San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
CAN DOLPHINS ‘D’ GET TO MAHOMES?
Miami’s blitz-heavy defense has allowed second-fewest points
The focus is on the matchup between Patrick Mahomes and Tua Tagovailoa, even though there’s no debating the Kansas City Chiefs have the better quarterback.
The Miami Dolphins might have the superior defense, however, which lends intrigue to today’s game against the reigning Super Bowl champions.
The Dolphins (8-4) have allowed the second-fewest points in the NFL, and wins in seven of the past eight games have vaulted them into contention for their first playoff berth in four years. But they’re stepping up in class against Mahomes and the high-scoring Chiefs (11-1), who already have clinched a postseason spot by winning their past seven games.
“I wish we could have 14 defenders,” Miami coach Brian Flores said.
Sometimes it seems as though the Dolphins do. Flores’ blitz-loving, ball-hawking scheme has produced at least one takeaway in 18 consecutive games, the longest such streak in the NFL, and cornerback Xavien Howard leads the league with eight interceptions.
The question is whether the Dolphins can disrupt the Chiefs, whose eight turnovers are tied for the fewest in the NFL. Mahomes has thrown two interceptions in 463 passes, the league’s lowest rate.
And he tends to burn blitzes.
“We always want to be aggressive. It’s an aggressive game,” Flores said. “So we’ll see how the game unfolds. We’ll have a plan going in. Oftentimes that plan has to be adjusted.”
Rematch
Flores ran the New England Patriots’ defense in 2018 when they beat the Chiefs twice, including in the AFC championship game.
“Brian is a great defensive mind,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “When we were in the championship game, he was the one calling them. So
he knows that thing backward and forward, and you can see it. You can see it in how those guys are playing. They play hard, aggressive, definitely maximizing everything he’s got there.”
Flores’ memory of those 2018 games isn’t entirely favorable, because the Chiefs scored 40 and 31 points despite losing.
“I remember it was hard to stop them. It’s still hard to stop them. It’s probably harder to stop them now,” Flores said. “When you talk about seeing a team evolve, they’ve got a little bit of a killer instinct. When they smell blood in the water.”
Blow to Dolphins
Dolphins leading rusher Myles Gaskin went on the COVID-19 list Saturday.
Running backs Matt Breida (COVID-19 list) and Salvon Ahmed (shoulder) already were sidelined. Deandre Washington and Patrick Laird are expected to get the bulk of the carries against the Chiefs.
Miami elevated running back Elijah Mcguire for the game, along with tight end Chris Myarick and defensive end Tyshun Render.
The Dolphins rank last in the NFL with an average of 3.7 yards per carry.
Free plays, free points
Mahomes has become one of the best in the NFL at drawing defenses offside, using hard counts in mostly empty stadiums to force a penalty. And he may have no comparison when it comes to using free plays to his advantage. His go-ahead touchdown pass to Travis Kelce against Denver on Sunday was the latest example.
“I try to use cadence as much as possible,” Mahomes said. “Quick cadence, hard counts, whatever it is, just to get an advantage in any single way, and the offensive line does a great job of sitting in there, really paying attention, and we work on it throughout the week.”