Dolphins haven’t recovered since their humiliating loss to Chiefs

January 13, 2024, might seem like a long time ago, especially when putting it into the perspective of NFL fans, but it was only a mere 20 months ago. During those 20 months, some crazy things have happened in the world, but one of the most unbelievable is the fact that the Miami Dolphins have completely broken themselves—and it all seems to be because the Chiefs made the first crack.

That bitter cold day in Kansas City was the beginning of the end for the likes of Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, and their head coach Mike McDaniel, because since then, they have gone from a winning team with an offensive firestorm to one of the most pitiful groups that can’t win or score to save their jobs.

The season leading up to that 26-7 Wild Card victory for KC was the best in Miami since 2008, when Chad Pennington brought them to a Wild Card loss at home against Baltimore. Jaylen Waddle and Hill combined for 191 receptions and 2,813 yards to help prop up McDaniel’s second-ranked offense heading into Kansas City, yet players like L’Jarius Sneed and Trent McDuffie held the dynamic duo to just seven receptions for 93 yards and the Dolphins’ lone touchdown (below).

Since that day, the offense has regressed and shrunken like a flower in -4-degree weather with -27-degree wind chill. They went from second in the league in points per game (PPG) at 29.2 to 22nd last season (20.3) to 25th so far this season (18.7) after an 0-3 start. Now their “offensive genius” head coach is sitting on one of the hottest seats in the NFL, and many are speculating that there could be a fire sale before the trade deadline if the trend continues.

That team that Kansas City beat had 261.2 passing yards per game, just 4.6 yards behind Dallas at No. 1, but dropped to 219.8 last season (16th) and 192 this year so far, which is currently ranked 21st. That’s just how it has gone for them, and it started with the blueprint that Kansas City gave the rest of the league on how to keep them down and looking up for 60 minutes every Sunday.

What did Kansas City do differently?

The main thing that teams were not doing to Hill and Waddle that season was playing them tough at the line of scrimmage, for fear of getting juked or moved off and being exposed for a long pass play—something both are known for in their respective careers. That changed in Kansas City while Chiefs Kingdom was wrapped in layers, seeing their own breath for three hours.

Before he was getting embarrassed by Sneed on the line (above), Hill had the best season against press coverage by scorching defenses for over 1,500 yards and 12 touchdowns on 93 receptions. Since then, Hill hasn’t even been able to reach 750 yards against press and failed to reach 1,000 receiving yards for the first time since 2019, when he missed five games.

Miami’s speed didn’t end at the receivers, though. Their two-headed monster in the backfield—consisting of their speedy current RB1 De’Von Achane and a dominant Raheem Mostert—combined for 14 attempts for 42 yards. Everything came together at the line of scrimmage, and the speed of players like Nick Bolton (who had a game-high 10 tackles) kept the edges clean.

Since that day, Miami has only won 8 of their 20 games, Tagovailoa has missed six games, and their offense has lost only two key players (Mostert and Durham Smythe), who combined for just over 1,500 yards in 2023–24. They have seemingly been nothing but broken since that fateful day in the North Pole of Arrowhead.

Now the Dolphins are 0-3, nearly half their team is looking to get plucked by contenders before the trade deadline, and Coach McDaniel is obviously on the hot seat and will likely be an offensive coordinator on a needy team next season.

This has led to rumors about Kansas City reuniting with Hill, though many would rather have Achane or perhaps one of the Dolphins’ defensive players. But when (not if) the Dolphins implode and begin a true rebuild around their $53,000,000 quarterback, it will all have been started by the Chiefs and their dominant win that demoralized an entire NFL franchise.