The 6th seed Miami Dolphins travel to Arrowhead Stadium to face the 3rd seed Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday, January 13 at 7:00 P.M. central time.
Miami’s pass defense has been middle of the pack this season. They allow the 14th-most receptions, the 18th-most receiving yards, the 8th-most receiving touchdowns, the 14th-most interceptions, and the 21st-most receptions for first downs.
The Dolphins will be playing this game without one of their Pro Bowl-starting cornerbacks.
The Miami Dolphins ruled out their 4x Pro Bowl cornerback
Miami ruled out Xavien Howard for their Wild Card matchup against Kansas City.
Howard suffered a foot injury in the first drive of their Week 17 matchup against Baltimore. Here’s what head coach Mike McDaniel had to say about Howard’s injury on January 2.
“The good news on [Howard] is that it doesn’t look like it will require surgery, what we found out today,” McDaniel said, “So that was good, and because of that, it’s kind of a week-to-week measure. We have to see how he responds. Feet at that position are just tricky. Each person’s different so we’ll take that with due diligence and press and assess.”
Howard was inactive in their regular season finale against Buffalo.
Howard did not participate in Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday’s practice.
How did Howard perform this season?
Howard was having another solid year in the NFL. He had 45 tackles, one interception, and 12 pass deflections. He went 39/63 for 419 passing yards, one touchdown, and a passer rating of 80.1 allowed in coverage.
Who will be his replacement?
Eli Apple is expected to be the starting cornerback in the absence of Howard. Apple is in his 8th year in the NFL. He has appeared in 98 games and started 82 and has 381 tackles, six interceptions, and 60 pass deflections in his career.
Apple has appeared in 10 ten games and started four and has 46 tackles, one interception, and nine pass deflections this season. He went 36/57 for 494 passing yards, two touchdowns, and a passer rating of 95.2 allowed in coverage.
How good is Kansas City’s offense?
Kansas City’s offense has been disappointing (compared to previous years). They are ranked 15th in points, 9th in yards, 6th in receiving yards, 8th in receiving touchdowns, and 5th in completions for a 1st down.
The major flaw with Kansas City’s receiving corps is their drops. Kansas City leads the league in drops with 44 and has the highest drop percentage with 6.9%.
Will the Miami Dolphins be able to stop Patrick Mahomes and the weak receiving corps of the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday night?
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