Bills' Disappointing Performance Gives New England Path to AFC East Lead - Best of NFL Week 10
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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 may have opened opportunities for the Patriots to move back into a leading position they used to occupy, with a schedule that gives them an advantage over their 8-2 competitors
Meanwhile in the NFC the Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams had perfect results to set up a monster clash next week, while our top performer is chasing records as well as the MVP award
The Breakdown - Simply an Off Day for Buffalo?
Was it just an emotional comedown from beating the Chiefs last week or something more? That's the question for the Bills to address
The Bills had secured seven victories in a row against Miami but were outperformed from the start as the Miami team ran out 30-13 winners 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 the Dolphins had 10 days to prepare but it was still a massive egg produced by one of the NFL's top offences
Tua Tagovailoa threw two scores but rusher Achane was the devastating difference, with 225 total yards and two touchdowns
Bottling up the league's best rushing attack was crucial too, with James Cook and company recording just 86 yards, their fewest of the season and just over half their 161.5 yard average
Additionally there were the three crucial ball losses, and the pair from Allen specifically. An interception in the end zone meaning a nine minute possession yielded no points, and his final quarter fumble that the Dolphins 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 Allen attempting to do too much to rescue his squad from the situation - not the calm, controlled, well-balanced Buffalo team we've seen this year
The Dolphins have demonstrated a bit of everything this season so the jury's out on whether this is the beginning of something, but for Buffalo they'll need an immediate bounce-back in a difficult matchup against Tampa Bay in week 11 as the Patriots are quietly moving into a nice lead at the summit of the American Football Conference East
In Focus - Patriots See Path to Unexpected First Place
Regarding the New England, they're among three different 8-2 teams in the NFL, all AFC teams, but are they the top team?
One could find flaws in the Patriots, the Broncos and Indianapolis really for dominating the weaker opponents, with only five of their total twenty-four victories coming against opponents with a positive record - and one of those was the Indianapolis defeating the Denver
The Broncos beat the champion Eagles in Philadelphia and are masters of the final quarter while Indianapolis can rely on Jonathan Taylor, but the New England adding Sunday's win in Tampa to their primtime win in Buffalo appears to be a statement
Their two defeats came in new head coach Mike Vrabel's initial three games, with seven straight wins, just like the Broncos, since then - but defeating Mayfield after the Bucs had a week off to prepare was huge
Drake Maye's MVP claims won't go away, and he definitely deserves point for bravery after absorbing some savage hits in Tampa but persevering to steer his team to victory
The defensive unit is reliable and rookie rusher Henderson burst onto the scene on game day with 147 yards and two exciting scores of fifty-five and sixty-nine yards - establishing himself as just the fifth runner to exceed 22 miles per hour this year on his first score
While you can debate who 'the top team' is statistically, the Patriots should be favourites to finish with the best record thanks to their schedule - which features just one game against a successful opponent, although a huge one against Buffalo
Traveling to Baltimore is also tough, but Denver have it more difficult in the AFC West with the Chiefs to play twice, the Chargers (who could also challenge for first place but face the same problem) and additionally the Packers on the fixture list
The Colts also face the Kansas City, and have the Seahawks, San Francisco and two matchups with the 5-4 Jacksonville to contend with. There's a considerable distance to go but the opportunity is available for a surprise number one position in the AFC
Next Week - Los Angeles and Seattle Prepare for Week 11 Clash
Both squads with solid claims to be superior to all of the three different eight and two teams are National Football Conference West rivals the Seattle and Rams, who each put up 40 burgers to reach 7-2 before the upcoming major meeting between the pair in LA
They've both won four in a row, have signal callers in Matthew Stafford and Darnold performing at an elite level (although Darnold had ball security problems on game day) with excellent pass catchers, and defenses giving up under 20 points a contest
Each could realistically be undefeated as too - particularly the Rams as their pair of losses occurred in extra time against the San Francisco and then that painful defeat in Philly when they had a game-winning field goal with the final play deflected and returned by the Eagles for a score
The Seahawks were also defeated to San Francisco, with a last-minute score in the opening week, before losing to the last kick of the contest against the Tampa Bay - so they're genuinely among the top teams in the NFL
The next matchup on Sunday could be the best of the season to date
Player of the Week - Taylor
Jonathan Taylor could be on for a historic year after his incredible display in Germany - running for 244 rushing yards, registering three touchdowns and contributing another forty-two {receiving yards