Phillip Maxwell
Yes and no (Ja und nein).
The stars simply aligned for the Denver Broncos. Let’s be real for a minute, the blind squirrel finally found a nut. After 17 attempts, the Donkeys finally hit pay-dirt. The Kansas City Chiefs clearly just had a bad night. Period. Seems the Chiefs have got to have at least one of those games each season. Even in the most horrific circumstance, turning the ball over 5 times, the Chiefs were still within striking distance for most of the game. Let’s be clear, Denver did indeed win the game, but Denver is not in Kansas City’s league.
I hate the old, overused idiom “They beat themselves”… but I have to say, it is pretty fitting in this situation. It is extremely hard to beat a team in their own house, even an inferior one when your offense and Special Teams turns the ball over 5 bleeping times! Look, I’m not trying to take anything away from the Broncos, they had a game plan and they executed it to perfection.
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Run the ball ✓
Control the clock ✓
Shut down Kelce ✓
Protect the ball ✓
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The Broncos did these things well enough to catch the Chiefs off guard on this given afternoon, but… the real story isn’t what the Broncos did, it is what the Chiefs did. Or didn’t do.
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They did not run the ball ✓
They did not control the clock ✓
They did not stop the Broncos running game ✓
They had 5 Turnovers… yep… 5 ✓
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The Broncos ran 59 plays Sunday, 40 of them were on the ground and 19 in the air, Chiefs ran 54 plays, 16 of them were on the ground and 38 in the air. Both teams had completely different ideas on how to approach this game on a freezing afternoon and only one of them worked.
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Ich Freue Mich Auf: German for “Looking Forward”
The Chiefs tend to rise above or stoop below… to the competition. I don’t expect to see the same situation in Germany versus the Miami Dolphins that they experienced in Denver. First off, the Miami Dolphins defense is 19th in the NFL and 25th per game in the NFL in points allowed at 25.5, so… this would be a perfect opportunity to get back on track offensively. Hopefully Patrick Mahomes is recovering well from the flu and the symptoms that generally go with it, because it will take a Chiefs offense firing on all cylinders to keep up with Miami’s #1 scoring offense in the NFL.
What does a 2023 Chiefs offense look like firing on all cylinders? We don’t know yet, but this would be the perfect time to bring it out of the garage. Kansas City’s offense is oft described as a Two-Headed Monster, in regards to Mahomes and Kelce. If that is the case, Miami’s offense is Madusa, or maybe Hydra [I’m not up on my fictitious creatures].
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Miami’s Attack
Miami’s offense is statistically at the top of the page in every category with an offensive attack that comes at you from every direction. RB Mostert is averaging 5.2 rushing yards per attempt and is having a big year (520 yards rushing in 8 games). Defenses having to focus on stopping the dual threat of WRs Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle who are also having a big year helps make it easier for Mostert to run amuck. I fully expect the Chiefs defense to help keep this game close. In 8 games, the Chiefs D is holding QBs to 176.1 passing YPG. Do I expect them to hold Miami to 176.1 passing YPG? Uh no, not in a million years, but I do see holding them below their 2022 average of 243.8 passing YPG. That would be a start.
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Tyreek the Freak
It’s important that the Chiefs don’t allow this game to turn into a shootout, because Miami is holding all the guns. Spagnuolo will focus on keeping Tyreek in check… or, as in check as possible. Hill already has over 1,000 this season in just 8 games. Nobody knows better than the Chiefs at just how explosive he can be, and he wants nothing more than to embarrass the Chiefs on national TV.
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Mountains into a Mole “Hill”
On the flip side, I also have to believe that the Chiefs will do everything possible to keep that from happening. The Chiefs were embarrassed last week against an inferior team and now the world is questioning whether they are as good as their 6-2 record would suggest. Being embarrassed two games in a row would be catastrophic in regards to their psyche. I firmly believe that Mahomes is having trust issues with his receivers as it is.
I also believe the Chiefs defense will do their jobs and hold the Dolphin’s explosive offense to a reasonable score as long as the Chiefs offense doesn’t fall too far behind early and let the game get out of hand. If that happens, this could get very ugly, very quickly. FGs didn’t get it done in Denver and it sure as heck won’t get it done in Germany. Once in the Red Zone, the Chiefs offense need to find a way to get into the end zone for a TD. A good start I think, would be to actually throw it towards the end zone rather that horizontal gadget plays, but hey, maybe that’s just me.
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Shootout at Deutsche Bank Park
In a Quarterback battle between Patrick and Tua, I will take Patrick every day of the week and twice on Sundays (good thing they’re playing on a Sunday). However, it isn’t that easy this season. Tua has a plethora of weapons that can bail him out on any given play whereas Patrick has Kelce, plus Larry, Moe and Curley Joe.
If I am being honest, I am shocked that Miami is the underdog in this one (Chiefs by 2.5 points). Although, keep in mind, the Dolphins have also beaten up on some pretty weak teams in their 6 wins, while losing to 2 good teams (the Bills and the Eagles). So, they are not infallible. It should be a good one this Sunday in Germany, expecting sunny weather in the mid 50’s (the game begins at 8:30 AM this Sunday CST, so remember to set your clocks back an hour this Saturday night to get an extra hour of sleep. You’ll need it).
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Phillip Maxwell Prediction:
Dolphins 28, Chiefs 31
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Go Chiefs!!!
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Phillip Maxwell — ArrowheadOne
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“You can observe a lot by just watching”
-Yogi Berra
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