Miami Dolphins Q&A with a K.C. Chiefs blogger
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins playoff chances hinge on this weekends game against the Chiefs in Kansas City. A win is a must if they will have any chance of a post-season invitation.
Earlier this week I exchanged questions with a Kansas City Chiefs writer from our sister site, ArrowheadAddict.com. Arrowhead is the only FanSided site that is older than PhinPhanatic. But only by a couple of months.
Our sites came into the network together so it is only natural that we reach out to each other about this weekends game. Both teams need a victory as the Chiefs are holding on to a slim lead in the AFC West and any hiccup could put them in a position to fight for the 6th seed.
The Chiefs have been up and down all season. What happened since that opening weekend beat down of the Patriots?
The Chiefs found an early mojo, got overly confident, then faced off against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 6, who had the formula down to beat them. Every team followed suit to some degree or another and the Chiefs also had a bit too much of their Kool-Aid in the process. The overconfidence, some key injuries, an unwillingness or inability, for some reason, to change their early season approach—all of that led to losing six of seven games at midseason. Now, however, they’ve definitely found some swagger after making the necessary adjustments on offense and defense.
K.C. has found more ways to use Tyreek Hill how has that helped the offense?
Tyreek Hill is now first and foremost a No. 1 wide receiver. Only six wideouts have more receiving yards than he does with two games left and he’s a man on fire at this point with the level of confidence that Alex Smith is throwing with. The two have definitely found a chemistry and they’re not at all afraid to take deep shots because so few defensive backs can compete.
Miami struggles with speedy backs and receivers do you think K.C. will try to exploit this Dolphins weakness?
Of course. If teams aren’t loading the box with safeties to slow Kareem Hunt, then the running game will continue to chip away. Hunt is so good at staying upright (he leads the NFL in broken tackles and yards after contact) that teams have to account for his presence. That’s when Hunt can take advantage of single coverage deep or when Travis Kelce can create mismatches in the middle if teams also leave that open.
Who does Miami have to worry about on the Chiefs defense?
Right now Marcus Peters is playing like a man possessed, trying to prove his doubters wrong. However, that’s nothing new for anyone, so I’d instead tell you to focus on Reggie Ragland. The former ‘Bama linebacker was traded to the Chiefs before the season and missed his entire rookie year to a torn ACL. The Chiefs bought low on the stock and have never regretted the decision. Ragland is a sure thumper who’s more well-rounded than initially believed. He looks like a future star in the middle.
What are your predictions of the game?
Chiefs 30, Dolphins 20. I think this will be closer than anyone likes (on our end) but it’s hard to ignore the way Miami has played some teams (e.g. the Patriots) in recent weeks. The Chiefs could be facing a trap game since there was such a strong emphasis on the last two opponents.