Dolphins vs. Chiefs: Behind the scenes with a Miami insider

As the Kansas City Chiefs prepare to host the Miami Dolphins at Arrowhead, we asked a Miami insider some questions for a game preview.

The Miami Dolphins are the only obstacle left for the Kansas City Chiefs, if they play their cards right. If the Chiefs can stay as focused and aggressive as they’ve been over the last two weeks, then Andy Reid will not only have a fifth straight winning season in K.C. but he’ll also have a second consecutive division title atop the AFC West.

In order to best understand the Chiefs chances (and also what happened to Miami this year), we reached out to Brian Miller from Phin Phanatic.

The schedule was much tougher this year and then Ryan Tannehill got injured. What is the morale at this point for the Dolphins?

They have always kept their heads up all year long. Things just haven’t worked out the way they had expected. It was so much more than Tannehill. Miami lost two starting linebackers in rookie Raekwon McMillan and Koa Misi in camp. They lost nickel back Tony Lippett, lost Nate Allen later in the year, Ja’Wuan James, Anthony Steen, the list goes on. The next man up mentality has been the next to the next to the next man up.

Is there any feeling that they could close the year on a winning note or gain some late season momentum to take into the offseason?

Miami isn’t thinking about the offseason just yet. They still know that they have to win on Sunday in K.C. and then take a shot at knocking the Bills out in week 17. The funny thing is that Miami is actually still alive for the postseason. A longshot for sure, but in reality, there is a good chance if they win out that they will be awaiting a result in week 17 to find out if they are in. Talk to the Dolphins and no one is talking about 2018 yet.

Besides the schedule and Tannehill, what went wrong for the Dolphins this year that you didn’t expect?

The injuries were horrible and continued all season long. Not minor injuries either but injuries to starters and their back-ups. At one point Miami had something like $20,000 in cap space and needed to bring a player up to fill a hole. The most disappointing aspect of the year is how long it took for the team to start coming together. And of course Jay Cutler. Cutler was supposed to be able to step in and run the Adam Gase offense but instead he just stepped in and took $10 million of Stephen Ross’ money.

What do you think now of the Jay Ajayi trade?

I actually called it a few hours before the trade happened. I said on social media that he was the only viable option in a trade. I actually liked the trade. He has had some very good games but he has had some bad ones too. Rumors swirled that he had an attitude issue and often overstepped his boundaries and those rumors appeared to have been true. Loved whatching him play but Kenyan Drake is handling the job just fine.

Any hidden gems that Chiefs fans should watch for on offense? Defense?

Julius Thomas. No I kid. There is no special someone that Miami has that isn’t already talked about. Xavien Howard our 2nd year corner has looked fantastic the last three weeks and he should be able to hold up well against the K.C. receivers but we will see. The speed on the outside for K.C. is impressive. Other than him, nothing really surprising or anyone to really watch out for.

Do you have any predictions on Sunday’s game at Arrowhead?

I predict it will be cold and noisy. I predict that Jay Cutler will throw two interceptions and Ndamukong Suh will have at least one sack while Cameron Wake has two as well. I also predict that the Chiefs will win 27-17.