MIAMI GARDENS — You know the Dolphins are in the midst of a hardcore rebuild when they lose by two touchdowns and find improvement in the loss. That’s exactly what happened when Miami lost to Kansas City, 24-10, in Sunday’s home opener (they also lost Pro Bowl running back De’Von Achane to a potentially serious knee injury).

We’ll see if those improvements lead to a victory this week when the Dolphins (0-3) travel to face the Minnesota Vikings (3-0), possibly without Achane and wide receiver Caleb Douglas (ankle).

By the way, in this grading system we acknowledge the courageous effort by the Dolphins against the Chiefs. That’s admirable. But we also acknowledge that you can’t inexplicably lose a fumble in the run game or have an illegal shift penalty negate a touchdown in the pass game.

With that in mind, let’s look back at the report card from the Kansas City loss.

Run game: C

Quarterback Malik Willis (nine carries, 56 yards, lost fumble) was the leading rusher for the second time in three games. But there’s an asterisk. Achane went out in the first quarter, fellow running back Jaylen Wright (stinger/foot) didn’t play, and Ollie Gordon II (17 carries, 41 yards, one touchdown) battled leg cramps. The Dolphins ended with 31 carries for 119 yards and one touchdown. They averaged 3.8 yards per carry, which is what they average for the season and it’s tied for 21st in the league, so that’s not especially good. But considering they did much of that shorthanded, it’s not necessarily bad. By the way, Chiefs All Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones (two tackles, one pass defended) wasn’t a factor, a major accomplishment for the offensive line.

Pass game: C

Willis (20 of 36, 210 yards, no touchdowns, one interception, 61.1 passer rating) didn’t have a great day statistically. But he made improvements, notably in judgement (he threw the ball away instead of holding it too long and taking sacks). Pass protection, led by the offensive line, was strong. They entered the game having surrendered a league-worst nine sacks, but they didn’t surrender any Sunday. And among veteran wide receiver Malik Washington (five receptions, 96 yards), rookie wide receiver Chris Bell (four receptions, 67 yards) and tight end Greg Dulcich (five receptions, 55 yards) they found a way to be respectable. However, an illegal shift penalty reduced a Washington touchdown to a 37-yard field goal.

Run defense: A

Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker III entered as the league’s leading rusher (290 yards, 145 yards per game), but was held to 70 yards on 18 carries. The Chiefs were held to 88 yards on 25 carries. All Pro linebacker Jordyn Brooks (team-best 10 tackles) led the way, but defensive tackles Zach Sieler (three tackles, one tackle for loss, one quarterback hit) and Jordan Phillips (two tackles, one TFL) were sharp. And don’t forget linebacker Jacob Rodriguez (six tackles, three TFLs) and safety Dante Trader Jr. (nine tackles). The defense had five tackles for loss.

Pass defense: D

No sacks. And quarterback Patrick Mahomes (20 of 24, 246 yards, two touchdowns, one interception) carved up the secondary. Wide receiver Rashee Rice (seven receptions, 88 yards) was a problem and tight ends Travis Kelce (two receptions, 59 yards, one touchdown) and Noah Gray (three receptions, 39 yards) were productive. Rookie cornerback Chris Johnson (eight tackles) was active as Miami shuffled its nickel package. Rodriguez had a diving interception on a deflection off Rice and Trader. But edge rusher Chop Robinson had a controversial roughing the passer call on the same play in which Sieler was called for holding.

Special teams: C

On the Dolphins’ first kickoff return, wide receiver Ryan Miller was flagged for holding as the Dolphins started on their own 9-yard line instead of their 25-yard line. On the first kickoff of the fourth quarter, fullback D.J. Herman was called for holding. Kicker Riley Patterson was a perfect 1 for 1 on field goals after missing one attempt in each of the first two games and punter Bradley Pinion was solid. Kickoff returns in Wright’s absence were solid among Washington, Gordon and rookie wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr.

Coaching: C+

Coach Jeff Hafley, offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, defensive coordinator Sean Duggan and special teams coordinator Chris Tabor once again had their players ready for the Xs and Os. For example, Miami was 8 of 16 (50%) on third down and held the Chiefs to 3 of 7 (42.9%). No unit was unprepared. But the penalties (eight for 64 yards) keep happening at crucial times. Still, credit the coaching staff for keeping this young team engaged and encouraged. And credit the coaches for coming up with solid gameplans that don’t rely on trickery or poor decisions (gadget plays, too many blitzes, etc…). The coaches are showing improvement, along with the players.

Stock up: Season outlook

This was an encouraging loss in a few aspects. Yes, the prospect of losing Achane for an extended period is scary and looms large. But the Dolphins showed improvement on the field with their attitude/mindset. They showed growth as they battled a Chiefs team that has won two Super Bowls in the last four years and has Super Bowl aspirations this year. It makes you think positive things are possible in what many expect to be a season full of struggle.

Stock down: Penalties pile up

The Dolphins still commit too many untimely penalties. Sunday was a prime example. An illegal shift negated a touchdown. Rookie safety Michael Taaffe had an illegal contact penalty that negated a Brooks sack, which would have been the team’s first of the season. There were two holding calls on kickoff returns. Robinson and Sieler had critical penalties. The Dolphins’ margin of error is too small to continually make these types of preventable mistakes.