Miami Dolphins defensive power rankings heading into Chiefs game

Heading into a tough matchup with these Kansas City Chiefs, these Miami Dophins defenders must step up in order to keep pace in the playoff race.

The Miami Dolphins defense came to play last Sunday against a hobbled Cincinnati team and should look to continue that intensity week 14.

After back-to-back games where the defense struggled against the Denver Broncos and New York Jets, the Phins were able to get six sacks and two interceptions against the Bengals.

This week, against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, the defense will need to play a near perfect game in order to keep up with the Super Bowl Champions.

On the season, Mahomes has only thrown two interceptions, Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill have been nearly impossible to cover, and their offensive line does a  great job protecting their quarterback. The one, and probably only, silver lining is the offense struggles to run the ball, especially in the red zone.

This week, these 5 defenders are going to be vital in slowing down the Chiefs and hopefully pulling off the upset for the Miami Dolphins, in order to keep them firmly in the AFC playoff race.

5. CB Byron Jones 

Jones has played a secondary role to the phenomenal play of Xavien Howard on the season. However, as far as number two corners go, Jones is one of the best ones to have in the league.

After briefly making Jones the highest paid corner in the NFL, the Dolphins have seen great play from the duo of Jones and Howard. Even while he struggles to get interceptions, Jones is always able to make plays and be disruptive.

In this game, Jones will more than likely find himself facing off against either the speed of Mecole Hardman, the big bodied Kelce or Sammy Watkins. Outside of Howard vs Hill, Jones will be leaned on heavily to do what most other defenders in the league can’t.

Expect Mahomes and the Chiefs to find mismatches along the defense, but when he targets Jones or Howard, it’ll be much harder than any other guy on the defense.