Buffalo's Bay Day Gives New England Path to AFC East Lead - Highlights of NFL Week 10

Quarterbacks in action
Josh Allen and Drake Maye are scheduled to face in week 15 for what could be an American Football Conference East title decider
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The tenth week again delivered, with a major surprise for the Buffalo Bills proving the 'any Sunday can bring surprises' mantra that draws so many people into the National Football League

That result could have created 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

Over in the National Football Conference the Seattle Seahawks and Rams had perfect results to arrange a major confrontation in week 11, while our player of the week is chasing records as well as the Most Valuable Player award

The Breakdown - Just a Bad 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 comedown from beating the Chiefs the previous week or something more? That's the question for the Buffalo team to address

The Buffalo squad had secured seven victories in a consecutive games against the Dolphins but were second best from the beginning as the Dolphins emerged as 30-13 winners in an eye-opening outcome - and performance

MVP Josh Allen only got the squad's initial first down in the third period and first points in the fourth - admittedly the Dolphins had 10 days to prepare but it was still a massive egg produced by one of the NFL's top offences

Dolphins quarterback Tua threw two touchdowns but running back Achane was the devastating difference, with 225 combined yards and two scores

Bottling up the NFL's top rushing attack was also key, with James Cook and teammates registering just 86 yards, their lowest of the year and just over half their 161.5-yard average

Then there were the three critical ball losses, and the pair from Josh Allen in particular. An interception in the scoring area meaning a nine-minute drive yielded no points, and his fourth-quarter dropped ball that the Dolphins turned into seven points just later

It was classic 'old Buffalo' as they shot themselves in the foot, falling into a deficit on defensive side and Allen attempting to overcompensate to dig his team out of it - rather than the composed, controlled, balanced Buffalo team we've seen this season

Miami have demonstrated a varied performances this season so the jury's out on whether this is the start of something, but for the Bills they'll require an immediate bounce-back in a difficult matchup against Tampa Bay next week as the New England are quietly moving into a nice lead at the summit of the AFC East

Spotlight - New England See Path to Surprise Top Seed

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

Speaking of the New England, they're one of three different eight and two teams in the league, all AFC sides, but could they be the best?

You can pick holes in New England, the Broncos and the Colts really for feasting on the lesser sides, with only five of their combined twenty-four wins coming against teams with a positive record - and one example was the Indianapolis defeating the Denver

Denver beat the champion Eagles in Philadelphia and are masters of the final quarter while Indianapolis can ride Jonathan Taylor, but the Patriots including Sunday's victory in Tampa Bay to their prime time success in Orchard Park seems like a declaration

Their pair of losses occurred in new head coach Vrabel's initial three games, with seven straight victories, similar to the Broncos, since then - but defeating Mayfield after the Bucs had a bye to get ready was huge

Maye's Most Valuable Player credentials continue to be discussed, and he definitely earns point for courage after taking some hard tackles in Tampa Bay but hanging in there to guide his team to victory

The defense is reliable and rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson exploded on Sunday with 147 yards and two exhilerating scores of fifty-five and sixty-nine yards - establishing himself as just the fifth ball carrier to break 22 miles per hour this season on his initial touchdown

Although you can debate who 'the best' is statistically, the Patriots should be favourites to finish with the top record due to their schedule - which features just one game against a successful opponent, albeit a significant contest against Buffalo

Traveling to Baltimore is challenging too, but Denver have it even tougher in the AFC West with the Chiefs to face two times, the Los Angeles Chargers (who might also compete for first place but face the same problem) and additionally the Packers on the schedule

The Colts also face the Kansas City, and have the Seattle, San Francisco and two games with the 5-4 Jacksonville to face. There is a considerable distance to go but the door is available for a shock number one position in the American Football Conference

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

Both squads with strong arguments to be better than all of the three eight and two sides are National Football Conference West rivals the Seattle and Los Angeles, who each put up 40 burgers to reach 7-2 before next week's Hollywood blockbuster game between the pair in Los Angeles

They've both won four in a consecutive games, have signal callers in Matthew Stafford and Darnold performing at an high standard (although Darnold had ball security problems on game day) with top receivers, and defenses allowing fewer than twenty points a contest

Both could realistically be without a loss as too - particularly the Los Angeles as their two defeats came in overtime against the San Francisco and then that painful defeat in Philly when they had a potentially winning field goal with the final play blocked and run back by the Philadelphia for a touchdown

Seattle also lost to the 49ers, with a late touchdown in week one, before falling to the final play of the contest against the Tampa Bay - so they're truly among the top teams in the league

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

Top Performer - Jonathan Taylor

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

Jonathan Taylor could be on for a historic year after his remarkable performance in Germany - rushing for 244 yards, registering three scores and contributing an additional 42 {receiving yards

Alyssa Jones
Alyssa Jones

A seasoned gaming analyst with over a decade of experience in online casinos, specializing in slot machine strategies and industry trends.