The Dolphins are walking into another tough one in Week 3, and the margins already feel thin after back-to-back losses to open the season. Now Miami gets the Chiefs, an unbeaten team that keeps flashing the kind of form people were quick to write off.
Even so, there are a few spots where Miami can make some noise. The clearest one starts up front.
Through two weeks, the Dolphins are still the only defense in the NFL without a sack. That’s a brutal number, especially after Brock Purdy carved them up last Sunday, going 20 of 22 for 287 yards and two touchdowns while Miami pressured him on just 22.6% of his dropbacks and never got him to the ground.
This week brings a different challenge, but also a possible opening. Patrick Mahomes has already been sacked four times in Kansas City’s first two games, and Miami should get an important piece of its pass rush back in Chop Robinson. After all the camp buzz, Robinson gets another shot to turn that into actual regular-season production after a quiet Week 1 and then a concussion that kept him out in Week 2.
Josh Uche gave Miami one of its few pass-rush bright spots against San Francisco, finishing with a quarterback hit and two hurries. Add in the fact that Chiefs tackle Josh Simmons is out because of a back injury, and this feels like the week Miami finally gets on the board with its first sack.
There’s also a path for Washington to have his best game yet. Heading into the season as Miami’s most experienced receiver, he has taken over the “Z” role, which gives him freedom to move around the formation and draw steady targets. He just hasn’t had the breakout performance yet.
Through two games, the 25-year-old has seven catches for 96 yards, including four receptions for 43 yards against San Francisco. If Miami can lean into what he does well, find him favorable slot matchups, and get him the ball in space, Washington has a chance to pop - especially with Caleb Douglas out and Ryan Miller now dealing with an injury.
Kansas City corner L’Jarius Sneed could be part of that equation, but he has been shaky in coverage with a 40.0 Pro Football Focus grade and has also been limited in practice by a knee injury. Josh Downs found room against that defense last week, catching seven passes for 72 yards.
The third big question for Miami is special teams, which has become its own weekly headache. The Dolphins have found different ways to hurt themselves there in both games, from Riley Patterson missing a field goal in each contest to Bradley Pinion dropping a clean punt snap against San Francisco, which gave the 49ers the ball at Miami’s 28-yard line and set up a touchdown two plays later.
Patterson is 4-for-6 on field goals so far, with misses from 41 and 51 yards. Miami’s kick coverage was better in Week 2 than it was in Week 1, so that at least gave the team something to build on.
Still, the Dolphins made it clear this week that Patterson’s job isn’t locked in. On Tuesday, they brought in Chris Freeman, Tanner Brown and Lucas Havrisik for workouts.
After the loss to San Francisco, Jeff Hafley put the message plainly: “We gotta hit field goals. That’s two misses in two games. We are counting on him to make those kicks,” said Hafley.
With that pressure now hanging over him, Patterson gets the prediction treatment too: he settles in and makes every kick he tries on Sunday.
In Other News...
Dolphins Fans Have Another Reason To Be Furious With Chiefs Officiating
A controversial no-call in the Chiefs-Dolphins game is adding more fuel to a grievance Miami fans already know well. On a recent tackle, a Kansas City defender was seen pulling on Malik Willis helmet, yet officials let the play stand without a flag, turning a routine snap into another flashpoint in a rivalry that seems to bring out every officiating complaint imaginable.
For Dolphins supporters, the frustration was immediate because the contact looked obvious enough to invite a penalty and the silence from the officials only deepened the suspicion. Plays like that tend to linger long after the game ends, especially when they feed the larger belief around the league that Kansas City gets the benefit of the doubt more often than most teams. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Suddenly Have A Good Problem Up Front
Through three weeks, Miami has managed to keep its run defense sturdy even without Kenneth Grant, who is on injured reserve and could be back after Week 4. The Dolphins have patched the interior with Jordan Phillips, Zeek Biggers and Keith Cooper Jr., while rookie linebacker Jacob Rodriguez and veteran Jordyn Brooks have helped keep the front seven organized and active against the run.
Grants return would give the Dolphins another option up front, but it also raises a real personnel question for a defense that has found a workable rhythm without him. His rookie season was uneven, and the bigger issue now is figuring out where he fits if the current group keeps holding its own once he is cleared to rejoin the rotation. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Fans Had Every Reason To Hate This Chiefs Break
When the Dolphins were trying to claw their way back into the game against Kansas City in Week 3, a roughing-the-passer call on Chop Robinson changed the feel of the moment in an instant. The hit on Patrick Mahomes extended the Chiefs drive, and Miami watched the sequence end with three points instead of a stop that could have helped shift momentum.
It was the sort of break that left Dolphins fans grinding their teeth, especially in a game Kansas City controlled from there. The Chiefs won 24-10, with Mahomes completing 20 of 24 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns, and Miami was left to wonder how different things might have felt without one costly flag in a key spot. [Read more 🡒]