Chiefs beat Dolphins in messy road win

Pete Sweeney, The Kansas City Star on Sep 27, 2026

Published in Football

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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Kansas City Chiefs improved to 3-0 on the 2026 season with their 24-10 victory over the Miami Dolphins in a game that played out much closer than the final score suggests.

Let’s dive in:

Third-quarter penalty gives Chiefs room to breathe

The Dolphins had Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs backed up near their own end zone as Kansas City held onto a 14-10 lead on third-and-9.

Miami pass rusher Chop Robinson drilled Mahomes and landed on him, drawing a roughing-the-passer penalty for 15 yards and a first down. It’s worth noting that the officials also called the Dolphins for defensive holding, which also would have given the Chiefs a new set of downs.

Later in the drive, tight end Noah Gray made an outstanding 24-yard catch, helping set up a field goal that gave Kansas City a 17-10 lead.

Despite converting 8 of 16 third and fourth downs to that point, the Dolphins turned it over on downs on the next drive.

Dolphins are better than advertised

The Chiefs began with the ball, and two game minutes later, it felt like the afternoon might be a cakewalk.

It didn’t exactly play out that way.

Kenneth Walker’s presence was felt on the game’s first play. The Miami defense crashed on play-action, leading to a 48-yard completion to Travis Kelce. Three plays later, Walker was in the end zone.

The Dolphins responded quickly, with the Chiefs giving up four third-down conversions on the ensuing drive. Nohl Williams took an illegal-use-of-hands penalty on third-and-18, and Miami receiver Ryan Miller beat cornerback Mansoor Delane.

On third-and-9 in the red zone, Kansas City’s front seven parted and gave up an 11-yard first-down run to Ollie Gordon, with De’Von Achane injured.

Kansas City answered on the ensuing drive, with a 17-yard leaping catch by Tyquan Thornton getting the Chiefs inside the red zone. The Dolphins sacked Mahomes on third-and-2 at the 9-yard line, but the Chiefs were bailed out by an illegal-contact penalty.

A crafty shovel-pass touchdown to Walker gave the Chiefs the lead back.

Kansas City’s defense stopped the Dolphins’ second drive, with Delane breaking up a fourth-down pass near midfield.

But the Chiefs couldn’t take advantage, as two Walker rushes were stopped short of the first-down marker. After Khyiris Tonga logged four offensive snaps in each of the first two games, he stayed off the field for both short-yardage sequences deep in Miami territory.

At least at the time, Kansas City’s defense appeared to gain momentum when cornerback L’Jarius Sneed forced and recovered a fumble. But Mahomes gave the ball right back when — after starting 11 of 11 — he tried to throw behind Rashee Rice and a tipped ball fell into the hands of Dolphins linebacker Jacob Rodriguez.

Going into the game, Steve Spagnuolo anticipated trouble with quarterback Malik Willis, and he was right. Willis looked comfortable in the pocket for most of the game, with little threat of pressure even though he came into the game having been sacked more than any quarterback in the league.

Willis’ comfort combined with Kansas City’s collective lapses in coverage led to three explosive plays, including a 42-yard catch by tight end Greg Dulcich over Jaden Hicks to begin the second half. That set up Miami’s field goal to draw within four at 14-10.

After the aforementioned turning point, the Chiefs kicked a field goal to take a 17-10 lead — one they would add to with a touchdown pass to Kelce.

Defensive end George Karlaftis essentially sealed the game with the first interception of his career off a batted ball from Chris Jones.

Any team can win (or lose) on Sundays

There’s a reason Andy Reid complimented the opposing team despite poor recent performances and the overall record. You never know what the next Sunday will bring.

The Chiefs managed to score on the Dolphins, but Miami held tough in the red zone for most of the game, stopping Kansas City twice to stay alive until late in the fourth quarter.

The Chiefs may come out of this one concerned about their young defense, which failed to consistently pressure Willis and was leaky in the secondary.

The Dolphins came in averaging a fifth-worst 271.5 yards per game and managed to gain 329 yards against the Chiefs.

The positive talking point will be that the defense still held the Dolphins to 10 points.

Miami keeps Walker largely in check

The Dolphins held the explosive Walker to just 18 carries for 70 yards, an average of 3.9 yards per carry. That’s going to be part of the recipe to beat Kansas City in 2026.

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