Bills' Bay Day Gives Patriots Route to AFC East Lead - Highlights of NFL Week 10

Quarterbacks in action
Josh Allen along with Drake Maye will meet in week 15 for what could be an AFC East title decider
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The tenth week once more provided excitement, with a major surprise for the Bills proving the 'any given Sunday' saying that draws so many fans into the National Football League

That result could have created opportunities for the Patriots to move back into a leading position they used to occupy, with a schedule that provides them an advantage over their 8-2 rivals

Meanwhile in the NFC the Seahawks and Rams had perfect results to arrange a major confrontation in week 11, while our player of the week 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 attempt too much or was it just a bad day for Buffalo?

Was it just an emotional letdown from defeating Kansas City last week or a deeper issue? This remains the question for the Bills to address

The Buffalo squad had won seven in a row against the Dolphins but were second best from the start as the Miami team ran out 30-13 winners in an eye-opening result - and display

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

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

Bottling up the league's best rushing attack was also key, with James Cook and teammates registering just eighty-six yards, their lowest of the season and just over fifty percent their 161.5 yard average

Additionally there were the three crucial ball losses, and the two from Allen specifically. An interception in the end zone resulting in a nine minute possession yielded no points, and his fourth-quarter dropped ball that Miami converted to a touchdown just later

It was classic 'previous Bills teams' as they hurt themselves in the foot, getting into a deficit on defensive side and Josh Allen trying to do too much to rescue his squad out of it - not the calm, controlled, well-balanced Buffalo team we've witnessed this season

Miami have demonstrated a bit of everything this year so the verdict is uncertain on if this is the beginning of something, but for the Bills they'll require an immediate bounce-back in a difficult matchup against Tampa Bay next week as the Patriots are sneaking into a comfortable advantage at the summit of the American Football Conference East

Spotlight - New England Identify Route to Surprise Top Seed

TreVeyon Henderson running
Henderson recorded the fifth quickest speed in the NFL this year

Speaking of the New England, they're among three 8-2 teams in the NFL, all American Football Conference sides, but could they be the top team?

One could pick holes in the Patriots, the Broncos and Indianapolis really for dominating the lesser sides, with just five of their total twenty-four victories coming against teams with a winning record - and one example was the Colts defeating the Denver

Denver beat the reigning champion Eagles in Philadelphia and are kings of the fourth-quarter while Indy can rely on Jonathan Taylor, but the Patriots including Sunday's victory in Tampa Bay to their prime time win in Buffalo seems like a declaration

Their two defeats occurred in new head coach Mike Vrabel's initial three games, with seven straight victories, similar to Denver, from that point - but taking down Baker Mayfield after the Bucs had a week off to prepare was significant

Maye's MVP claims won't go away, and he definitely deserves point for courage after absorbing some hard tackles in Tampa but hanging in there to guide his team to victory

The defensive unit is solid and rookie running back Henderson exploded on game day with 147 rushing yards and two exciting touchdowns of fifty-five and sixty-nine yards - establishing himself as just the fifth different runner to exceed 22mph this season on his first score

Although you can debate who 'the best' is technically, the Patriots should be favourites to end with the top record thanks to their remaining opponents - which includes just a single matchup against a winning team, albeit a huge one against Buffalo

Traveling to the Ravens is also tough, 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 Green Bay on the fixture list

The Indianapolis also face the Chiefs, and have the Seattle, 49ers and two games with the five and four Jaguars to contend with. There's a long way to go but the door is available for a surprise number one position in the American Football Conference

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

Two teams with strong arguments to be superior to all of the three 8-2 teams are National Football Conference West rivals the Seahawks and Los Angeles, who each put up forty points to reach seven and two ahead of next week's Hollywood blockbuster game between the two in LA

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

Each could realistically be without a loss as too - especially the Los Angeles as their pair of losses occurred in extra time against the 49ers and then that painful defeat in Philadelphia when they had a game-winning kick with the last kick deflected and returned by the Eagles for a score

The Seahawks also lost to the 49ers, with a late touchdown in week one, before losing to the last kick of the contest against the Buccaneers - so they are truly two of the best sides in the NFL

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

Top Performer - Jonathan Taylor

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

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

Bradley Martin
Bradley Martin

A tech enthusiast and digital strategist with over a decade of experience in reviewing consumer electronics and exploring emerging technologies.