By Tiffany Williams –
With the regular season is now in the rear view mirror, the hunt for the Lombardi Trophy begins and on Saturday night Kansas City Chiefs hosted the Miami Dolphins in an AFC Wild Card matchup at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium for their 15th-straight playoff game at home, a streak dating back to January 15, 2017. The Chiefs clinched their eighth-straight AFC West Division title to own the second-longest streak in NFL history after the New England Patriots who own eleven straight from 2009-19.
The Chiefs and the Dolphins have matched up 32 times in the regular and postseason with a record of 16-16. Three of the 32 matchups have come in the postseason, the most recent being a Wild Card Game in 1994. The last meeting between the Chiefs and Dolphins was back on November 5 in Frankfurt, Germany, and the Chiefs defeated the Dolphins 21-14. The last meeting between the Chiefs and Dolphins at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium was on December 24, 2017, and Harrison Butker converted five field goals to help secure a 29-13 victory for the Chiefs.
With tonight’s 26-7 victory, head coach Andy Reid improved to 5-0 against the Dolphins since becoming head coach of the Chiefs in 2013, and Patrick Mahomes improved 3-0 against the Dolphins since becoming the starter in 2018.
When playing at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, the Chiefs with their win Saturday night are now 5-4 against the Dolphins.
Mahomes threw for 262 yards, found Rashee Rice eight times for 130 yards and in the first quarter connected with Rice for the first touchdown of the game, and a point after attempt by Harrison Butker was good to put the Chiefs on top 0-7.
“Guys came with that attitude, that mentality — we knew it was going to be cold,” Mahomes said. “All week we were preaching, ‘Let’s come in there with that fire and just get after it and see what happens.’”
“Everybody was out there playing for each other,” Rice said. “We just put the weather to the side and knew that our opponent didn’t want to be out there just as much as we didn’t, and we showed our love for the game.”
Harrison Butker, in the second quarter, made a 28-yard field goal, 26-yard field goal, and 32-yard field goal to bring in nine points for the Chiefs. The Dolphins only touchdown of the game came in the second quarter with Tua Tagovailoa connecting with Tyreek Hill, and the point after attempt was good. At the end of the second quarter, the Chiefs were on top 7-16.
In the third quarter, Harrison Butker made a 21-yard field goal to put the Chiefs out front 7-19, and in the fourth quarter, Isiah Pacheco had a three-yard rushing touchdown to put the Chiefs out front 7-26.
With 14 points in Saturday night’s game, Butker moved past three former NFL players up to seventh all-time on the NFL’s all-time postseason scoring list for most points scored in NFL playoff history.
“Butker was phenomenal,” Reid said. “That was like kicking a block of ice.”