About halfway through the fourth quarter of the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Miami Dolphins AFC wild-card game, half of the Arrowhead Stadium crowd began making their way to the parking lot.
This was not a retreat from hardship. The Chiefs were well on their way to moving on to the divisional round the next week, leading by three possessions. Who was to blame but the fans? The temperature was -8°F with a -28 wind chill, which was marginally colder than the -4°F (-27 wind chill) during kickoff. They were leaving happy that they had braved enough inclement weather. For three quarters, icicles had covered Coach Andy Reid’s mustache.
The Chiefs defeated the Dolphins 26-7 on Saturday, leading from start to finish. The Chiefs postseason record-tying four field goals from kicker Harrison Butker came from a dominant defense and a better than adequate offense.
“People arrived with that mindset and attitude. We were prepared for the cold. However, we spent the entire week preaching, “Let’s bring that fire inside,” Mahomes remarked.
In less than four minutes, Kansas City’s first drive resulted in a touchdown, as rookie receiver Rashee Rice and quarterback Patrick Mahomes connected for an 11-yard touchdown. With eight catches on 12 targets for a season-high 130 yards, Rice demonstrated why he carried the Chiefs’ receiving room in the closing moments of the game.
As the third quarter got underway, the Dolphins had only mustered six first downs. Early in the second quarter, the score was 10-7 thanks to a 53-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to Tyreek Hill, the former Chief making his Arrowhead comeback. Again, Miami failed to score. At the start of the fourth quarter, the Dolphins had 98 total yards on 32 plays, excluding Hill’s grab and run. The entire game, they gained 76 running yards. On third down, Miami was 0 for 12 yards.
Travis Kelce, a tight end with the Chiefs, caught seven receptions for 71 yards, although at least two of them were dropped. Taylor Swift, who wore a personalized “87” jacket, was a favorite subject of the Peacock cameras as the game was aired exclusively on the platform.
Isiah Pacheco, a rushing back for Kansas City (24 rushes, 89 yards), put the game away in the fourth quarter with a touchdown from the wildcat formation. On Miami’s second possession, safety Mike Edwards intercepted Tagovailoa, who airmailed a throw over the middle. Edge rusher George Karlaftis led the defense with 1.5 sacks.
Mahomes completed 23 of 41 passes for 262 yards, not very effective. In crucial moments, he also had two scrambles for a total of 41 yards on the ground, which put the Chiefs in a goal-to-go scenario. Kansas City’s red-zone offense was one aspect of the game that worried them. The Chiefs went 0-for-2 in goal-to-go situations and only scored touchdowns on two of their six possessions that entered the red zone.
