Chiefs cruise past Dolphins in Wildcard Round
Tyler Brown
As the clock struck zero in the Kansas City Chiefs (11-6) Wild Card matchup with the Miami Dolphins (11-6) it was negative nine degrees at Arrowhead Stadium. It was the fourth coldest game in NFL history, there was hardly an empty seat and what the Kansas City Chiefs put on display was their best performance in months, if not all season.
Kansas City cruised by Miami, drumming the Dolphins through big games from their stars on offense and another shutdown performance by their defense. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes, running back Isiah Pacheco, wide receiver Rashee Rice and tight end Travis Kelce led the way on offense while the defense held the league’s number-one offense to just seven points as the Chiefs beat the Dolphins 26-7.
Mahomes and the offense finished the season as a top-10 offense in terms of yards per game, but it never led to enough points in their six losses, due to self-inflicted errors such as turnovers, drops and penalties. They still had their fair share of mistakes but in their first playoff game, they limited them which led to two touchdowns and four field goals. This type of complementary football to tag along with their dominant defense is the recipe for another deep run in the playoffs.
“They brought a lot of pressure,” Mahomes said. “ … We were able to throw the ball, we were able to run the ball against some of those pressures. I thought the O-line did a great job. We had that mentality all week that we were going to go out there and play football. We know it’s cold but we’re going to go out there and see what happens.”
With the weather being what it was, the game was always going to predicate on some sort of success from Pacheco. Head coach Andy Reid committed to the run game in a more than usual way, running the ball 34 times. Pacheco set the tone with his physical run style, toting the rock for 24 of those carries. With those, he tallied 89 yards and a touchdown that put the Chiefs up three scores with 11 minutes to go in the game.
While Pacheco was busy setting the tone, Rice was busy putting his mark on the game all over the field. The rookie's playoff debut was one he will never forget, catching eight passes from Mahomes for 130 yards. The SMU product found the endzone on an 11-yard pass less than four minutes into the game and he used his knack for running after the catch the rest of it. He averaged 16 yards per catch which included one gain for 39 yards.
“Rice for his day, it is hard to believe he is a rookie,” Reid said. “ … We were hoping he was as good as what we saw at SMU. The best part about him is he just keeps working. He’s relentless with that. He’s got a good relationship, he’s got Pat’s respect. He wants to do it the right way.”
Kelce put up his best yardage output since December 10th back in week 14, adding 71 yards and seven catches to his playoff legacy. He was targeted 10 times and the three he did not catch were all drops. Some drops are to be expected with the ball being so hard on a bitter, cold night but it is safe to say that Kelce could have had even a much bigger night.
This was Mahomes 12th career playoff victory and he ended his day completing 23 of his 41 passes for 262 yards and one touchdown. He nearly had two touchdowns, but one was called back after a flag was thrown due to a block in the back by left tackle Jawaan Taylor. That too, was to Rice. Mahomes also finished with two carries for 41 yards.
Overall the offense produced 145 yards more than the Miami offense and finished the game with only one turnover. That turnover was a fumble by running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire in garbage time when the Chiefs were trying to use up the clock on their last possession up 19 points. They also only had five penalties for 45 yards. Given the weather, it was as good of a performance as you could ask for from the offense.
“I’m not going to lie. It was cold,” Patrick Mahomes said. “I think at the end of the day, you have to be mentally tough enough to say that it’s not going to affect how we play, it’s not going to affect my effort … It wasn’t like we were just going to run the football. We ran the football well but at the same time, you got to be able to throw the football to have success in this league.”
Dolphins running backs Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane were seen by many as the key players to watch out for when it came to exploiting the Chiefs' defense. Mostert came into the game averaging over 4.8 yards per carry while Achane had a historically great season averaging over 7.7 yards per carry on over 100 carries.
Running the ball plays well in frigid temperatures but the Kansas City linebacking core was up to the task. Mostert finished with 33 yards on eight carries and Achane finished with nine yards on six carries. Linebacker Nick Bolton was a big part of shutting it down, leading the Chiefs in tackles with 10.
“I thought Steve (Spagnuolo) had an unbelievable plan,” Reid said. “I thought the guys executed it well. That’s not an easy defense to learn. That’s why when I tell you about Bolton getting everybody lined up and ready to go in the front end and back end, he does great with that. They (Bolton and Spagnuolo) have a great connection between them. Bolton’s like a coach out there.”
After the Chiefs were able to get up seven points on the first drive, safety Mike Edwards began to tilt the momentum in Kansas City’s direction even further. A couple of drives after the Rice touchdown, Edwards picked off Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa after feeling some pressure. It was that turnover that led to the Chiefs' first two-possession lead.
Chiefs cornerbacks L’Jarius Sneed and Trent McDuffie were lauded earlier this season as they limited former Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill to 62 yards, one of his lowest production outputs all season. That was week nine in Frankfurt, Germany. Hill’s Arrowhead homecoming did not go much better.
Hill got loose one time against McDuffie for a long 53-yard touchdown to bring the game within three early in the second quarter. Hill, however, caught four other balls for nine yards otherwise and the Dolphins never scored again after that. Sneed and McDuffie each led the Chiefs with two pass defenses and nobody else in the Miami receiving core racked up more than 37 yards. The banged-up speedy receiver, Jaylen Waddle ended the game with two catches for 31 yards.
“Tyreek’s a great player,” Reid said. “I mean a great player … But you don’t see Tyreek get knocked down very often, but Sneed did that. I have a hard time believing there’s another corner as good as him in this league. He’s really playing well and challenging. Then you got McDuffie on the other side doing the same thing.”
The Chiefs only hit quarterback Tua Tagovailoa five times, but they brought him down on two of those occasions. Second-year defensive end George Karlaftis was credited with 1.5 of them, while star defensive tackle Chris Jones accounted for a half-sack. Where the Chiefs left their mark on Tagovailoa and the Dolphins' offense was on the money down where they held Miami to one for 12 on third downs.
“They got guys everywhere,” Karlaftis said. “They got all the skills. It’s like a track team out there. They got a bunch of fast guys. They got a great O-line, running backs. Tua’s great and can make all the throws. They got a number one offense by all the metrics and whatnot, so they’re a challenge every time you play them but we had a good game plan going. Spags was dialing up some stuff, so it was great.”
What is next for the Chiefs is still unknown. It all hinges on the now Monday afternoon game where the Pittsburgh Steelers travel to face the Buffalo Bills. If the Steelers win, the Houston Texans will be coming to Kansas City for the divisional round. If the Bills win, the Chiefs will be traveling to Buffalo.
Regardless of who they play, if the Chiefs play like this, they will have a great opportunity to advance to the AFC Championship game for a sixth consecutive season. What remains to be seen is if they are capable of playing solid, complementary football in back-to-back games for the first time this season. The good news for Chiefs Kingdom is defense travels well in January.
