The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Miami Dolphins in Kansas City on Saturday, The Chiefs escaped with a 26-7 win in brutally cold conditions. The Chiefs now await the winner of the Bills vs. Steelers game that was postponed due to blizzard conditions.
If the Steelers win, the Chiefs will host the Houston Texans. If the Bills win, the Chiefs will have to go to Buffalo.
Before we dive into next week’s matchup, let’s identify the 3 standout performers from the victory over the Dolphins.
WR Rashee Rice
Rice has been on fire of late, just when the Chiefs needed him most. The receiver came down with 8 catches for 130 yards and a touchdown in his first career playoff game. Rice was the leading receiver in the game and set a new career-high in receiving yards.
Much has been made about the lack of proven options in the receiving game for the Chiefs this year. However, since the end of November, Rice has had at least 5 receptions in each game and has gone over 90 yards 4 times. Rice’s breakout could not have come at a better time as the Chiefs hope to make another deep playoff run.
DE George Karlaftis
Karlaftis was all over the field for the Chiefs on Saturday. The defensive end collected 6 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1 tackle for loss, and 3 quarterback hits. The DE had the 2nd-most tackles of any game this season and also had his 4th multi-sack game.
Only linebacker Nick Bolton had more tackles than Karlaftis, and the team finished with just 2 sacks total. Karlaftis also had 3 of the team’s 5 QB hits, with Chris Jones getting the other 2. Safe to say, without Karlaftis, Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa would have had a much easier time.
K Harrison Butker
Butker, who has long been one of the most reliable kickers in the league, had another spectacular outing on Saturday. The kicker accounted for 14 of the team’s 24 points. Butker went 2/2 on extra points and 4/4 on field goals.
That performance is much more impressive when you realize the game was played in minus -4 degrees fahrenheit. There were wind gusts up to 27 mph which made for a wind chill of minus-27 degrees. These are some of the hardest conditions to kick in, but Butker made it look easy,
