NFL Week 9 Game Recap: Kansas City Chiefs 21, Miami Dolphins 14

The Kansas City Chiefs outlasted the Miami Dolphins to win 21-14 in Frankfurt, Germany, opening the Week 9 Sunday slate of NFL action.

The Chiefs started the game hot. They went 75 yards over their first seven plays, culminating in an 11-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes to Rashee Rice before defenses took over to finish a 7-0 first quarter.

That defensive dominance continued for much of the second quarter before the Chiefs ripped off a 95-yard touchdown drive, with Mahomes hitting Jerick McKinnon from 17 yards out to make it 14-0. It was the Chiefs defense that scored next, with Bryan Cook taking advantage of a Mike Edwards lateral after Trent McDuffie had forced a fumble on a Tyreek Hill reception.

The Dolphins finally got on the scoreboard late in the third quarter, with Tua Tagovailoa connecting with Cedric Wilson on a 31-yard touchdown to make it 21-7. They made it 21-14 before the end of the third quarter on a Raheem Mostert touchdown run after a sack-fumble forced by Bradley Chubb.

That was as close as the Dolphins would get, though, with the Chiefs moving to 7-2 atop the AFC for now.

Offensive spotlight: In their first game against their former No. 1 wide receiver, Tyreek Hill, the Chiefs passing offense was by committee, with eight players catching at least two passes.

It was a nice day for running back Isiah Pacheco, who averaged 4.1 yards per carry, even though his longest rush of the game went for only 9 yards. The former seventh-round draft pick was just consistently able to find solid gains on the ground.

The Dolphins offense struggled to get out of their own way for much of the game. It took until over halfway through the third quarter to convert a third down, and Tua Tagovailoa missed open receivers throughout the game.

Raheem Mostert broke off some big gains late in the game, but they were ultimately sunk by an errant snap on fourth down with the game on the line.

Defensive spotlight: Outside of the two long touchdown drives, the Dolphins did a solid enough job containing the Chiefs offense. Edge defender Bradley Chubb kept them alive in the game late in the third quarter with a forced fumble on a sack, allowing the Dolphins to get back within 7 points.

The defensive play of the day came late in the first half by the Chiefs. Second-year cornerback Trent McDuffie forced the ball loose on a Tyreek Hill reception before Mike Edwards flipped the recovery to Bryan Cook, with the latter taking the lateral to the house for the defensive score.

WOW!

Tyreek fumbles and then the Chiefs lateral for SIX 😳pic.twitter.com/GN6HkxduYs

— PFF (@PFF) November 5, 2023

Rookie spotlight: Rashee Rice continues to be a part of the Chiefs’ by-committee passing offense, scoring the opening touchdown of the game on a screen where he showed off some good strength to power over the goal line. He finished the game with two targets, catching both for a total of 17 yards and that touchdown.

Box Score

Passing

Rushing

Receiving