Miami Dolphins Vs Kansas City Chiefs: 6 Pack Of Key Match Ups
The Miami Dolphins enter this week’s home game looking to regain some of the momentum they had when they opened the season in Sun Life Stadium with a victory in front of their home town fans.
After traveling to Buffalo and laying an egg against their division rival Bills, the Dolphins look to rebound in a major way to avoid falling behind in the division ranks early in the season, playing catch up as they embark onto next week’s London trip overseas.
With a victory on Sunday, the Dolphins can remain undefeated at home, get back over .500, and score an inter conference win that may later come in handy, if and when tiebreakers play a deciding factor in their playoff fate.
In order for the Dolphins to walk off that field victorious on Sunday, there are some things that need to go their way. So without further ado, here is this week’s 6 pack of key match ups.
Match Up 1: Dolphins Special Teams vs. Chiefs Special Teams
How has any phase of football been more of a focus than the special teams this week? They absolutely cost the Dolphins every chance they had in their game last week. While being average on offense and defense didn’t help; giving up a kick return touchdown, blocked punt, and muffed punt sealed the Miami Dolphins’ fate last week on the road.
In a game like this, where the Dolphins are playing a team that has yet to win this young season. Desperation may be setting in and the Chiefs’ unit will be looking to have a big game, especially since, if they go 0-3 to start this season, the bottom of that roster will be churned and burned, leaving players without a home. The Dolphins better beware of this and be thinking of this as their own possible fates if they don’t get the job done..
Match Up 2: Dallas Thomas vs. Dontari Poe
Dontari Poe really came on in his second season, developing into a force at the nose of a talented front seven. Blessed with an incredible blend of agility and power, Poe looks to pose a real threat to an interior offensive line that has been dealing with injuries. Pressure up the middle seems to fluster Ryan Tannehill the most, especially when he consistently can’t step up into the pocket and has passes batted at the line. Poe does both of those things extremely well.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins are going to plan B at right guard with Shelly Smith going down with a knee injury last week. Enter Dallas Thomas, this kid has been given every chance to own this job during the offseason and now he’s presented with yet another one in the form of an injury replacement. He’ll have to play well early in this match up against Poe to keep from returning to the bench, because best believe the Fins have no qualms of inserting Nate Garner in there as the lunch pale, plug and play guy.
Match Up 3: Ryan Tannehill vs. Chiefs Secondary
Ryan Tannehill has been under a lot of scrutiny for his early season inaccuracies. He’s admitted that he needs to play better and if being aware of the situation is any consolation, then he’s won half the battle. Tannehill, needs to get into an early groove where he is distributing the ball to multiple receivers. Brain Hartline, Brandon Gibson, and Charles Clay have been relatively quiet to start this season and getting them involved, spreading the field to help Ryan get into that groove will be one of the most important keys to the game.
Lining up on defense, Tannehill will see a familiar face from his rookie season as former Dolphins’ cornerback Sean Smith will be looking to intercept a pass against his former team. Overall though, this Chiefs’ secondary is underperforming and dealing with an injury to their best player, Eric Berry, being held out on Sunday. This is a great match up for Tannehill to get on track, but he really needs to step up and fast forward the acclimation process to Bill Lazor’s new scheme with his teammates.
Match Up 4: Dolphins Linebackers vs. Chiefs Tight Ends
The Miami Dolphins enter another week down 2 of their opening day starters at linebacker. Jelani Jenkins and Jason Trusnik have done an admirable job filling in and will have to do so again if the Dolphins are going to be able to hamper this Andy Reid led west coast offense. While the linebacker injuries seem to have impacted the special teams more than the base defense, these reserves must continue to play at a high level for the Dolphins to stop this offense.
The Chiefs like to use a lot of double tight end looks and who can blame them when they field two pretty good ones? Dolphins fans should be familiar with Anthony Fasano’s toughness and spectacular catch radius, while Travis Kelce offers the freak of nature match up Dolphins fans have not yet seen this season as Patriots’ Rob Gronkowski wasn’t at full strength to start the year. With a double tight end set to force the Dolphins into a lot of base defensive fronts due to the run threat, look for the Chiefs to attack Phillip Wheeler in coverage. The Dolphins need to be in control of this tandem or it will be a long day watching these tight ends gobble up first downs and touchdowns.
Match Up 5: Dwayne Bowe vs. Brent Grimes
The Miami Dolphins secondary had a tough go against Bills rookie Sammy Watkins last week, while they played mostly zone defense in that game, Grimes lost some one on one match ups, with Watkins‘ size and running ability posing the mismatch. This week Grimes is tasked with with a bigger more physical receiver in Dwayne Bowe.
Bowe seems to have lost a half of a step in the past 2 years but he is such an imposing figure, he’s still able to get himself open by using his massive frame to post up defensive backs. While Bowe presents some challenges for a small corner like Grimes, Grimes is more than capable of the task as he’s defended big receivers like Bowe in the past with great success.
Match Up 6: Olivier Vernon vs. Eric Fisher
The Dolphins couldn’t sack EJ Manuel last week versus the Bills after taking down the Patriots’ Tom Brady multiple times, so you can can see the correlation of how getting pressure on the quarterback helps with getting a victory. Olivier Vernon had a huge season in his second year as a pro, sacking quarterbacks, and beating premier left tackles with his top shelf athletic ability and relentless motor. As a compliment to Cameron Wake, Vernon enjoys the fruits of one on one match ups and when he dominates those match ups, the Dolphins are usually rocking and rolling on defense and they will need that on Sunday.
Erik Fisher is last year’s top overall pick in the draft, playing mostly right tackle last year. Replacing current Dolphins left tackle Branden Albert on the blindside in Kansas City, Fisher has not allowed a sack in his first 2 games starting there in the pros. While Fisher hasn’t allowed a sack yet this year, he has allowed an abundance of pressure on his quarterback Alex Smith, Vernon should be looking to capitalize on these openings that exist in Fisher’s game and make an impact on the outcome.
With this game being the first of the season that isn’t a division rival, Sunday will probably mark the first time fans can get a real glimpse of what Miami’s identity will be heading forward this season. Playing a team that is not familiar with your personnel can be a double edged sword, so while the opposing team has to adapt to the Dolphins physicality and tempo, the Dolphins also have to be wary of what the Chiefs can do to them if they are underestimated. FINS UP!!