🔗 Share this article

Week 10 once more provided excitement, with a huge upset for the Buffalo Bills proving the 'any Sunday can bring surprises' saying that attracts so many fans into the National Football League

That result may have opened things up for the New England Patriots to move back into a top spot they formerly held, with a remaining games that gives them an edge over their eight and two rivals

Over in the NFC the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams had perfect results to arrange a monster clash next week, while our top performer is pursuing milestones as well as the MVP award

The Breakdown - Just a Bad Day for Buffalo?

Could it simply have been an emotional comedown from defeating Kansas City last week or a deeper issue? That's the question for the Buffalo team to address

The Bills had won seven in a row against Miami but were second best from the beginning as the Miami team emerged as 30-13 victors in an surprising result - and performance

MVP Josh Allen only achieved the team's opening first down in the third quarter and initial scoring in the final quarter - admittedly the Dolphins had ten days to get ready but it was nonetheless a significant failure produced by one of the league's best offenses

Dolphins quarterback Tua threw two scores but rusher Achane was the game-changing factor, with 225 combined yards and two touchdowns

Bottling up the league's best running game was crucial too, with Cook and teammates registering just eighty-six yards, their fewest of the year and slightly more than fifty percent their 161.5-yard season average

Additionally there were the three crucial ball losses, and the pair from Josh Allen in particular. An interception in the scoring area resulting in a nine minute drive produced nothing, and his fourth-quarter fumble that the Dolphins converted to seven points just later

It was classic 'previous Bills teams' as they shot themselves in the foot, falling into a hole on defense and Josh Allen trying to do too much to rescue his squad from the situation - rather than the composed, disciplined, balanced Buffalo team we've seen this year

The Dolphins have served up a bit of everything this season so the jury's out on if this is the start of a trend, but for the Bills they'll require an immediate bounce-back in a difficult matchup against Tampa Bay in week 11 as the New England are quietly moving into a comfortable advantage at the top of the AFC East

In Focus - Patriots Identify Route to Unexpected First Place

Speaking of the Patriots, they're one of three eight and two squads in the NFL, all American Football Conference sides, but are they the top team?

One could pick holes in the Patriots, Denver and the Colts really for feasting on the lesser sides, with just five of their total twenty-four victories achieved against opponents with a winning record - and one of those was the Indianapolis beating the Broncos

The Broncos beat the reigning champion Eagles in Philadelphia and are masters of the final quarter while Indianapolis can ride Jonathan Taylor, but the New England adding Sunday's win in Tampa Bay to their prime time win in Buffalo appears to be a declaration

Their pair of losses came in recently appointed coach Vrabel's first three games, with seven consecutive victories, just like the Broncos, since then - but taking down Mayfield after the Buccaneers had a week off to prepare was significant

Maye's Most Valuable Player credentials won't go away, and he definitely deserves credit for bravery after taking some savage hits in Tampa but persevering to guide his team to success

The defense is solid and first-year rusher TreVeyon Henderson burst onto the scene on Sunday with 147 yards and two exciting scores of fifty-five and sixty-nine yards - establishing himself as just the fifth different ball carrier to exceed 22mph this year on his first score

While you can debate who 'the top team' is statistically, the Patriots should be favorites to end with the top record thanks to their schedule - which features just a single matchup against a successful opponent, although a significant contest against the Bills

Visiting Baltimore is challenging too, 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 encounter the same problem) and additionally the Green Bay on the schedule

The Colts also play the Kansas City, and have the Seattle, 49ers and two matchups with the five and four Jacksonville to face. There is a long way to go but the door is available for a shock top seed in the American Football Conference

Next Week - Los Angeles and Seattle Prepare for Next Week Clash

Two teams with solid claims to be superior to all of the three 8-2 teams are NFC West opponents the Seahawks and Los Angeles, who both put up 40 burgers to reach 7-2 ahead of the upcoming Hollywood blockbuster meeting between the pair in LA

Both have secured four victories in a consecutive games, have signal callers in Stafford and Sam Darnold performing at an high standard (although Sam Darnold had ball security problems on Sunday) with top receivers, and defensive units allowing fewer than twenty points a game

Each could easily be without a loss as well - particularly the Los Angeles as their two defeats came in overtime against the San Francisco and then that painful defeat in Philadelphia when they had a potentially winning field goal with the last kick deflected and returned by the Philadelphia for a score

The Seahawks also lost to San Francisco, with a last-minute score in the opening week, before losing to the final play of the contest against the Buccaneers - so they are truly among the top teams in the NFL

The upcoming game on Sunday could be the most exciting of the season to date

Player of the Week - Taylor

Jonathan Taylor might be on for a record season after his incredible display in Germany - rushing for 244 yards, registering three touchdowns and contributing an additional 42 {receiving yards