Buffalo's Disappointing Performance Gives Patriots Path to Top Spot - Highlights of Week 10 NFL Action

Quarterbacks in action
Josh Allen and Drake Maye are scheduled to face in the fifteenth week for potentially an AFC East title decider
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Week 10 again delivered, with a huge upset for the Buffalo Bills demonstrating the 'any given Sunday' saying that attracts so many fans into the National Football League

That result may have opened things up for the New England Patriots to creep back into a leading position they formerly held, with a schedule that provides them an edge over their eight and two competitors

Meanwhile in the NFC the Seahawks and Rams had perfect results to arrange a major confrontation next week, while our top performer is chasing records as well as the MVP award

The Breakdown - Just a Bad Day for Buffalo?

Josh Allen in action
Did Josh Allen try too much or was it just a bad day for the Bills?

Could it simply have been an emotional letdown from beating the Chiefs last week or something more? That's the question for the Buffalo team to address

The Bills had secured seven victories in a consecutive games against Miami but were outperformed from the beginning as the Dolphins emerged as 30-13 victors in an surprising outcome - and display

MVP Josh Allen only got the team's opening first down in the third quarter and first points in the fourth - yes the Dolphins had ten days to prepare but it was still a massive egg produced by one of the league's best offenses

Dolphins quarterback Tua threw two scores but running back Achane was the game-changing factor, with 225 total yards and two scores

Bottling up the league's best rushing attack was also key, with James Cook and company registering just 86 yards, their lowest of the season and slightly more than half their 161.5-yard season average

Additionally there were the three crucial turnovers, and the pair from Allen specifically. An pass caught by defense in the scoring area meaning a nine minute possession yielded no points, and his final 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 dig his team out of it - not the composed, controlled, well-balanced Bills we've seen this season

The Dolphins have served up a varied performances this year so the verdict is uncertain on if this is the start of something, but for Buffalo they'll require an instant response in a difficult matchup against Tampa Bay in week 11 as the Patriots are quietly moving into a comfortable advantage at the summit of the American Football Conference East

In Focus - New England Identify Route to Unexpected First Place

TreVeyon Henderson running
TreVeyon Henderson clocked the fifth fastest velocity in the NFL this year

Regarding the New England, they're one of three 8-2 squads in the NFL, all AFC sides, but could they be the top team?

You can pick holes in New England, the Broncos and the Colts actually for dominating the weaker opponents, with just five of their combined 24 victories coming against teams with a winning record - and one of those was the Colts defeating the Broncos

The Broncos defeated the champion Eagles in Philadelphia and are kings of the fourth-quarter while Indy can rely on Jonathan Taylor, but the New England adding Sunday's win in Tampa Bay to their primtime success in Buffalo appears to be a statement

Their pair of losses came in new head coach Mike Vrabel's first three games, with seven straight victories, just like the Broncos, since then - but defeating Mayfield after the Buccaneers had a bye to prepare was huge

Drake Maye's Most Valuable Player credentials continue to be discussed, and he definitely earns point for courage after taking some savage hits in Tampa Bay but hanging in there to steer his team to success

The defensive unit is reliable and rookie rusher Henderson exploded on Sunday with 147 rushing yards and two exhilerating touchdowns of 55 and 69 yards - establishing himself as just the fifth different runner to break 22 miles per hour this year on his first score

Although you can argue who 'the best' is technically, the Patriots should be favorites to end with the best record thanks to their schedule - which features just one game against a successful opponent, albeit a huge one against the Bills

Visiting the Ravens is also tough, but Denver have it even tougher in the AFC West with the Chiefs to face two times, the Chargers (who might also challenge for first place but encounter the same problem) and additionally the Packers on the schedule

The Colts also face the Kansas City, and have the Seahawks, 49ers and two matchups with the 5-4 Jaguars to contend with. There is a long way to travel but the door is open for a shock top seed in the AFC

Next Week - Rams & Seahawks Set for Next Week Showdown

Both squads with strong arguments to be better than all of the three different 8-2 sides are National Football Conference West opponents the Seattle and Los Angeles, who both put up 40 burgers to go to 7-2 ahead of next week's major game between the two in LA

Both have secured four victories in a consecutive games, have signal callers in Stafford and Darnold performing at an high standard (although Sam Darnold had turnover issues on game day) with excellent pass catchers, and defenses allowing fewer than twenty points a game

Each could easily be without a loss as too - particularly the Los Angeles as their pair of losses came in overtime against the San Francisco and then that painful defeat in Philadelphia when they had a potentially winning kick with the last kick deflected and returned by the Eagles for a touchdown

The Seahawks also lost to the 49ers, with a late touchdown in week one, before falling to the last kick of the game against the Tampa Bay - so they're genuinely among the best sides in the league

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

Player of the Week - Taylor

Jonathan Taylor running
Jonathan Taylor is chasing down several rushing and scoring milestones

Taylor could be on for a record season after his incredible display in Berlin - running for 244 yards, scoring three touchdowns and adding an additional 42 {receiving yards

David West
David West

A digital artist and design consultant with over a decade of experience in visual storytelling and creative innovation.