Bills' Disappointing Performance Opens Patriots Route to Top Spot - Best of Week 10 NFL Action

Quarterbacks in action
Josh Allen along with Drake Maye will meet in week 15 for potentially an American Football Conference East championship showdown
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Week 10 once more provided excitement, with a huge upset for the Buffalo Bills proving the 'any given Sunday' mantra that attracts so many fans into the National Football League

That result may have opened things up for the New England Patriots to move back into a top spot they used to occupy, with a schedule that gives them an advantage over their eight and two rivals

Meanwhile in the NFC the Seahawks and Rams had ideal outcomes to arrange a monster clash in week 11, while our player of the week is chasing records as well as the Most Valuable Player 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 poor performance 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 Buffalo squad had secured seven victories in a consecutive games against Miami but were outperformed from the beginning as the Dolphins emerged as 30-13 victors in an surprising outcome - and display

MVP quarterback Josh Allen only achieved the squad's initial first down in the third quarter and first points in the final quarter - admittedly Miami had 10 days to prepare but it was nonetheless a significant failure produced by one of the league's top offences

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

Bottling up the NFL's top rushing attack was crucial too, with James Cook and teammates recording just eighty-six yards, their lowest of the season and just over half their 161.5-yard season average

Then there were the three critical turnovers, and the pair from Allen specifically. An interception in the scoring area meaning a nine minute drive yielded no points, and his fourth-quarter dropped ball that the Dolphins converted to a touchdown just later

It was typical 'old Buffalo' as they shot themselves in the foot, getting into a hole on defensive side and Josh Allen attempting to do too much to rescue his squad from the situation - rather than the composed, controlled, balanced Bills we've seen this season

The Dolphins have served up a varied performances this season so the jury's out on whether this is the start of a trend, but for Buffalo they'll require an immediate bounce-back in a tough game against the Buccaneers next week as the Patriots are quietly moving into a comfortable advantage at the top of the AFC East

Spotlight - New England Identify Route to Surprise Top Seed

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

Speaking of the Patriots, they're one of three eight and two teams in the NFL, all AFC sides, but could they be the best?

One could pick holes in the Patriots, the Broncos and Indianapolis actually for dominating the weaker opponents, with only five of their total twenty-four victories coming against teams with a winning record - and one of those was the Indianapolis beating the Denver

The Broncos defeated the champion Eagles in Philadelphia and are masters of the fourth-quarter while Indianapolis can rely on Taylor, but the New England including Sunday's win in Tampa Bay to their prime time success in Buffalo appears to be a declaration

Their two defeats came in recently appointed coach Vrabel's first three games, with seven consecutive wins, similar to the Broncos, from that point - but defeating Mayfield after the Bucs had a week off to get ready was huge

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

The defense is solid and first-year rusher TreVeyon Henderson exploded on Sunday with 147 yards and two exciting scores 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 first score

Although you can argue who 'the best' is statistically, the Pats should be favorites to end with the best record thanks to their schedule - which includes just a single matchup against a winning team, although a significant contest against the Bills

Traveling to Baltimore is challenging too, but Denver have it more difficult in the AFC West division with the Chiefs to face two times, the Los Angeles Chargers (who might also compete for first place but encounter the same problem) and additionally the Green Bay on the fixture list

The Indianapolis also play the Kansas City, and have the Seahawks, San Francisco and two matchups with the 5-4 Jaguars to contend with. There's a considerable distance to travel but the opportunity is available for a surprise top seed in the AFC

Coming Up - Rams & Seahawks Prepare for Next Week Clash

Both squads with solid claims to be superior to all of the three different eight and two teams are National Football Conference West opponents the Seahawks and Rams, who both put up 40 burgers to go to 7-2 before next week's major meeting between the pair in Los Angeles

They've both secured four victories in a row, have signal callers in Stafford and Darnold playing at an elite level (although Sam Darnold had ball security problems on game day) with excellent pass catchers, and defenses allowing under 20 points a contest

Each could easily be undefeated as well - particularly the Rams as their pair of losses came in extra time against the San Francisco and then that agonising loss in Philadelphia when they had a game-winning field goal with the final play deflected and run back by the Eagles for a touchdown

Seattle were also defeated to San Francisco, with a late touchdown in week one, before falling to the final play of the contest against the Buccaneers - so they're genuinely among the best sides in the league

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

Player of the Week - Taylor

Jonathan Taylor running
Taylor is pursuing several running and touchdown milestones

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

David Alexander
David Alexander

Elara Vance is an investigative journalist with over a decade of experience covering international affairs and political developments across Europe.