Who’s hot, who’s not after the Dolphins’ loss to the Chiefs in Germany
The Dolphins’ offense continued to struggle away from home, while a fully healthy defense had a promising debut.
Here’s a look at who’s hot — and who’s not — after Miami’s 21-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Frankfurt, Germany, on Sunday.
Who’s hot
▪ Cornerbacks Jalen Ramsey and Xavien Howard: It was the much-anticipated debut of two All-Pro cornerbacks who are expected to be centerpieces of the defense. Injuries for both players delayed them seeing the field together, but they didn’t disappoint in Frankfurt. Both Ramsey and Howard were rarely targeted in coverage and when they were, they didn’t cede a lot of — if any — yardage. With two standout outside corners, the Dolphins were able to pack the middle of the field and limit All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce to a season-low three receptions for 14 yards. Sunday marked the first time the entire Dolphins’ starting defense was playing and it was an encouraging performance, holding quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City offense to 14 points and scoreless in the second half.
▪ Outside linebacker Bradley Chubb: Days before the Week 9 matchup, Chubb spoke to reporters and noted it was the one-year anniversary of him being traded to Miami and receiving a lucrative extension. The start of Chubb’s tenure as a Dolphin was rocky, with injuries and a lack of sacks leading to frustrations. However, advanced metrics have always favored Chubb as a pass rusher, and he is now in his best stretch since coming to South Florida. Chubb recorded a key strip-sack that set up the offense’s second touchdown and brought the team’s deficit to seven points late in the third quarter. He now leads the team with six sacks and has recorded a sack in four consecutive games.
Who’s not
▪ Wide receiver Tyreek Hill: On the surface, Hill’s stat line — eight receptions for 62 yards — is fine, even if a bit low for his standard this season. And credit the Chiefs’ defense for keeping Hill’s impact to a minimum by being physical at the line of scrimmage and sending an extra defender his way. However, uncharacteristic mistakes from Hill contributed to another off day for the Dolphins’ offense away from Hard Rock Stadium. Hill had at least one drop on what would have been a big gain and another target that looked like a catchable pass. His most costly blunder, though, came right before halftime, when he was stripped on a screen pass and Kansas City returned it for a touchdown, putting Miami behind 21-0 at halftime.
