Can KC's Superb Secondary Disrupt Dangerous Dolphins on Wild Card Weekend?

A uniquely frigid setting for history-making football awaits the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins at Arrowhead Stadium tonight. Much digital ink was spilled detailing the historically cold temperatures for this Wild Card Weekend in KC, but credit goes to @SBBreakers for the tweets of the week. The original has all the details, but the main takeaways are that the Mahomes-era Chiefs are undefeated in weather below 18 degrees, and Miami is winless in their 11 games played in temperatures below 40 degrees since 2017. That's bad news for a Dolphins team that already looked pedestrian facing the Chiefs in Germany a couple months ago. I can't remember the exact temperature in Frankfurt that day, but I really don't think the wind chill was expected to dip below -15 like it will in KC tonight.

The Chiefs defeated Miami 21-14 that day, and numerous Dolphins currently dealing with injuries helped Miami keep that game close. Bradley Chubb strip-sacked Patrick Mahomes for a fumble on a crucial third down. Chubb's out for the season. Xavien Howard helped Miami's secondary disrupt KC's passing offense so much that Chiefs tight end Noah Gray led his team in receiving yards with 34. Howard is also unavailable for tonight's game. Miami's leading rusher in that mid-season game, Raheem Mostert, is also struggling with a knee injury that left him limited in participation in his latest practice.

One impact player on Miami's offense that should enter today's game with relatively sound health is former Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill, who had 63 receiving yards and a key fumble in the aforementioned November meeting with Kansas City. He's actually done more damage to KC's defense than most other elite receivers this season. The Chiefs held Philly's A.J. Brown to one catch for eight receiving yards, Buffalo's Stefon Diggs to four catches for 24 and Bengal Ja'Marr Chase to 3 for 41. The numbers, and Trent McDuffie being named as a first team All-Pro, prove that the Chiefs can shut down the best weapons from any passing offense in football. 

Another key difference between today's Miami-KC matchup and the last one is the availability of Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton. The nasty weather won't help Miami's passing attack, and it will likely lead to more plays designed to safely get Tyreek the ball with room to run. In moments like this, on jet sweeps and bubble screens and whatnot, the opposing defense relies heavily on their linebackers to get to the right spot and make timely tackles. This is Nick Bolton's forte. Having him healthy today, when circumstances dictate that the opponent's offensive game plan be built to attack his position, is a highly underrated advantage for Kansas City. With his help, the Chiefs only need to perform up to their normal standard and avoid crucial mistakes in order to secure the victory tonight.

Those crucial mistakes, however, weren't so easy to avoid in the regular season. KC finished the season tied for the fourth-worst turnover differential and tied for the most offensive holding penalties in the NFL this season. Four different teams did not surpass the eight holding penalties drawn solely by Chiefs left tackle Jawaan Taylor. These kinds of things leave the door open for disappointment. I still think the Chiefs can overcome them, though. I'm predicting a memorable and gritty 20-13 victory for KC.

Will KC's Defense Look Better Against Rival Raiders In Week 2?

An intriguing challenge for our Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1 seemingly became less intriguing when Nick Foles left the game and seemingly erased the Jacksonville Jaguars' realistic hopes for victory. However, rookie backup QB Gardner Minshew completed his first 13 pass attempts and the Jags finished the day with 428 total yards. a . Minshew was the 2018 PAC-12 Offensive Player of the Year, and his story is legit, so perhaps he's better than many in Chiefs Kingdom had presumed (myself included). Still, members of that new Chiefs defense must've been shaking their heads after allowing an unheralded sixth-round pick to earn a 122.5 Quarterback Rating.

Oakland Raiders QB Derek Carr earned a 121 Quarterback Rating against the Denver Broncos last week. Even though I call him mean nicknames for my own amusement on a regular basis, Carr is a veteran QB who just led his squad to a win over a division rival with a solid defense. His offensive line also stopped the intimidating duo of Von Miller and Bradley Chubb and the rest of the Denver D from sacking Carr a single time. Chiefs Kingdom is justifiably scared about both the secondary and the edge rushing capability of this freshly rebuilt KC defense, so this looks like another setup for a fitting test.

My focus is clearly on the defensive side of the ball for the next chapter of this recently lopsided  rivalry because it's still easy to be confident about KC's offense. Tyreek Hill is tough to replace, but the Chiefs just so happened to spend their first-round pick with the motive of replacing Tyreek Hill for several weeks. This should somewhat ease the minds of Chiefs fans everywhere, as we can once again be confident about rolling into Oakland with a high-octane offense. Add the Jonathan Abram injury to the mix, and we've got the makings for Mahomes Magic and a lot of points on the board. My only concern would be keeping Patrick safe from Clelin Ferrell and Company. Let's see how the Mahomes-Mecole Connection feels, and let's see how KC's defense bounces back from their uninspiring start to the season.

Doug LaCerte is currently too busy looking at Gardner Minshew memes to care about Twitter or Facebook.