🔗 Share this article

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

This outcome could have created opportunities for the New England Patriots to move back into a leading position they formerly held, with a schedule that provides them an edge over their eight and two rivals

Meanwhile in the NFC the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams had perfect results to arrange a monster clash in week 11, while our player of the week is chasing records as well as the Most Valuable Player award

The Breakdown - Just a Bad Day for Buffalo?

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

The Buffalo squad had won seven in a row against the Dolphins but were second best from the beginning as the Dolphins ran out 30-13 victors in an eye-opening result - and display

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

Tua Tagovailoa passed for two scores but running back De'Von Achane was the game-changing factor, with 225 combined yards and two touchdowns

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

Additionally there were the three critical turnovers, and the two from Josh Allen in particular. An pass caught by defense in the end zone meaning a nine minute drive yielded no points, and his fourth-quarter dropped ball that the Dolphins converted to a touchdown just two plays

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

The Dolphins have served up a bit of everything 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 the Buccaneers next week as the Patriots are sneaking into a nice lead at the summit of the American Football Conference East

In Focus - New England Identify Route to Unexpected First Place

Regarding the Patriots, they're one of three different 8-2 squads in the league, all American Football Conference sides, but could they be the best?

You can find flaws in the Patriots, Denver and Indianapolis really for dominating the lesser sides, with only five of their combined 24 wins coming against teams with a positive record - and one of those was the Indianapolis beating the Broncos

The Broncos defeated the reigning champion Eagles in Philly and are masters of the final quarter while Indy can rely on Taylor, but the Patriots including Sunday's victory in Tampa to their prime time success in Buffalo appears to be a declaration

Their two defeats came in new head coach Mike Vrabel's first three contests, with seven straight victories, similar to the Broncos, from that point - but taking down Mayfield after the Bucs had a week off to get ready was huge

Maye's Most Valuable Player credentials won't go away, and he definitely earns point for bravery after absorbing some hard tackles in Tampa Bay but hanging in there to guide his team to victory

The defense is solid and rookie rusher Henderson exploded on game day with 147 rushing yards and two exciting touchdowns of 55 and 69 yards - becoming just the fifth different ball carrier to break 22mph this year on his first score

Although you can debate who 'the best' is statistically, the Pats should be favorites to finish with the top record due to their remaining opponents - which includes just one game against a successful opponent, although a significant contest against Buffalo

Visiting the Ravens is challenging too, but the Broncos have it even tougher in the AFC West division with the Kansas City to face two times, the Chargers (who might also challenge for first place but encounter the same problem) and also the Packers on the schedule

The Colts also face the Kansas City, and have the Seattle, San Francisco and two games with the 5-4 Jaguars to face. There is a considerable distance to travel but the opportunity is open for a shock number one position in the AFC

Coming Up - Los Angeles and Seattle Prepare for Week 11 Showdown

Two teams with strong arguments to be superior to all of the three 8-2 teams are NFC West opponents the Seattle and Rams, who both scored forty points to reach 7-2 before next week's major game between the two in LA

Both have secured four victories in a consecutive games, have signal callers in Matthew Stafford and Sam Darnold performing at an high standard (although Sam Darnold had ball security problems on game day) with excellent pass catchers, and defenses giving up under 20 points a game

Both could realistically be undefeated as well - particularly the Los Angeles as their two defeats came in overtime against the 49ers and then that painful defeat in Philadelphia when they had a game-winning field goal with the final play deflected and run back by the Eagles for a score

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

The upcoming game on Sunday could be the most exciting of the year so far

Player of the Week - Jonathan Taylor

Jonathan Taylor could be on for a record season after his incredible display in Germany - rushing for 244 yards, scoring three scores and adding another 42 {receiving yards