Buffalo's Bay Day Gives Patriots Route to AFC East Lead - Best of Week 10 NFL Action

Quarterbacks in action
Josh Allen and Drake Maye are scheduled to face in the fifteenth week for potentially an AFC East title decider
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Week 10 once more provided excitement, with a huge upset for the Buffalo Bills demonstrating the 'any Sunday can bring surprises' saying that attracts so many people into the NFL

This outcome may have opened things up for the Patriots to move back into a top spot they used to occupy, with a remaining games that provides them an advantage over their eight and two competitors

Meanwhile in the NFC the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams had ideal outcomes to arrange a major confrontation next week, while our top performer is pursuing milestones as well as the MVP award

Analysis - Just a Bad Day for the Bills?

Josh Allen in action
Did Josh Allen attempt too much or could it simply have been a bad day for Buffalo?

Could it simply have been an emotional letdown from defeating Kansas City last week or something more? This remains the question for the Bills to answer

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

MVP quarterback Josh Allen only got the squad's initial first down in the third quarter and first points in the fourth - yes the Dolphins had ten days to get ready but it was nonetheless a significant failure laid by one of the league's top offences

Tua Tagovailoa passed for two touchdowns but running back De'Von Achane was the game-changing factor, with 225 combined yards and two touchdowns

Containing the NFL's top rushing attack was crucial too, with Cook and teammates recording just 86 yards, their fewest of the season and slightly more than half their 161.5-yard average

Additionally there were the three crucial turnovers, and the two from Josh Allen specifically. An interception in the scoring area resulting in a nine-minute drive yielded no points, and his fourth-quarter dropped ball that Miami turned into a touchdown just two plays

It was classic 'previous Bills teams' as they hurt themselves in the foot, falling into a deficit on defense and Allen trying to do too much to dig his team from the situation - not the composed, disciplined, balanced Buffalo team we've witnessed this year

Miami have demonstrated a bit of everything this year so the jury's out on if this is the beginning 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 sneaking into a comfortable advantage at the summit of the American Football Conference East

In Focus - Patriots Identify Route to Unexpected First Place

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

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

You can pick holes in New England, Denver and Indianapolis actually for feasting on the weaker opponents, with only five of their combined twenty-four wins achieved against opponents with a winning 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 Indy can ride Jonathan Taylor, but the Patriots including Sunday's win in Tampa to their prime time success in Buffalo appears to be a declaration

Their pair of losses occurred in recently appointed coach Vrabel's first three contests, with seven straight victories, just like the Broncos, since then - but defeating Mayfield after the Buccaneers had a bye to get ready was significant

Drake Maye's MVP claims won't go away, and he certainly earns point for bravery after absorbing some hard tackles in Tampa Bay but persevering to steer his side to success

The defensive unit is solid and rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson exploded on game day with 147 yards and two exhilerating touchdowns of fifty-five and sixty-nine yards - establishing himself as just the fifth ball carrier to break 22mph this season on his initial touchdown

Although you can debate who 'the best' is technically, the Pats should be favorites to finish with the best record due to their remaining opponents - which includes just a single matchup against a winning team, albeit a huge one against the Bills

Traveling to the Ravens is also tough, but the Broncos have it even tougher in the AFC West division 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 fixture list

The Colts also face 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 Clash

Two teams with solid claims to be better than all of the three different 8-2 sides are NFC West opponents the Seattle and Rams, who each put up 40 burgers to reach 7-2 ahead of next week's major game between the two in LA

They've both won four in a row, have quarterbacks in Matthew Stafford and Darnold performing at an high standard (although Darnold had ball security problems on Sunday) with excellent pass catchers, and defensive units giving up under 20 points a contest

Both could realistically be without a loss as well - especially the Rams as their two defeats occurred in overtime against the 49ers and then that agonising loss in Philly when they had a game-winning field goal with the final play deflected and returned by the Eagles for a touchdown

The Seahawks also lost to San Francisco, with a last-minute score in the opening week, 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 upcoming game on Sunday could be the most exciting of the year to date

Player of the Week - Jonathan Taylor

Jonathan Taylor running
Taylor is pursuing several running and scoring milestones

Taylor could be on for a historic year after his remarkable performance in Germany - rushing for 244 rushing yards, scoring three scores and adding another 42 {receiving yards

Lawrence Lawson
Lawrence Lawson

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