The Miami Dolphins have the biggest test of their 2020 season awaiting them tomorrow afternoon when things kick off from Hard Rock Stadium for a showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs. The defending Super Bowl champions will enter this game at 11-1 and firmly hoping to secure a first-round bye in the AFC playoffs.
Miami, meanwhile is hoping to come up with the right formula to make the dance at all. How should we expect things to play out? And what doe we need to know about the Chiefs ahead of tomorrow’s game? We checked in with Chiefs Wire to find out.
1. If the Dolphins were to look for any opportunity to exploit a weakness in Patrick Mahomes, where would they be best served looking?
I’ve told other network editors before that the best way to beat Mahomes is to keep the ball away from him, but it’s really not true. Ball control offense means nothing when Mahomes and his offense can score in less than 40 seconds. The best way to beat Mahomes is to be a team with the firepower to match him on offense. If you have a defense that can force mistakes, like holding penalties on the offensive line, that’ll certainly help. The idea is to get into a shootout and hope that your guys can execute better for a full 60 minutes.
2. The Chiefs offense has so many weapons at their disposal. Which under the radar player feels poised for a breakout game that Miami should be wary of?
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Sammy Watkins is due for a big game. This will be his third game back in his return from a bad hamstring injury and he’s been playing catch-up a bit. The Dolphins have a pretty talented secondary, but I reckon they’ll have their hands full with Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce. If you look back to the 2018 AFC Championship Game, when Brian Flores was coaching the Patriots defense, Watkins was the player who showed up big when Hill and Kelce were getting mugged by Pats defenders.
3. Defensively, the Chiefs’ pass rush hasn’t equaled their potential thus far this season but clearly has talent up front. What has caused the lack of effectiveness in the pass rush thus far this season?
Yeah, one sack in the last eight games isn’t exactly great. The funny thing is they’re still 14th in the league in terms of total pressures, so it’s really that they’re not doing a good job of finishing. Steve Spagnuolo has been sending many blitzes and they’ve been getting off the field on third downs. It seems just like a matter of time before they have a big performance in terms of sacks and get things back on track. They also really miss former Dolphins DE Taco Charlton, who suffered an ankle fracture and is on injured reserve. He was thriving in their dime defense on passing downs.
4. Which player in the Chiefs’ back seven should the Dolphins try to identify and attack if they’re hoping to create a mismatch?
I’d typically say starting left cornerback Charvarius Ward, but he has really bounced back from his performance earlier in the season, back when he was dealing with a hand fracture. The team had Tyrann Mathieu as a late addition to the injury report on Friday with a hip injury. If he can’t play that’d be a devastating loss for the Chiefs. Juan Thornhill hasn’t quite been the same since tearing his ACL in 2019. He’d be someone that they could probably exploit if he’s forced to play more often. They don’t really have anyone who can replace the types of things that Mathieu does for the defense.
5. Who wins and why?
I think the Dolphins are a better team than they’re getting credit for in the AFC playoff race. Are they ready to take down the reigning champs, though? It’d certainly be a statement win for Miami and their young quarterback, but I’m not sure they’re quite there yet. I think it’ll be a close game, but the Chiefs are the more experienced team and they’re on a mission. They’ll take this one 31-24.
