Buffalo's Bay Day Gives Patriots Route to Top Spot - Best of NFL Week 10

Quarterbacks in action
Josh Allen and Drake Maye will meet in week 15 for what could be an American Football Conference East title decider
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The tenth week once more provided excitement, with a major surprise for the Buffalo Bills demonstrating the 'any given Sunday' mantra that draws so many people into the NFL

That result could have created opportunities for the New England Patriots to move back into a top spot they formerly held, with a schedule that provides them an edge over their 8-2 rivals

Meanwhile in the National Football Conference the Seattle Seahawks and Rams had perfect results to set up a monster clash next week, while our top performer is chasing records as well as the Most Valuable Player award

Analysis - Simply an Off Day for the Bills?

Josh Allen in action
Did Josh Allen attempt too much or was it just a bad day for Buffalo?

Could it simply have been an emotional letdown from defeating Kansas City the previous week or a deeper issue? That's the question for the Bills to address

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

MVP quarterback Josh Allen only achieved the squad's opening first down in the third quarter and initial scoring in the fourth - yes the Dolphins had ten days to prepare but it was still a massive egg laid by one of the NFL'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 scores

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

Then there were the three critical ball losses, and the two from Allen specifically. An pass caught by defense in the end zone resulting in a nine-minute drive produced nothing, and his final quarter dropped ball that the Dolphins turned into seven points just later

It was classic 'previous Bills teams' as they hurt themselves in the foot, falling into a deficit on defense and Allen attempting to overcompensate to rescue his squad out of it - not the calm, controlled, balanced Bills we've seen this year

Miami have demonstrated a varied performances this season so the verdict is uncertain on whether this is the beginning of a trend, but for the Bills they'll require an instant response in a tough game against Tampa Bay 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 recorded the fifth quickest speed in the league this year

Regarding the Patriots, they're one of three 8-2 squads in the NFL, all AFC teams, but could they be the best?

One could find flaws in the Patriots, the Broncos and Indianapolis really for dominating the weaker opponents, with only five of their combined 24 wins coming against teams with a winning record - and one example was the Indianapolis beating the Denver

Denver beat the reigning champion Eagles in Philly and are masters of the final quarter while Indy can rely on Jonathan Taylor, but the Patriots adding Sunday's victory in Tampa to their prime time win in Buffalo seems like a statement

Their pair of losses came in new head coach Vrabel's initial three games, with seven consecutive victories, just like Denver, since then - but taking down Baker Mayfield after the Bucs had a week off to get ready was huge

Maye's Most Valuable Player credentials won't go away, and he definitely earns credit for courage after taking some hard tackles in Tampa but hanging in there to steer his side to victory

The defensive unit is reliable and rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson exploded on game day with 147 yards and two exhilerating touchdowns of 55 and 69 yards - becoming just the fifth different runner to break 22 miles per hour this year on his initial touchdown

Although you can debate who 'the top team' is technically, the Patriots should be favourites to end with the top record thanks to their schedule - which features just a single matchup against a winning team, although a significant contest against Buffalo

Traveling to the Ravens is challenging too, but the Broncos have it more difficult in the AFC West division with the Chiefs to face two times, the Los Angeles Chargers (who might also challenge for first place but face 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 Jaguars to face. There is a long way to travel but the opportunity is available for a surprise top seed in the AFC

Coming Up - Los Angeles and Seattle Prepare for Next Week Showdown

Two teams with strong arguments to be better than all of the three different eight and two sides are National Football Conference West opponents the Seattle and Los Angeles, who each scored 40 burgers to reach 7-2 ahead of next week's Hollywood blockbuster meeting between the pair in LA

Both have secured four victories in a row, have signal callers in Stafford and Darnold playing at an high standard (although Darnold had turnover issues on game day) with top receivers, and defenses giving up fewer than twenty points a contest

Each could realistically be without a loss as well - particularly the Rams as their two defeats came in extra time against the 49ers and then that agonising loss in Philadelphia when they had a game-winning kick with the last kick deflected and returned by the Eagles for a touchdown

The Seahawks also lost to San Francisco, with a late touchdown in the opening week, before falling to the final play of the contest against the Tampa Bay - so they are genuinely among the best sides in the NFL

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

Player of the Week - Jonathan Taylor

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

Jonathan Taylor could be on for a historic year after his incredible display in Berlin - running for 244 rushing yards, scoring three scores and contributing another forty-two {receiving yards

Karen Payne
Karen Payne

A seasoned gambling analyst with over a decade of experience in reviewing online casinos and slot games across Europe.