Banged-up defense did what it could to keep Dolphins in game vs Chiefs. It wasn’t enough
The Miami Dolphins’ banged-up defense could only hang on for so long.
Drive after drive, the group missing a half-dozen key players did all it could to limit the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday. For three quarters, it bent but did just enough to keep the game in close range.
But eventually there was going to be a breaking point.
It finally came in the fourth quarter, when the Chiefs orchestrated a seven-minute, 14-play, 64-yard touchdown drive to cap scoring in Miami’s 26-7 loss in the wild card round of the NFL playoffs to Kansas City at Arrowhead Stadium.
It marks the second consecutive year the Dolphins’ season ended in the wild card round.
“Not what we wanted,” defensive lineman Zach Sieler said.
The Dolphins were without one of their top cornerbacks (Xavien Howard), their top three edge rushers (Jaelan Phillips, Bradley Chubb, Andrew Van Ginkel), their starting middle linebacker (Jerome Baker) and one of their starting safeties (Jevon Holland).
They signed three outside linebackers — Malik Reed, Justin Houston and Bruce Irvin — in the week leading up to the playoff game.
Houston and Reed both played significant snaps on Saturday.
“It was tough, but it is what it is,” defensive tackle Christian Wilkins said. “Injures are part of the game, and we’re not going to make excuses for that. As much as we’d love to have those guys, it’s just part of the game. You don’t make excuses for that. You still fight and play hard no matter what. We still went into every game as confident as ever and didn’t make any excuses and we just kept it running.”
Added coach Mike McDaniel: “You can look at it as what we didn’t have or you can look at it as who stepped up. Injuries are part of the game. ... We have a very good roster that had depth. Every year, you expect to have to count on your depth down the stretch of the season. I think every year, to a point, you’re not going to have every single one of your starters that you started the season with. You have to find a way to evolve and adjust to the skill sets of your players. Whether it’s the case or not, it’s just gonna be tough for me to ever say it’s OK because we had injuries.”
And even with that, the defense hung with the Chiefs offense for three quarters.
After giving up a touchdown to the Chiefs on their opening drive — a nine-play, 69-yard march in less than four minutes — Miami held Kansas City to four field goals over their next six drives despite three of those drives being at least 10 plays.
At that point, the score was 19-7 Kansas City with nearly 23 minutes left despite Kansas City having 318 yards of offense. The defense had given the offense chances to rally and mount a comeback, no matter how unlikely it seemed.
That comeback never happened. The offense scored on just one possession — a 53-yard touchdown from Tua Tagovailoa to Tyreek Hill early in the second quarter.
After that, Miami’s final six offensive drives (not including the two that ended each half) ended with three punts and three turnovers on downs. The closest they got to the end zone was the Chiefs’ 31 yard line.
And then the Chiefs put the game away for good with their fourth-quarter touchdown drive.
“If they don’t score, they don’t win,” linebacker David Long Jr. said. “That’s hard to put on the defense when you’re out there fighting. ... There’s frustration, but I’m proud of the guys and the way we fought.”
This story was originally published January 14, 2024 at 1:06 AM.
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