KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When the Kansas City Chiefs faced the Miami Dolphins on Nov. 5, they did as well as they could have hoped for, limiting their opponents to 292 yards and 14 points.
They are still impressed with the size of the job that awaits them Saturday night when the teams meet again, this time in the wild-card round at Arrowhead Stadium.
“They have a lot of speed,” cornerback Trent McDuffie said. “That's one thing we know for sure. They're going to try to get this advantage and try to get their players the ball in space, so I think a big thing is open-field tackling… I think this is a game where the 11 [are] necessary, every play. So we return to that swarm, to that relentlessness that [defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo] talk about. “I think that should be demonstrated this weekend.”
The Chiefs countered Miami's speed well in the Week 9 matchup between the teams. The Dolphins have a lot of fast players, including wide receiver Tyreek Hill.
The midseason meeting was the first time Hill faced his former team since the March 2022 trade that sent him to Miami. Hill had eight receptions against the Chiefs but gained only 62 yards. McDuffie's tackle on Hill late in the first half caused him to fumble the ball and the Chiefs recovered and returned it for a touchdown for the deciding score in a 21-14 victory.
According to ESPN Analytics and NFL Next Gen Stats, the Chiefs played zone coverage on a season-high 61% of dropbacks against the Dolphins. The Chiefs excelled in that type of coverage. Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa completed 67% of his attempts with a 76 QBR against man, 58% with a 19 QBR against zone. His only touchdown came against man coverage.
Much of the zone coverage was due to Hill, whose speed and quickness have broken through in many games.
“You have to treat it differently,” Spagnuolo said. “If you're in the zone, we have to have 22 eyes on him, know where he is at all times. That's part of what we've been saying because he can hurt in a lot of different ways. They turn the ball over.” to him and jetweep and they throw it at him, the screens, everything.
“They all have speed. They built it that way, but certainly Tyreek leads that attack because of what he can do, and we didn't match up [running back De’Von Achane] last time. I told the guys that there will be another weapon the other day that we didn't have before, so be prepared for that. Our eyes will be on all those guys. “I always say you can't duplicate everyone, but we'll try to find ways to take away the guys that are going to be eliminated.”
Tagovailoa threw to Hill just three times in 20 routes when the Chiefs were in zone coverage. He had two receptions on those plays for 29 yards. Hill was targeted seven times on 13 routes when the Chiefs were in man coverage and on those plays he had six receptions for 33 yards.
According to Next Gen Stats, cornerback L'Jarius Sneed lined up opposite Hill on 12 of his routes. The Dolphins threw to Hill just twice as Sneed finished as the closest defender and both passes were incomplete.
Sneed has frequently covered the opponent's top receiver this season, the list includes Calvin Ridley, DJ Moore, Garrett Wilson, Justin Jefferson, AJ Brown and Ja'Marr Chase. Sneed has usually won those battles. Davante Adams of the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 12 was the only receiver to catch at least three passes with Sneed as the closest defender.
The Chiefs will presumably try Sneed frequently on Hill this week. But between Jaylen Waddle, Raheem Mostert and Achane (who was on the injured list when they reunited in November) the Dolphins have more cause for concern for the Chiefs.
“The whole team is fast,” safety Justin Reid said. “I don't know if there's anyone out there who runs over 4.35. That speed is definitely one of the things that makes them so unique and it's a challenge for us, but we're ready to step up for him.”
