🔗 Share this article

The tenth week once more provided excitement, with a huge upset for the Buffalo Bills proving the 'any given Sunday' mantra that attracts so many fans into the National Football League

That result could have created things up for the New England Patriots to move back into a top spot they used to occupy, with a remaining games that gives them an advantage over their eight and two rivals

Over in the NFC the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams had ideal outcomes to set up a monster clash in week 11, while our top performer is chasing records as well as the MVP award

The Breakdown - Just a Bad Day for the Bills?

Was it just an emotional letdown from defeating Kansas City last week or a deeper issue? That's the question for the Bills to address

The Buffalo squad had won seven in a row against the Dolphins but were outperformed from the beginning as the Dolphins emerged as 30-13 winners in an surprising outcome - and performance

MVP Josh Allen only achieved the team's initial first down in the third quarter and first points in the fourth - yes Miami had ten days to get ready but it was nonetheless a significant failure produced by one of the NFL'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

Containing the league's best running game was crucial too, with Cook and company recording just 86 yards, their lowest of the year and slightly more than fifty percent their 161.5-yard season average

Then there were the three critical ball losses, and the pair from Josh Allen in particular. An pass caught by defense in the scoring area resulting in a nine-minute possession yielded no points, and his final quarter fumble that the Dolphins turned into seven points just later

It was classic 'previous Bills teams' as they shot themselves in the foot, getting into a deficit on defensive side and Josh Allen attempting to do too much to dig his team out of it - rather than the calm, controlled, well-balanced Bills we've seen this season

Miami have served up a varied performances this year so the jury's out on if this is the beginning of a trend, but for the Bills they'll require an instant response in a difficult matchup against Tampa Bay in week 11 as the New England are sneaking into a nice lead at the top of the American Football Conference East

In Focus - New England Identify Route to Surprise Top Seed

Speaking of the New England, they're one of three different 8-2 squads in the NFL, all AFC sides, but are they the top team?

You can pick holes in New England, Denver and Indianapolis really for dominating the weaker opponents, with only five of their combined twenty-four wins achieved against teams with a positive record - and one of those was the Indianapolis defeating the Denver

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

Their two defeats came in recently appointed coach Vrabel's initial three contests, with seven straight victories, just like Denver, since then - but defeating Baker Mayfield after the Bucs had a week off to get ready was significant

Maye's MVP claims won't go away, and he certainly earns point for bravery after taking some hard tackles in Tampa Bay but hanging in there to steer his team to success

The defense is reliable and rookie rusher TreVeyon Henderson burst onto the scene on game day with 147 rushing yards and two exciting touchdowns of fifty-five and sixty-nine yards - becoming just the fifth different ball carrier to break 22 miles per hour this season on his initial touchdown

While you can debate who 'the top team' is statistically, the Pats should be favourites to finish with the top record thanks to their remaining opponents - which features just one game against a winning team, albeit a significant contest against Buffalo

Traveling to Baltimore is also tough, but Denver have it even tougher in the AFC West division with the Kansas City 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 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 opportunity is open for a shock top seed in the American Football Conference

Coming Up - Rams & Seahawks Prepare for Next Week Clash

Two teams with strong arguments to be superior to all of the three eight and two sides are National Football Conference West opponents the Seattle and Los Angeles, who both scored 40 burgers to reach 7-2 before next week's major meeting between the pair in LA

They've both secured four victories in a row, have quarterbacks in Matthew Stafford and Sam Darnold performing at an elite level (although Sam 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 came in extra time against the 49ers and then that painful defeat in Philly when they had a game-winning kick with the final play deflected and returned by the Philadelphia for a touchdown

Seattle also lost to San Francisco, with a late touchdown in the opening week, before falling to the final play of the contest against the Buccaneers - so they're genuinely two of the top teams in the NFL

The next matchup on Sunday could be the best of the year to date

Player of the Week - Jonathan Taylor

Jonathan Taylor could be on for a historic year after his remarkable performance in Berlin - rushing for 244 yards, registering three touchdowns and adding another 42 {receiving yards