Despite wind chills nearing minus thirty degrees, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Miami Dolphins 26-7 in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated. Though the offense struggled in the red zone, the defense shut down the Dolphins’ high-powered offense, and now Kansas City moves onto the divisional round.
In weather conditions that were so cold, moisture froze Andy Reid’s mustache, but the Kansas City Chiefs did enough on both sides of the ball. Kansas City was never in jeopardy of losing to the Miami Dolphins.
Though former Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill had a terrific 53-yard touchdown, that was the only point Miami scored on the night. Steve Spagnuolo called a brilliant game, and his pressure forced Tua Tagovailoa into errant throws and happy feet in the pocket. Clearly, he is an above-average quarterback, but he won’t win much at the NFL level.
On the flip side, Patrick Mahomes threw for 262 yards and a touchdown. Had it not been for another Jawaan Taylor holding call, he would have had a pair of scores to Rashee Rice. Yet, the rookie wide receiver set a new Chiefs rookie playoff receiving record with 130 yards on eight catches. He was clutch on third down, and his running route was beautiful.
Isiah Pacheco led the Chiefs in rushing 89 yards on 24 carries and a touchdown. Even the old man, Travis Kelce, had 71 receiving yards on eight receptions. Though he and Mahomes didn’t find the end zone, Kelce’s drop might have resulted in his first post-season touchdown.
Overall, there’s not much you can be upset about in this game. With the cold temperatures, a rookie post-season officiating crew, Kansas City, did what they had to do. In reality, they knocked out the number-one scoring team in the NFL and did it without much resistance.
The Chiefs are headed to the Divisional Round. They’ll either play the Bills in Buffalo if they defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday afternoon or the Houston Texans, who demolished the Cleveland Browns 45-14 at home on Saturday.
I suspect the way the Chiefs played this game Saturday against the Dolphins; they don’t care who they face next weekend. If it’s the Bills, they’ll get an extra two days of rest and prep time. If it’s the Texans, they are a formidable team with a rookie head coach and rookie quarterback leading the way into the next round.
Stay Tuned to Chiefs Blitz for more analysis of this Chiefs wild-card win.
