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Dolphins face cold reality of blown three-game lead in division with playoff trip to Kansas City

David Furones, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
·4 min read
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MIAMI GARDENS — This is where it should’ve taken place for at least the first two rounds of the playoffs.

Instead of South Florida palm trees and 70-degree January weather, the Miami Dolphins get single-digit-degree temperatures of Kansas City, Missouri, a potential of a 60-degree swing in their playoff locale.

That’s the cold reality when a team blows a three-game lead in the division with five weeks left and caps it by dropping the pivotal regular-season finale for the AFC East title, 21-14, to the Buffalo Bills.

And beyond that defeat or the lopsided 56-19 result against the Baltimore Ravens the week prior, all of this could’ve been avoided had the Dolphins simply held on to a two-touchdown lead with three minutes remaining on Dec. 11 against the Tennessee Titans.

“We fell short of our goal going into the season of winning the AFC East,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Monday, not in his usual cheerful mood after reeling off a series of injury updates with linebackers Jerome Baker and Andrew Van Ginkel now out for the playoffs for an already-depleted defensive unit.

“Does that matter? No. We’re one of the 14 teams going into the tournament.”

This is now the biggest test to McDaniel’s mantra of “adversity is opportunity.” Leading for the division crown for much of the season and even controlling its own fate for the No. 1 seed in the playoffs with two weeks remaining, Miami was hit with quite the adverse drop to fall to No. 6, meaning the team goes on the road for the first round of the playoffs.

“People either come together or fracture apart, and I don’t see this team fracturing apart at all,” McDaniel said.

His players are taking on that same kind of resolute mentality.

“I wouldn’t say it’s not hard,” linebacker David Long Jr. said, “but anything prior to this point, does not matter. We’re 0-0.”

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According to AccuWeather forecasts as of Monday evening, temperatures in Kansas City on Saturday night are supposed to dip to 4 degrees with a “feels like” temperature -19. Wind gusts at Arrowhead could swirl up to 24 mph. The coldest temperatures the Dolphins have experienced all season are around 40 degrees, in trips to Philadelphia, Germany for the regular-season meeting with the Chiefs, New Jersey to face the Jets and Washington for the Commanders.

“Part of playoff football,” left tackle Terron Armstead said Sunday night after the loss. “You go to outdoor stadiums everywhere in January, February. It’s going to be on the colder side. These NFL stadiums, heated benches, heaters on the sideline. The weather don’t really affect the guys as much as people think.”

Added tight end Durham Smythe: “It doesn’t change anything, except maybe an extra layer of clothing.

“If you’re not excited about playing in zero-degree weather in Arrowhead for a playoff game, you shouldn’t be doing this.”

The Dolphins offense comes in sputtering after an abysmal second half against Buffalo where the team had three three-and-out possessions and one first down on its first four series after halftime. That side of the ball, however, is at least expected to have wide receiver Jaylen Waddle and running back Raheem Mostert return for the wild-card round game.

The Miami defense, on the other hand, is seeing more attrition. Baker and Van Ginkel join Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb as defenders that won’t return this season, and cornerback Xavien Howard is not in the plans for Saturday night in K.C., per McDaniel.

But the defenders that are playing can take solace in knowing they’re delivering the punishment in the cold as opposed to taking it.

“A lot of people don’t want to hit or get hit in that cold weather. It hurts a little more,” Long said.

The last time Miami played in such cold weather, the December 2022 trip to Orchard Park in a road loss to the Bills in the snow, McDaniel brought out shirts that said “I wish it were colder.” There are no such gimmicks for this one.

“I think they know what time it is now,” the coach said. “You’re talking about playoff football more often than not. If we’re playing in any playoff game that isn’t at home, it probably will be cold. It will be the same temperature for both teams.”

And what McDaniel preaches about cleaning the slate on what happened previously is true. Even for the Bills, entering the postseason on a five-game winning streak, the Ravens, who played exceptional football down the stretch to lock up the No. 1 seed before Week 18, or any other hot team, they’re one game away from elimination just like Miami.

“In the playoffs, it doesn’t matter. It’s a reset,” McDaniel said. “There’s no winners and losers bracket. You’re playing football and the winner gets to continue to play and the loser does not.”

When the Dolphins met the Chiefs in the regular season, Kansas City won, 21-14, in Frankfurt, Germany by scoring the game’s first three touchdowns for a 21-0 halftime lead and then holding off Miami from a second-half comeback.