Bills' Disappointing Performance Opens Patriots Path to AFC East Lead - Best of NFL Week 10

Quarterbacks in action
Josh Allen along with Drake Maye are scheduled to face in the fifteenth week for what could be an AFC East title decider
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Week 10 once more provided excitement, with a major surprise for the Buffalo Bills proving the 'any Sunday can bring surprises' mantra that draws so many people into the NFL

That result could have created things up for the New England Patriots to creep back into a leading position they used to occupy, with a remaining games that provides them an edge over their eight and two competitors

Meanwhile in the National Football Conference the Seahawks and Rams had perfect results to arrange a monster clash next week, while our top performer is pursuing milestones as well as the Most Valuable Player award

The Breakdown - Just a Bad Day for Buffalo?

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

Was it just an emotional comedown from defeating Kansas City last week or something more? That's 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 ran out 30-13 winners in an surprising outcome - and performance

MVP Josh Allen only got the team's opening first down in the third quarter and first points in the final quarter - admittedly Miami had ten days to prepare but it was still a significant failure produced by one of the league's best offenses

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

Bottling up the league's best running game was also key, with James Cook and company registering just 86 yards, their lowest of the season and just over fifty percent their 161.5 yard season average

Additionally there were the three crucial ball losses, and the pair from Josh Allen specifically. An interception in the scoring area resulting in a nine minute drive produced nothing, and his final quarter dropped ball that Miami turned into seven points just later

It was typical 'old Buffalo' as they shot themselves in the foot, falling into a hole on defense and Allen trying to do too much to rescue his squad out of it - rather than the calm, disciplined, balanced Bills we've seen this year

The Dolphins have served up a bit of everything this season so the jury's out on whether this is the start of a trend, but for the Bills they'll require an instant response in a tough game against Tampa Bay in week 11 as the Patriots are quietly moving into a nice lead at the summit of the AFC East

In Focus - New England Identify Route to Unexpected First Place

TreVeyon Henderson running
TreVeyon 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 AFC teams, but could they be the top team?

One could pick holes in New England, the Broncos and the Colts really for dominating the lesser sides, with just five of their combined twenty-four victories achieved against teams with a positive record - and one of those was the Colts beating the Denver

Denver defeated the champion Eagles in Philly and are kings of the fourth-quarter while Indy can rely on Taylor, but the New England adding Sunday's win in Tampa Bay to their prime time win in Buffalo appears to be a declaration

Their pair of losses came in recently appointed coach Mike Vrabel's first three games, with seven straight victories, similar to the Broncos, from that point - but taking down Mayfield after the Buccaneers had a week off to prepare was huge

Drake Maye's Most Valuable Player credentials won't go away, and he certainly deserves point for courage after taking some hard tackles in Tampa Bay but persevering to guide his side to success

The defensive unit is reliable and first-year running back Henderson burst onto the scene on game day with 147 yards and two exhilerating scores of 55 and 69 yards - establishing himself as just the fifth ball carrier to exceed 22 miles per hour this season on his initial touchdown

Although you can debate who 'the best' is statistically, the Pats should be favorites 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 Buffalo

Traveling to the Ravens is challenging too, but the Broncos have it more difficult in the AFC West division with the Kansas City to play twice, the Los Angeles Chargers (who might also compete for first place but encounter the identical challenge) and also the Green Bay on the schedule

The Colts also face the Chiefs, and have the Seahawks, San Francisco and two matchups with the 5-4 Jacksonville to contend with. There's a long way to travel but the opportunity is available for a shock top seed in the AFC

Coming Up - Rams & Seahawks Prepare for Next Week Clash

Two teams with strong arguments to be better than all of the three eight and two teams are National Football Conference West rivals the Seattle and Rams, who each scored 40 burgers to reach seven and two ahead of next week's major meeting between the two in LA

They've both won four in a row, have signal callers in Stafford and Darnold playing at an high standard (although Darnold had turnover issues on Sunday) with top receivers, and defenses giving up fewer than twenty points a contest

Each could realistically be without a loss as too - especially the Rams as their two defeats occurred in extra time against the 49ers and then that painful defeat in Philly when they had a game-winning field goal with the final play blocked and returned by the Eagles for a score

The Seahawks were also defeated to the 49ers, with a last-minute score in the opening week, before losing to the final play of the game against the Buccaneers - so they are truly among the top teams in the league

The next matchup on Sunday could be the most exciting of the year to date

Player of the Week - Jonathan Taylor

Jonathan Taylor running
Jonathan Taylor is chasing down several running and touchdown records

Jonathan Taylor might be on for a historic year after his remarkable performance in Berlin - rushing for 244 yards, scoring three touchdowns and adding another 42 {receiving yards

Morgan Harper
Morgan Harper

A tech journalist and digital strategist with over a decade of experience covering emerging technologies and their impact on society.