Bills' Bay Day Opens New England Route to AFC East Lead - Best of Week 10 NFL Action
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Week 10 again delivered, with a huge upset for the Buffalo Bills demonstrating the 'any Sunday can bring surprises' mantra that draws so many people into the National Football League
This outcome could have created opportunities for the Patriots to move back into a leading position they formerly held, with a schedule that gives them an edge over their eight and two competitors
Over in the NFC the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams had perfect results to set up a major confrontation in week 11, while our top performer is pursuing milestones as well as the Most Valuable Player award
The Breakdown - Just a Bad Day for the Bills?
Was it just an emotional comedown from beating the Chiefs the previous week or a deeper issue? That's the question for the Buffalo team to address
The Buffalo squad had secured seven victories in a row against Miami but were outperformed from the start as the Miami team emerged as 30-13 winners in an surprising outcome - and performance
MVP Josh Allen only achieved the squad's opening first down in the third quarter and initial scoring in the final quarter - admittedly the Dolphins had 10 days to get ready but it was still a significant failure produced by one of the league's best offenses
Dolphins quarterback Tua threw two touchdowns but running back Achane was the game-changing factor, with 225 combined yards and two scores
Bottling up the NFL's top running game was crucial too, with James Cook and teammates registering just 86 yards, their fewest of the year and slightly more than half their 161.5 yard season average
Additionally there were the three crucial turnovers, and the pair from Josh Allen in particular. An pass caught by defense in the scoring area resulting in a nine minute drive produced nothing, and his fourth-quarter fumble that Miami turned into seven points just later
It was classic 'previous Bills teams' as they hurt themselves in the foot, falling into a hole on defense and Allen attempting to do too much to dig his team from the situation - not the calm, disciplined, balanced Buffalo team we've witnessed this season
Miami have served up a bit of everything this season so the verdict is uncertain on if this is the start of a trend, but for Buffalo they'll require an immediate bounce-back in a tough game against Tampa Bay next week as the Patriots are sneaking into a comfortable advantage at the top of the AFC East
In Focus - New England See Path to Unexpected First Place
Speaking of the Patriots, they're one of three different 8-2 teams in the league, all AFC sides, but could they be the top team?
One could pick holes in the Patriots, Denver and Indianapolis really for dominating the lesser sides, with only five of their total 24 wins achieved against teams with a winning record - and one of those was the Colts defeating the Denver
The Broncos beat the champion Eagles in Philadelphia and are masters of the fourth-quarter while Indy can rely on Jonathan Taylor, but the Patriots including Sunday's win in Tampa to their primtime win in Buffalo appears to be a declaration
Their two defeats came in recently appointed coach Mike Vrabel's initial three games, with seven straight victories, similar to Denver, from that point - but taking down Mayfield after the Buccaneers had a week off to get ready was significant
Drake Maye's Most Valuable Player credentials won't go away, and he certainly earns point for bravery after taking some hard tackles in Tampa but hanging in there to steer his team to success
The defensive unit is reliable and rookie rusher TreVeyon Henderson burst onto the scene on game day with 147 rushing yards and two exciting scores of fifty-five and sixty-nine yards - establishing himself as just the fifth different runner to exceed 22mph this season on his first score
While you can debate who 'the top team' is statistically, the Patriots should be favorites to finish with the top record due to their schedule - which includes just one game against a successful opponent, albeit a huge one against the Bills
Visiting the Ravens is challenging too, but Denver have it more difficult in the AFC West with the Kansas City to play twice, the Los Angeles Chargers (who might also challenge for top seed but encounter the same problem) and additionally the Packers on the fixture list
The Colts also play the Chiefs, and have the Seahawks, 49ers and two games with the 5-4 Jacksonville to contend with. There's a considerable distance to travel but the door is open for a shock top seed in the American Football Conference
Next Week - Rams & Seahawks Set for Week 11 Clash
Two teams with strong arguments to be better than all of the three 8-2 sides are NFC West opponents the Seahawks and Rams, who each put up 40 burgers to go to 7-2 ahead of the upcoming Hollywood blockbuster meeting between the pair in LA
Both have won four in a consecutive games, have signal callers in Stafford and Darnold performing at an elite level (although Darnold had turnover issues on game day) with top receivers, and defenses allowing fewer than twenty points a game
Each could realistically be without a loss as well - especially the Rams as their pair of losses occurred in extra time against the San Francisco and then that painful defeat in Philadelphia when they had a potentially winning field goal with the last kick blocked and run back by the Eagles for a touchdown
Seattle were also defeated to the 49ers, with a late touchdown in week one, before falling to the final play of the game against the Buccaneers - so they're genuinely among the best sides in the NFL
The upcoming game on Sunday could be the most exciting of the year so far
Top Performer - Taylor
Taylor might be on for a historic year after his incredible display in Berlin - running for 244 rushing yards, scoring three scores and adding an additional 42 {receiving yards