Much is on the line for the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and surging Miami Dolphins when the two teams meet Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium — the same field where the Chiefs won the Super Bowl in February. But all eyes will be on the starting quarterbacks.
The two former first-round picks are familiar with one another as they have the same agent, Leigh Steinberg.
Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes has been impressed by what Dolphins rookie Tua Tagovailoa has accomplished in his first five NFL starts.
“He’s super talented,” Mahomes said Wednesday. “He understands what it takes to win football games. I think it comes from him playing at Alabama and winning those national championships there. He understands exactly what needs to be done to win football games.
“You can see it from his college career and then now in his pro career, he knows how to manage the game and manage the situation,” Mahomes continued. “I mean he does a good job of knowing that his defense, his special teams are working and can do what he can on offense to put up enough points to win games. He’s done that his whole career and that’s truly a remarkable thing. That’s something that I wasn’t that good at my first year here. Obviously, he has the talent. He can make all the throws, he can roll to his right, to his left, and throw off balance. And he can run and make stuff happen, too. That veteran kind of mental mindset that he has is truly special at this time in his career.”
Mahomes continues to solidify his case for a second regular-season MVP. He’s already thrown for an NFL-best 3,815 yards and 31 touchdowns — with only two interceptions. His two interceptions — in 463 attempts — are the fewest of any quarterback in the league that has attempted at least 100 throws. He also has a quarterback rating of 113.8.
Tagovailoa, who is 4-1 as Miami’s starter, was benched in the fourth quarter of the team’s most recent loss Nov. 22 at Denver. He sat out the next game because of a lingering thumb injury, but benefited when the Dolphins went to a no-huddle offense in last week’s 19-7 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Dolphins (8-4), led by a stingy defense, could prove they are legitimate playoff contenders with a win over the Chiefs (11-1). Miami has already exceeded expectations, but have only one win (the Los Angeles Rams) against a team currently above .500.
“They’ve won a lot of football games,” Mahomes said. “It’ll be a great challenge for us this week to beat a really good football team.”
With a win, Kansas City will clinch the AFC West and would have the best 13-game record in franchise history at 12-1.
