By CJ Carlson
The Kansas City Chiefs had yet another underwhelming game, this time in the postseason against the Miami Dolphins. What was most impressive was that they emerged victorious in a game that started off at –7 degrees and reportedly felt like it was –24 or colder.
Let’s start with the obvious, this is not the same Chiefs offense that we’re used to seeing. They didn’t exactly play poorly in this game, but they just don’t look very good still. They had more dropped passes from their receivers, horribly timing penalties from both their offensive lineman and their wideouts, and overall couldn’t make that many plays against a Dolphins team that was missing around seven starters on defense.
Aside from Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, Rashee Rice has been phenomenal on offense. He’s truly stepped into that number one receiver role and is shining there. He had 130 yards through the air, which was a franchise record for a rookie receiver. He’s going to be called upon consistently if this team has any hopes of finishing further into the postseason than they currently are.
The Chiefs defense on the other hand played great against Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Raheem Mostert, and Tua Tagovailoa. Miami could only muster 264 yards of total offense and scored just one singular touchdown on a deep ball to Tyreek Hill that got horribly underthrown in the process. The Dolphins defense also didn’t get a single third-down conversion until halfway through the fourth quarter, with that being their only one of the night. In total, this Chiefs defense gave up 13 first downs on 11 total drives. If they keep performing like that, nobody will beat them in that area.
Kansas City Chiefs Give Dolphins A Lot To Think About
Miami has to be disappointed in their play. They ended the year poorly and didn’t do well in the Wild Card round despite such a strong year. Yes, injuries absolutely played a factor in what their defense was able to do, but it didn’t change how their offense performed. It’s something that’s going to need to be looked at moving forward. Tagovailoa once again just didn’t get the job done under center, completing around 50 percent of his passes for 199 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Those are numbers that have to improve with the season on the line.
There is a good chance the Tagovailoa in particular gets a lot of thought from the front office. He doesn’t currently look like a quarterback that’s going to take this Dolphins team all the way. He looks like he will always give you above average game managing and make the throws that are schemed open for him.
I want to be wrong and have full faith that he can turn the corner, but time and time again we see him and the Dolphins stumble because he isn’t rising up to the level of play of his opponents in big games. We saw it in the season finale when they lost the division against the Buffalo Bills, and we saw it again tonight.
