Instant takeaways as Miami Dolphins' season comes to cold end vs. Kansas City Chiefs
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A season that once showed more promise than any in the Dolphins’ recent history came to a cold, quiet end Saturday night.
Kansas City used a swarming defense and a workmanlike offense to eliminate the Dolphins 26-7 in a wild-card game at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Dolphins’ search for that elusive playoff victory will extend into the 2024 season, when they’ll try to win one for the first time in 24 years.
The official conditions at kickoff were minus 4 degrees air temperature and minus 27 wind chill, making it the fourth-coldest game in NFL history. It also was the coldest game in Dolphins history by 14 degrees.
The Dolphins finished 11-7 and lost in the wild-card round for the second time in two years under coach Mike McDaniel. The Chiefs are 12-6.
Miami’s only points came with a lightning strike of 53 yards from Tua Tagovailoa to Tyreek Hill, making a return to Arrowhead Stadium, where he spent his first six seasons as a member of the Chiefs. But Hill was held to five catches for 62 yards.
Tagovailoa was 20-of-39 for 199 yards, one TD and one interception for a passer rating of 63.9. Miami managed just 264 yards.
The Dolphins struggled to sustain drives. They were 4-of-18 on a combination of third- and fourth-down conversions, with only 10 first downs.
Kansas City’s touchdowns came on an 11-yard pass from Patrick Mahomes to Rashee Rice and a 3-yard run by Isiah Pacheco.
On a tricky day for kickers, with the ball rock-hard from the cold and the wind swirling, Harrison Butker kicked field goals of 28, 26, 32 and 21 yards for K.C.
The three colder NFL games were Dallas at Green Bay in 1967 (-13 degrees), San Diego at Cincinnati in 1982 (-9) and Seattle at Minnesota in 2016 (-6). The Dolphins' previous coldest game was 10 degrees in Kansas City in 2008. Miami won 38-31.
Dolphins get creative trying to keep warm
Several Dolphins swore they would go sleeveless because, in the words of Hill, the Chiefs would think they were “soft” to come out bundled up.
Hill and left tackle Terron Armstead were among the brave — is that the right word? — to go sleeveless, while receiver Cedrick Wilson took a creative approach, wearing sleeves during warmups before shedding them for the game.
Whichever unit was not on the field was virtually entirely bundled up under parkas on the sideline, with most of those players also taking advantage of heated benches.
Tagovailoa wore a glove on his right hand and tried to protect his throwing hand by keeping it in a pocket whenever possible.
Meanwhile, on the other sideline, Chiefs coach Andy Reid’s mustache was forming icicles.
Tyreek Hill quiet in his return … until he isn’t
By the time two plays had been run in the second quarter, Chiefs fans saw their team control the ball and put up 10 points, turning Hill’s return to Arrowhead into an afterthought.
And suddenly, briefly, it wasn’t.
The Dolphins took advantage of a second-and-1 opportunity to have Tagovailoa run play-action. Deep downfield, Hill had gone behind cornerback Trent McDuffie (even though Hill had been interfered with). Hill caught the ball, maneuvered by McDuffie and completed a 53-yard scoring play.
It was the Dolphins’ 13th play of 50 or more yards this season. No other team had more than nine.
Jaylen Waddle, Raheem Mostert return, but it’s not enough
Receiver Jaylen Waddle and running back Raheem Mostert returned after missing the past two games with injuries, but they had limited impact.
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Waddle caught two passes for 31 yards.
Mostert ran eight times for 33 yards, a 4.1 average.
Miami was unable to sustain anything on the ground. That would be a problem anytime, but given the conditions, a successful ground game could have been the Dolphins’ ticket to an upset.
Dolphins offense limps toward the finish line
The Dolphins led the NFL in total offense and were second in scoring offense entering this game.
But were those stats misleading?
Thanks to injuries and ineffectiveness, the Dolphins’ offense over the final four games of the season bore no resemblance to what we were used to.
The Dolphins averaged 15.5 points in those four games.
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They were especially ineffective in the second half, totaling just 15 points in the second halves of those games (six points vs. Baltimore, nine vs. Dallas).
Sustaining a drive also was an issue in the regular-season finale against Buffalo. Miami ran 48 total plays and only three in the third quarter.
Another way to look at it: Jake Bailey had a virtual vacation early this season, punting four times or more in two of the first 12 games.
He had four or more punts in four of the final six games.
This and that …
With the secondary depleted, missing starters Xavien Howard at cornerback and Jevon Holland at safety, it was impossible not to be reminded again how far top pick Cam Smith has to go in order to get on the field. Not only did Eli Apple start, but Ethan Bonner saw playing time ahead of Smith. … The Dolphins’ pending free agents include DT Christian Wilkins, G Rob Hunt, C Connor Williams, LB Andrew Van Ginkel, S DeShon Elliott, WR Braxton Berrios, DT Raekwon Davis and CB Eli Apple. Given their salary cap situation and how expensive Wilkins will be, it’s impossible to picture them retaining all the players they’d like to bring back. … The Dolphins’ next pieces of business will include scouting the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, and the NFL combine in Indianapolis. The schedule typically comes out in May, when we should know whether the Dolphins will play an International game in Brazil, a first for the league.
Dolphins reporter Hal Habib can be reached at hhabib@pbpost.com. Follow him on social media @gunnerhal.
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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Instant takeaways as Dolphins' season comes to cold end vs. Chiefs
