The Kansas City Chiefs came back to defeat the Miami Dolphins, 33-27, on Sunday afternoon in their first trip to Hard Rock Stadium since winning Super Bowl LIV last season.
The Chiefs erased an early double-digit deficit with 30 unanswered points, and despite a late Dolphins’ rally that brought the margin within six points, Kansas City held on to win their eighth-consecutive game while securing a fifth-straight AFC West title in the process.
Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed 24-of-34 passes for 393 yards and two touchdowns in the game, finding tight end Travis Kelce a team-leading eight times for 136 yards and score. It marked Kelce’s fifth 100-yard game in his last six outings.
Mahomes saved one of his biggest throws for last, too, as he fired a dart to wide receiver Tyreek Hill on 4th-and-1 with just over two minutes remaining to help seal the game.
It all helped Kansas City tally a big road victory against a potential playoff team, but it certainly didn’t look to be trending that way at first. Miami jumped out to a quick start courtesy of some Chiefs’ miscues, as the Dolphins built an early, 10-point advantage following two interceptions by Mahomes.
It was reminiscent of when Kansas City fell behind by double-digits the last time they played in Hard Rock Stadium back in February, and right on cue, the Chiefs caught fire after trailing early.
After turning the ball over twice and surrendering a 30-yard sack through their first three possessions, the Chiefs marched 75 yards in just four plays on their fourth series as Hill took an end around for a 32-yard touchdown.
Safety Tyrann Mathieu then picked off Dolphins’ quarterback Tua Tagovailoa a couple drives later, setting up yet another scoring drive as Mahomes found Kelce for a 6-yard score to punctuate a nine-play, 74-yard series.
That gave Kansas City the lead heading into halftime – erasing the early deficit – and they kept things going as the third quarter got underway.
Mahomes found Hill for a 44-yard touchdown on the third play of the second half – marking Hill’s 14th receiving score of the year – to push Kansas City’s advantage to double-digits. Miami then punted on their ensuing series to return man Mecole Hardman, who brought the kick back 67-yards for yet another touchdown.
The two scores meant the Chiefs had 14 points in less than a minute of a game time and a total of 28 unanswered points since falling behind early in the contest.
Defensive tackle Chris Jones later added to that advantage when he sacked Tagovailoa in the end zone for a safety, tacking on two more points to the Chiefs’ advantage. It was one of four sacks for Kansas City on the day.
Miami managed to narrow the deficit to just six points late, as Tagovailoa led the Dolphins on a pair of touchdown drives to give Miami a chance, but the Chiefs held on as Mahomes found Hill for a 22-yard gain on fourth down with just over two minutes remaining.
Kicker Harrison Butker connected on a 46-yard field goal to push the Chiefs’ lead to nine points with just over a minute left, and after a wild game full of momentum twists and turns, Kansas City tallied its 12th victory on the season and a fifth-straight AFC West title.
The Chiefs return to action next week as they travel to New Orleans to take on the Saints.
