The Dolphins and Chiefs met in the biggest game of the NFL’s Week 9 slate on Sunday morning in Frankfurt, Germany, as the two AFC contenders entered the day at 6-2 on the season with a chance to make a statement overseas.
Kansas City jumped out on top of Miami 21-0 in the first half thanks to two impressive drives and one wild defensive score off of a Tyreek Hill fumble in the final minute of the second quarter. However, the second half featured very little in the way of positives for the Chiefs on offense, as they struggled to move the ball with their longest drive of the second half going for just 24 yards, and they allowed the Dolphins to chip away at the lead and make it 21-14 going into the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter saw another defensive struggle break out, as neither team could do much but the Dolphins were given a bit of life in the closing minutes when the Chiefs bizarrely fielded a punt at the two and then on 3rd and 1 chose to pass rather than run, resulting in a throwaway by Patrick Mahomes.
On the ensuing drive, the Dolphins got well into Chiefs territory on a pair of big runs by Raheem Mostert, but stalled out when they went back to the passing game. Tua Tagovailoa really struggled throwing the ball consistently all day, and his issues were particularly apparent on the last drive. He missed a wide open touchdown on 3rd down when, without getting hit, he came up 10 yards short of a wide open receiver — calling it a miscommunication after the game.
This unexplainable honestly … like what happened here pic.twitter.com/JYDIymSLkg
— JE
(@JUSTERIC__) November 5, 2023
On 4th and 10, after a timeout by Miami, the Chiefs opted to bring all out pressure which seemed to do just enough to get Tagovailoa to lose his concentration on the snap, as he fumbled the ball and could only fall on it to effectively end the game.
BROUGHT THE PRESSURE TO FRANKFURT. pic.twitter.com/r8hARtmQok
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) November 5, 2023
It didn’t look like all that bad of a snap, maybe a bit to his right, but the zero pressure from KC had Tua trying to get his eyes up quickly to make a quick read. The reverse angle showed that if he had been able to get that snap, he would’ve had a great chance at a game-tying score if he could’ve gotten a pass off to Jaylen Waddle up the seam, as he had a ton of separation on the safety.
However, that was no matter as the Chiefs got Tua hurried up with the pressure as they hoped and forced the turnover on downs, allowing Mahomes to kneel out a win that, while not as pretty as the KC offense might like, still counts all the same.