Patrick Mahomes and defense fuel Chiefs' victory over Dolphins

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There have been times this season when the Kansas City Chiefs' offense didn't resemble the high-octane units of their Super Bowl champions, but on a frigid Saturday night, against a banged-up defense of the Miami Dolphins. , Patrick Mahomes led the Chiefs to a 26-7 victory in the wild card game to advance to the divisional round.

The Dolphins' offense was on record pace early in the season, but faltered down the stretch, scoring a combined 33 points while losing the final two games of the regular season. Miami didn't convert a third down on Saturday until 10:00 left in the fourth quarter.

Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs are in the divisional round of the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season, but this time with a different type of team. The Chiefs defense, as it has done for most of the season, led the way. The Chiefs limited the Dolphins to 264 yards and one touchdown.

Quarterback Breakdown: The Dolphins tried to blitz Mahomes like no other Chiefs opponent. They got after him on 60% of his dropbacks in the first half, the highest percentage of his career. He went 8 for 15 when he rushed for 100 yards in the half. The Dolphins eased off the pressure a bit in the second half. Mahomes finished 23 of 41 for 262 yards and a touchdown.

Buy with great performance: Rookie wide receiver Rashee Rice had his biggest game yet with 130 yards and a touchdown on eight receptions. More often than not, if Mahomes turned to a wide receiver, it was Rice. He was the target on 12 of Mahomes' first 20 passes thrown to a wide receiver. Rice had 92 receiving yards in the first half. A Chiefs wide receiver did not reach 92 receiving yards in a game until Week 12 of the regular season. It was the most receiving yards in a first half by a Chiefs WR since the 2021 opener (Tyreek Hill, 96 receiving yards). And it was the most by a rookie in the first half of a playoff game since 2009 (Colts WR Austin Collie had 105 receiving yards in the first half of the AFC Championship Game against the Jets).

Surprising statistic: Offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor's back-blocking penalty negated a Chiefs touchdown in the second quarter. Taylor had 17 accepted penalties in the regular season, the most by any offensive player in a season since 2003. Taylor later in the first half had another penalty, this time for a false start, when the Chiefs were in the drill. two minutes.

Worrying trend: The Chiefs scored 2 of 6 touchdowns in the red zone. They went 1 for 3 in Week 17 against the Cincinnati Bengals in the red zone in their most recent game playing their starters. They ranked 17th in red zone efficiency in the regular season at 54.1%. –Adam Teicher

Next game: Or the Bills in Buffalo or the Houston Texans in Arrowhead.

Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins were missing five starters on one side of the ball, but a casual observer could be forgiven for not being able to tell it was on defense.

The Dolphins offense accumulated 264 yards. Without five defensive starters, Miami's defense forced field goals on four consecutive trips to the red zone, but its offense was unable to capitalize.

Even with the return of running back Raheem Mostert and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle after two-game absences, the Dolphins' offense looked like a shell of the version that scored 70 points against the Denver Broncos in Week 3.

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa completed 20 of 39 passes for 199 yards, one touchdown and one interception, capping an unremarkable three-game stretch heading into a crucial offseason. The Dolphins exercised their fifth-year option, but their contract negotiations for an extension over the coming months will be closely watched.

Quarterback Breakdown: This was a game that will likely be discussed for the next few months regarding Tagovailoa's limitations. Kansas City did not respect him as a running threat and challenged him to throw in frigid conditions. The ball slipped out of his hands on several pass attempts, and his ineffectiveness as a passer allowed the Chiefs to control Miami's running game. Tagovailoa led the NFL in passing yards this season, but hasn't surpassed 300 yards since Nov. 19.

Describe the game in two words: Bad football. There aren't many other ways to describe it: The Dolphins averaged 3.1 yards per play outside of that long touchdown to Hill and were constantly attacked at the line of scrimmage by a stout Chiefs defense.

Worrying trend: For the fourth straight game, the Dolphins' high-powered offense looked anything but special. They failed to reach their season scoring average in five of their last six games, losing all but two of them. Other than a 53-yard touchdown pass Saturday night to Hill, the Dolphins' offense was nonexistent. — Marcel Louis-Jacques

next game:The season is over.