Bills' Bay Day Opens Patriots Route to AFC East Lead - Best of NFL Week 10
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The tenth week again delivered, with a major surprise for the Bills demonstrating the 'any given Sunday' saying that draws so many fans into the National Football League
That result could have created things up for the Patriots to creep back into a leading position they used to occupy, with a schedule that provides them an edge over their 8-2 rivals
Over in the National Football Conference the Seattle Seahawks and Rams had perfect results to arrange a monster clash next week, while our top performer is chasing records as well as the MVP award
Analysis - Simply an Off Day for Buffalo?
Could it simply have been an emotional comedown from defeating Kansas City last week or something more? That's the question for the Buffalo team to address
The Bills had won seven in a row against the Dolphins but were outperformed from the start as the Miami team emerged as 30-13 victors in an surprising outcome - and display
MVP quarterback Josh Allen only got the squad's initial first down in the third quarter and first points in the fourth - admittedly the Dolphins had 10 days to get ready but it was nonetheless a massive egg laid by one of the NFL's top offences
Tua Tagovailoa threw two touchdowns but rusher De'Von Achane was the devastating difference, with 225 combined yards and two scores
Bottling up the league's best rushing attack was crucial too, with James Cook and teammates registering just eighty-six yards, their lowest of the year and just over half their 161.5 yard average
Additionally there were the three critical ball losses, and the pair from Allen in particular. An pass caught by defense in the scoring area meaning a nine-minute possession yielded no points, and his fourth-quarter dropped ball that Miami converted to a touchdown just later
It was classic 'old Buffalo' 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 out of it - rather than the composed, disciplined, balanced Buffalo team we've seen this season
Miami have demonstrated a bit of everything 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 in week 11 as the Patriots are sneaking into a nice lead at the summit of the AFC East
In Focus - Patriots See Path to Unexpected First Place
Regarding the Patriots, they're among three different 8-2 teams in the NFL, all American Football Conference teams, but are they the best?
You can find flaws in New England, Denver and the Colts really for feasting on the weaker opponents, with only five of their total twenty-four victories achieved against opponents with a positive record - and one example was the Colts defeating the Denver
Denver defeated the reigning champion Eagles in Philly and are masters of the final quarter while Indy can rely on Jonathan Taylor, but the Patriots including Sunday's win in Tampa Bay to their prime time success in Orchard Park seems like a declaration
Their two defeats occurred in new head coach Vrabel's first three contests, with seven straight victories, just like Denver, from that point - but taking down Baker Mayfield after the Buccaneers had a bye to prepare was huge
Maye's Most Valuable Player credentials won't go away, and he definitely deserves credit for courage after absorbing some hard tackles in Tampa but hanging in there to steer 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 - becoming just the fifth different runner to break 22mph this year on his initial touchdown
While you can debate who 'the best' is statistically, the Pats should be favourites to end with the best record due to their remaining opponents - which features just one game against a winning team, albeit a huge one against Buffalo
Traveling to Baltimore is challenging too, but Denver have it even tougher in the AFC West with the Kansas City to face two times, the Chargers (who could also compete for top seed but face the same problem) and also the Packers on the schedule
The Indianapolis also play the Kansas City, and have the Seahawks, 49ers and two matchups with the five and four Jacksonville to contend with. There is a long way to travel but the door is open for a surprise top seed in the AFC
Coming Up - Los Angeles and Seattle Set for Next Week Showdown
Both squads with solid claims to be better than all of the three eight and two teams are NFC West rivals the Seattle and Los Angeles, who each put up 40 burgers to reach seven and two ahead of the upcoming major meeting between the two in LA
They've both secured four victories in a consecutive games, have quarterbacks in Stafford and Sam Darnold playing at an elite level (although Darnold had turnover issues on game day) with top receivers, and defensive units giving up fewer than twenty points a game
Each could easily be without a loss as too - particularly the Los Angeles as their two defeats came in extra time against the 49ers and then that agonising loss in Philly when they had a game-winning kick with the last kick deflected and returned by the Philadelphia for a score
The Seahawks were also defeated to San Francisco, with a last-minute score in week one, before falling to the last kick of the contest against the Buccaneers - so they are truly two of the top teams in the NFL
The upcoming game on Sunday could be the best of the year to date
Top Performer - Taylor
Taylor might be on for a historic year after his incredible display in Berlin - running for 244 rushing yards, registering three scores and contributing an additional 42 {receiving yards