With the NFL Playoffs nearly underway, here are three bold predictions for the matchup between the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs.
After having a stranglehold on the division lead for much of the season, the Dolphins suffered a loss to the Buffalo Bills in the final week of the season to lose the AFC East and move into a wild card spot.
Due to the loss, the Dolphins will now be heading on the road to play the Chiefs, on what is expected to be a very cold night in Kansas City.
For the Chiefs, this season hasn’t been as smooth sailing as previous years, as their offense has struggled and most of the talk about the team has been surrounding Taylor Swift.
Despite all of that, this could arguably be the most exciting matchup of the weekend in the NFL. Here are three bold predictions for the matchup.
Kelce’s Struggles Continue
One of the reasons for the struggles on offense for Kansas City this season and especially of late has been the play of Travis Kelce. Whether it is injury, father time, or the distraction of Taylor Swift, Kelce has not been the same player for much of the season, especially down the stretch for the Chiefs.
In his last three games, Kelce hasn’t totaled over 50 receiving yards in any of them, which is a massive concern for the Chiefs. Also, in a loss to the Dolphins earlier this season, Kelce only totaled 14 receiving yards, as the Dolphins’ pass defense was able to slow him down. If Kelce can’t get it going on offense, the Chiefs are in big trouble.
Prediction: Kelce totals under 50 receiving yards.
Hill Has A Revenge Game
One of the big storylines in this game will be the return of Tyreek Hill to Kansas City. Before being dealt to the Dolphins, Hill had a great career with the Chiefs and had plenty of big playoff moments. With the way the Chiefs’ offense has looked this season, they would certainly like to have Hill on their team.
While the pass defense for the Chiefs has been good and the weather is expected to be very cold, Hill is used to those conditions and will be ready for the big stage. Even though Hill has been battling some leg injuries at the end of the season, he should be good to go in this game.
Prediction: Hill leads all receivers with totals over 110 yards
Dolphins Advance
With both teams limping a bit coming into the playoffs, this is an interesting matchup between two teams that were considered to be Super Bowl contenders at the beginning of the year. Now, we still have an exciting matchup, but the once-feared Chiefs appear to be beatable at home.
For the Dolphins, they have a few avenues where they can exploit the Chiefs to come away with the win. First, Miami is a team that wants to establish a ground game to make their passing offense go. This bodes well for them, as they can run the ball on a cold night in Kansas City and try to control the game. The Chiefs’ defense is much better overall this season, but much of that is because of their improved pass defense.
This game might look like a high-scoring affair on paper, but with some cold weather and how the teams match up, this could be a much lower-scoring game than people expect.
Prediction: Dolphins 20, Chiefs 17
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