KC Chiefs defense deserves credit for slowing Dolphins enough to win

The Kansas City Chiefs defense deserves credit for holding things together until the offense could figure it out.

The Kansas City Chiefs escaped Miami with a 33-27 victory over the Dolphins on Sunday, but if it wasn’t for the team’s defense, that might not have been the case.

The first quarter of the Chiefs-Dolphins game was a peculiar one. It featured two Patrick Mahomes interceptions and an all-around offensive meltdown. The defense was put into multiple tough situations, but only gave up 7 points at the end of the first quarter.

The Dolphins had four drives at the start of the game to potentially pile up a massive lead before the Chiefs had even scored any points. This is unheard of against Kansas City. If the defense would have buckled, this could have been a completely different game.

After holding the Miami offense to a field goal at the start of the second quarter, the Chiefs’ offense was finally able to get points on the board with a Tyreek Hill touchdown. An interception from the landlord, Tyrann Mathieu, also provided a much needed spark at the end of the first half to give the Chiefs the ball back and get another touchdown.

At the end of the first half, the Dolphins only had 10 points and the Chiefs somehow went into the locker room with the lead.

Along with two turnovers in the first half from the Chiefs’ offense, they also had another two in the second half, with a fumble from Mecole Hardman and a third interception from Patrick Mahomes. After the first turnover of the second half for the Chiefs, Chris Jones was able to wrap up Tua Tagovailoa for a safety. Which, at the time, gave the Chiefs a 30-10 lead.

Following the ensuing K.C. drive, the Dolphins began to put more points on the board. For all that was dealt to the Chiefs’ defense in the game, they performed well and were even exceptional early. It is safe to say that if Kansas City’s defense didn’t show up in the first half, they would have lost the game.

The defense may have ended up allowing 27 total points, but stopping Miami in the first half gave the players and the coaching staff time to calm down and get the Chiefs’ explosive offense moving again.

This was yet another close win, but it was good to see the defense get the job done with the offense struggling. We all owe the Chiefs’ win this week to the defense’s early performance, as they saved the team from falling into a hole from which they could not climb.