The KC Chiefs head to South Beach for a date with the current No. 6 seeded Miami Dolphins.
Hard Rock Stadium will always hold a special place in the Kansas City Chiefs‘ hearts. It’s where they won Super Bowl LIV earlier this year (feels like an eternity ago, doesn’t it?) and they’ll return for the first time since that moment this weekend when they face the 8-4 Miami Dolphins.
The Dolphins are one of the biggest surprise teams of the season, having gone 5-11 a season ago and now looking poised to make it to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. They won’t have an easy run in their final four games, facing the Chiefs, Patriots, Raiders, and Bills to close out their 2020 season.
Heading into the 2020 regular season, I listed the Dolphins as a surprise team who could hand the Chiefs a loss and stuck by that narrative when I included them on my list of remaining trap games last month. Simply put, the Dolphins are a good enough team to deal the Chiefs some fits and while I still think Kansas City wins this game, it’s not going to be a calkwalk.
For one, we’ve seen the Dolphins perform well in every aspect to this point. Their defense is second in the league in takeaways and Xavien Howard leads the NFL in interceptions with eight picks on his resumé. Patrick Mahomes has only thrown two interceptions this year, but he’ll have his work cut out for him against a Dolphins defense that LOVES to take the football away from offenses.
Secondly, the Chiefs defense hasn’t been playing all that well in recent weeks, which could open the door for rookie Tua Tagovailoa to really step up and show that he was worthy of that No. 5 overall selection. Maybe he does so by airing out the football (something he hasn’t done consistently yet) or maybe he takes off and run against what’s been a pretty pourous run defense. Either way, this game could be Tua’s time to shine.
Throw in the fact that the Dolphins are fighting like hell to get a Wild Card spot in the playoffs and this game, along with their other three upcoming games, is a must win for the Fins. They have home field advantage and know they’re going to have to score points to keep up with the Chiefs.
The Dolphins took down the defending Super Bowl champions a year ago, so they know they’re up for the task. Don’t be surprised when the Dolphins either make this a close game until the final seconds or outright win it at home against the Kansas City Chiefs.