Miami Dolphins rally against KC falls short. Team needs more offensive weapons
The difference between the Miami Dolphins and the Kansas City Chiefs?
Yes, one is building while the other is a defending Super Bowl champion and perhaps making its way back to the big game.
But beyond that, one is a bulldozer. The other is a Ferrari.
The Dolphins plod and steamroll and often win by wearing down opponents slowly, methodically.
The Chiefs are sudden. And shocking. And dynamic.
The Dolphins can punch and often stay in games until the fourth quarter. That’s when they hope to pull something out near the end. The Chiefs, well, they’re explosive.
We saw all this on Sunday.
Chiefs 33.
Dolphins 27.
The Chiefs had touchdown passes of 32 yards and 44 yards and a 67-yard punt return.
That turned a Dolphins 10-0 first-quarter lead into a 28-10 deficit by the middle of the third quarter.
And the Dolphins made it a one-possession game at one point in the fourth quarter, but let’s face it: The Dolphins simply are not loaded at the offensive playmaking positions like the Chiefs are.
We knew this before the game. And then the Dolphins lost No. 1 receiver DeVante Parker before halftime to a leg injury. And then lost receiver Jakeem Grant to a leg injury for most of the second half. And lost tight end Mike Gesicki to a shoulder injury in the fourth quarter.
And it was clear even before the injuries and despite Gesicki’s best efforts on a 29-yard touchdown, that the Dolphins were incapable of mounting the break-neck comeback they needed to overcome the Chiefs.
This game made one overriding point: If the Dolphins want to give quarterback Tua Tagovailoa a chance to be really good, they have to give him more weapons.
Remember this game before the next draft and the start of free agency.
Because the Dolphins aren’t there yet.
Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes is great and talented and all that. But he has Tyreek Hill and tight end Travis Kelce and all the rest of the Chiefs’ talented receivers.
So, yes, the Chiefs had 10 plays that covered 20 yards or more. Miami had three.
The Dolphins couldn’t keep up.
Miami did good work in the hurry-up, with Tagovailoa running the show without any huddles. The Dolphins made the game 30-24 using this approach.
But ultimately, the Dolphins were exposed for handling their running back situation on the cheap last offseason as Matt Breida, Myles Gaskin or Salvon Ahmed all missed the game. Understand that Breida has been unremarkable after being traded to Miami while Gaskin and Ahmed -- both motivated but not dynamic -- are solid second-tier backs at this stage in their career.
At receiver, the Dolphins paid a price this game for compiling a receiver corps that comes with an injury history. So they came into the game without No. 2 receiver Preston Williams, who’s been injured for weeks, and lost both Parker and Grant for half the game.
Judging Tagovailoa with that supporting cast is not fair.
So this was a learning experience.
We learned the Dolphins have much work to do this offseason in upgrading at both wide receiver and running back.
At that point, the evaluation of Tagovailoa would be fair. And not really until then.
As to the Dolphins defense, well, that unit battled.
The Miami defense collected four turnovers in the game, including three interceptions.
The Miami defense and Kansas City offense traded punches like heavyweights in the first half.
The Dolphins landed with an interception by Byron Jones, his first pick since 2017.
The Dolphins landed again with an interception by Eric Rowe.
And with linebacker Jerome Baker chasing Mahomes throughout the first half, and collecting a 30-yard sack, the Dolphins were very much in the fight.
Of course, the Chiefs are the champs. They don’t fold.
And they benefited by avoiding their own mistakes. When that happened, they moved the ball quickly.
Tyreek Hill, for example, took a toss pass as he whizzed past Mahomes in the backfield and got to the sideline outside Miami’s containment. He scored on the play covering 32 yards.
The Dolphins had generally contained Hill until that point, keeping him without a catch. But the Chiefs simply found a different way to get him the football.
The Chiefs had the ball at the end of the first half and got themselves inside the Dolphins 10 yard line. And on second down, they did what they seemingly often do:
The got a touchdown from Mahomes to tight end Travis Kelce.
That score broke a seven drive streak in the red zone in which Kansas City had not scored a touchdown.
The Dolphins would collect a third pick of Mahomes when Xavien Howard got his fifth interception in the past five games.
So Miami’s defense did some excellent work this game getting turnovers against an offense that rarely makes such mistakes. Ultimately, it wasn’t enough.
The Dolphins need more help on offense.
This story was originally published December 13, 2020 at 4:19 PM.
