The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Miami Dolphins by a score of 33-27 on Sunday. The Dolphins fall to 8-5 with the loss, and the Chiefs move to 12-1, and clinch the AFC West

This team has heart.

In many ways, this game was eerily similar to the end of last season. Last year, the Dolphins were competing with a depleted roster — but whether it was by scheme or by raw emotion, they won a handful of games that most would say they had no business winning.

The Dolphins entered this game without running backs Myles Gaskin, Salvon Ahmed and Matt Breida. They were of course missing Preston Williams, and would lose DeVante Parker at the half with a leg injury and Mike Gesicki with a shoulder injury. The offensive line was missing guard Ereck Flowers.

On the defensive side, the team was without linebackers Kyle Van Noy and Elandon Roberts. In the third quarter, the Dolphins lost Bobby McCain with an ankle injury.

Despite all of the missing pieces on the offense, Tagovailao had a a career-high 316 yards with three total touchdowns. Despite all the missing pieces on defense, they were able to intercept Mahomes three times, only the second time that’s happened in his career.

Despite all the missing pieces across the board, the Dolphins lost to the best team in football by only six points.

A deeper look

The Dolphins kept this game close early on. Patrick Mahomes entered this game with two interceptions on the season. In the first quarter, the Dolphins intercepted him twice. The first interception came after a deflection by Andrew Van Ginkel that Byron Jones was able to snag. That was Jones’ first interception since October of 2017.

The second interception came after a high throw by Mahomes was deflected into the air by Edwards-Helaire. Rowe was able to make the play on the ball.

The first two interceptions only led to three points for Miami, as Jason Sanders missed a field goal.

In the first quarter, Jerome Baker was able to track down a sprinting Mahomes for a 30-yard sack. This play was one of the best effort plays by a Dolphins player all season.

Chiefs Tyreek Hill found the end zone on a 30-yard run for a touchdown. He did not have a reception in the first half.

At the half, the Dolphins were only down by four points.

The second half is where things slightly unraveled for Miami a bit. Mahomes found Tyreek Hill for a 44-yard touchdown. On the following drive, Chiefs receiver Mecole Hardman returned a punt 67 yards for a touchdown. Two drives later, Tagovailoa held on to the ball way too long, resulting in a safety.

The Dolphins climbed back after a spectacular touchdown grab by Gesicki, but ultimately would lose by one score. The safety and a rare missed field goal by Jason Sanders proved to be costly for the team.

Tua had several mistakes, including that safety, and just general accuracy on a handful of passes. He threw his first interception on the season on a deep pass to Jakeem Grant. The pass, which was a little underthrown, bounced off the hands of Grant only to be intercepted by Tyrann Mathieu.

Despite that, it was overall a great game from Tua Tagovailoa. There was also several instances that remind you why he is such an intriguing player. He displays an already impressive pocket presence, appearing unfazed by defenders barreling towards him and being able to make quick, side steps. He uses his eyes like a veteran, going through several reads and trying to disguise his primary target by looking away. Considering the weapons at his disposal (outside of Mike Gesicki) were: Jakeem Grant, Malcolm Perry, Lynn Bowden Jr. and Mack Hollins — this may have been his most impressive performance of the year.

Tua, who has been reluctant to really throw the ball downfield this season, played a lot more openly in this game. He completed 7-of-17 passes thrown beyond 10 yards downfield. Tagovailoa’s average intended air yards this week was 9.5, which was the fourth most in the NFL.

Tight end Mike Gesicki is on fire. In his last three games, he has 186 yards and 4 touchdowns. Unfortunately, in the fourth quarter, Gesicki suffered what appeared to be a serious injury. He was driven into the ground, with most of the force impacting the top of his helmet and shoulder area. The mechanics of the hit instantly reminded me of the Aaron Rodgers injury in 2017 where he sustained a broken collarbone. Gesicki was visibly in pain, grabbing at his shoulder. He was walked off the field appearing unable to lift his corresponding arm.

Though the Dolphins have two solid tight ends in Smythe and Shaheen, losing Gesicki would be like losing a primary receiver. With this group already lacking weapons, this would be a massive blow for the team.

Receiver DeVante Parker did not catch a ball in today’s game. He nearly had a touchdown on a contested pass in the end zone, but was unable to reel it in. Parker left to the locker room just before the end of the half with a leg injury and did not return.

Receiver Lynn Bowden Jr, who had his best game of the season last week, improved even further. He led the Dolphins in receiving yards in this game — catching seven of his nine targets, for 82 yards receiving. Most of his catches were on these short to intermediate little out routes, but he also had a nice 22 yard catch down the center of the field, holding onto the ball while taking a big hit.

The Dolphins also tried a few trick plays involving Bowden receiving a handoff and attempting a pass. Neither play resulted in a positive gain. I like seeing the creativity — but the Dolphins lack of threatening weapons, makes it hard for a defense to overcommit on any player.

Another week, another rough game for Jakeem Grant. Grant had another two drops in this game — one of which was on third down. The other resulted in Tagovailoa’s first interception. Grant has had more than enough opportunities to prove that he can be more than a special teams specialist — but has been unable to do anything with them.

The Dolphins running game was largely ineffective in this game. As expected with Gaskin, Ahmed and Breida out, DeAndre Washington led the team in carries against his former team. It was far from a revenge game, as Washington only finished with 35 yards on 13 carries.

The offensive line struggled in this game. Tagovailoa was sacked four times, including the safety where the pocket completely collapsed. There were also other sacks, specifically one by Austin Jackson, where he didn’t even get a chance to get a hand on his man. It was partly due to a tremendous jump by Chiefs Chris Jones, but that still can’t be acceptable. On another play, the defender hit Solomon Kindley with a hesitation, and blew by him nearly untouched.

There were absolutely no holes either for the Dolphins, forcing them to become one dimensional. The Dolphins averaged 3.3 yards per carry and their longest run was a nine-yard scramble by Tagovailoa.

Defensively, the team played about as good as one could hope against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Mahomes was intercepted three times. As mentioned earlier, the first two were by Byron Jones and Eric Rowe. The third interception came via Defensive Player of the Year candidate Xavien Howard. Howard leaped up with one hand to snag a remarkable interception in front of Tyreek Hill. The interception, which looked very similar to Brent Grimes famous pick, was truly beautiful, and will be in the conversation for interception of the year.

Jerome Baker had two and a half sacks in this game, and two tackles for a loss. Baker was all over the field, and has been thriving in this defense.

Towards the end of the game, Byron Jones was able to punch out the ball from Mecole Hardman, which Kamu Grungier-Hill recovered.

Defensive tackle Raekwon Davis had a massive stop on third-down towards the end of the game. He was able to stop Edwards-Helaire dead in his tracks and push him back like a kid.

Defensive tackle Zach Sieler also had several huge plays in this game, including a huge tackle for a loss of seven. His three tackles for a loss were a team-high.

The Dolphins’ front did a good job at contesting the running lanes. Edwards-Helaire would run the ball 16 times in this game, for a total of 32 yards. That averages to two-yards-per-carry, which is a huge improvement by the Dolphins defense in terms of run-stopping.

Tight end Travis Kelce got the best of Eric Rowe. Rowe had done a fine job at neutralizing the tight end position — but in this game, Kelce won. Kelce finished the game with 8 catches, for 136 yards and a touchdown. In the third quarter, Kelce went up for a contested catch and completely Moss’d Rowe.

Kelce now leads the entire NFL in receiving yards. Again, not just among tight ends. Kelce is the leader in receiving yards among all positions.

Hill, who had 79 yards receiving in the second half, was also able to slice through this defense with relative ease. After safety Bobby McCain left the game with an ankle injury, Mahomes promptly found Hill on a 44-yard touchdown reception. Safety Clayton Fejedelem came in to replace McCain. Fejedelem took a few steps forward, and that was enough for Hill to outrace him to the top of the field.

Though Hill only had one carry in this game, he led the Chiefs in rushing yards. His 32-yard touchdown showcased his game-breaking speed, but also featured a missed tackle by Eric Rowe and a terrible angle from Clayton Fejedelem.

Takeaways

It’s obvious — the Dolphins need more weapons offensively. The coronavirus outbreak made an already underwhelming receiver group worse by causing Wilson and Hurns to opt out. Even then, with the violent nature of football — it was foolish of the Dolphins to think they could enter a season with DeVante Parker, Preston Williams and Jakeem Grant. As the teams primary receivers and that the lack of depth wouldn’t come back to haunt them. With Williams out, Parker and Gesicki leaving the game, and Grant being a severe disappointment — it’s hard to imagine Tua making a huge playoff run with the current state of the offense.

Longterm, the Dolphins look incredible. Even though there are obvious needs on the offensive side, that shouldn’t negate all the positive moves the Dolphins made in the offseason. Brian Flores and Chris Grier built a defensive powerhouse — and turned an offensive line that was in shambles to a young, and functioning one. If it was possible to completely overhaul a team in every aspect, and make them a competitor in one offseason, more teams would do it. This next upcoming offseason will feature the flashy offensive additions that fans want to see, and that’s when this team will be hitting its peak. The Dolphins are still on track to be a longterm success.