargers (who could also compete for first place but encounter the same problem) and additionally the Green Bay on the schedule

The Colts also play the Chiefs, and have the Seahawks, San Francisco and two games with the five and four Jaguars to contend with. There's a considerable distance to go but the opportunity is available for a shock top seed in the American Football Conference

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

Both squads with solid claims to be better than all of the three 8-2 sides are National Football Conference West opponents the Seahawks and Rams, who both put up forty points to go to 7-2 before next week's major meeting between the pair in LA

Both have secured four victories in a consecutive games, have signal callers in Matthew Stafford and Darnold performing at an elite level (although Darnold had ball security problems on game day) with excellent pass catchers, and defenses allowing under 20 points a contest

Each could realistically be undefeated as too - particularly the Los Angeles as their pair of losses came in overtime 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 also lost to San Francisco, with a late touchdown in week one, before losing to the last kick of the game against the Buccaneers - so they are truly two of the best sides in the NFL

The next matchup on Sunday could be the best of the year so far

Top Performer - Taylor

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

Jonathan Taylor could be on for a record season after his incredible display in Berlin - running for 244 yards, scoring three scores and contributing another 42 {receiving yards

Judy Mendoza
Judy Mendoza

A passionate esports enthusiast and writer, sharing insights to help gamers level up their performance.