There are no moral victories.
The Kansas City Chiefs are 0-2. This game versus the Miami Dolphins, in Miami, is a must win game. Unfortunately the Dolphins are coming home off a week two 29-10 loss to their hated rivals, the Buffalo Bills. In week one the Dolphins took down the New England Patriots. This is a winnable game, but it is not a game to overlook.
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The Dolphins are far from being considered a slouch. With New England and San Francisco looming in the coming weeks, this game becomes the game that could decide the season for the Kansas City Chiefs. The Dolphins boast a top 10 rushing offense, and an above average defense. That being said, how do the Kansas City Chiefs take down the Dolphins in their own stadium?
The Dolphins current strength is their rushing attack. Knowshown Moreno rushed for 134 yards on 24 carries against New England. The good news is that he is out for this game with an elbow injury. The bad news is that Lamar Miller will be starting in his place. Dolphins left tackle (and former Chief) Branden Albert is currently the number one rated tackle by pro football focus after weeks one and two. I feel like the Chiefs will see a heavy dose of plays run to Albert’s side and Lamar Miller is lightning.
Whereas Knowshon Moreno is more of a complete back, Miller can really hurt you with his speed and the Chiefs currently have the 23rd best rushing defense in football. A good chunk of that is contributed to having two replacements in James Michael Johnson and Josh Mauga starting in the inside linebacker positions instead of Derrick Johnson and Joe Mays. Mike Devito missing from the defensive line will also have a lot to do with this. The Dolphins will be looking to exploit these weaknesses.
For the Kansas City Chiefs to stop this running attack they should shove a heavy dose of defensive lineman Kevin Vickerson down the Dolphins throats. I think that Vickerson could have a larger impact against this Dolphins front than most people think. Combine him with nose tackle Dontari Poe’s lineman eating abilities and the Chiefs could end up forcing Ryan Tannehill to air it out. This leads to my next point.
The Chiefs secondary is HORRID. Eric Berry going down with a high ankle sprain makes it one of the worst units, if not the worst, in the NFL. Their main issue is that they don’t have anyone with the coverage skills combined with the speed to cover the faster receivers in the NFL (See first long throw to Emmanuel Sanders last week). This week could show the same problem. Dolphins receiver Mike Wallace is known for his deep threat abilities and he can easily race past the likes of Marcus Cooper, Sean Smith, Husain Abdullah, and Eric Berry’s replacement, defensive back Ron Parker.
Crafty veteran Brian Hartline will be starting opposite Wallace and tight end Charles Clay is no slouch. I am more concerned with the secondary doing their jobs than the pass rush doing theirs. If the secondary can do their job, Miami will have to make it their job to prevent outside linebackers Tamba Hali, Justin Houston, and hopefully, the nearly nonexistent Dee Ford, from doing theirs.
Shifting focus towards the offense, the Chiefs biggest issue is their red zone scoring. Last week, the Chiefs had 1st and goal from the four and could not score, and a penalty led to a Cairo Santos missed 37 yard field goal. Then, on third and goal from the two and a half yard line the Chiefs could not put the ball in the end zone to defeat the Denver Broncos. Both the Chiefs and the Dolphins are currently 50% in scoring in the red zone this season.
This is pretty simple: When the ball is inside the twenty yard line, you need to score.
How do you do these things called touchdowns you ask? Well, you put your best players on the field. Andy Reid seemed to think it was a good idea NOT to play Anthony Sherman, one of the best run blocking fullbacks in the game on the third and goal from the 2 and a half yard line and then on fourth and goal, he thought it was a good idea to NOT play their leading receiver, tight end Travis Kelce. Arrowheadpride.com, the Chiefs blog for sbnation.com, has a great article breaking it down. The Chiefs need to score in the red zone to defeat the Miami Dolphins.
It really seems simple doesn’t it? Stuff the run, show a semblance of a competent secondary, and score in the red zone. Even a dummy like me understands it. Chiefs 27-Dolphins 20.Keep it red, keep it yellow, keep it Chiefs.
P.S. Go Royals!