When does a 14-point loss not really feel like a 14-point loss?
Baby steps, right?
This is what the Miami Dolphins’ 2026 season is about — in case fans need to be reminded — and there most definitely was some progress in the home opener against the Kansas City Chiefs. The final score, though, was a reflection of the talent disparity between the teams.
And that’s the reality facing the Dolphins.
There were a lot of things to like in this game, including being able to finish that brilliant drive in the first quarter. There was the play of linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, highlighted by his interception, holding the Chiefs off the scoreboard in the third quarter and, maybe most of all, having the ball around midfield midway through the fourth quarter down seven points.
If we again go back to the 2019 season, the natural point of comparison, the Dolphins weren’t competitive in any game until Week 5, so they’re ahead of the game.
THE DEFENSE SHOWED UP
— Admit it, after the Chiefs opened with a 48-yard completion to Travis Kelce and scored a touchdown within the first two minutes, this had the feeling of another defensive beatdown like we saw in San Francisco. So this is where we saw major progress.
— The Dolphins remain without a sack, but the pass rush at least was noticeable in this game. And, of course, we would have had that elusive sack (by Jordyn Brooks) if not for that bad illegal contact penalty against rookie safety Michael Taaffe. And Chop Robinson was a factor in the fourth quarter.
— Speaking of Robinson, we can dislike the rule all we want, but the NFL is very clear about defenders not falling on quarterbacks with their whole body, and that’s what happened with Robinson on his roughing-the-passer call (even if his arms fell to the side of Patrick Mahomes). Also keep in mind the Chiefs would have had a first down anyway because Zach Sieler was flagged for defensive holding on the play.
— Speaking of Sieler, he was among the many defensive players with their best performance of the season, though he might have stood out more than most everybody else in drawing a couple of flags and coming up with some big defensive plays.
HAFLEY GOES FOR IT
— If we didn’t know how aggressive Jeff Hafley would be with his in-game decisions regarding going for it on fourth down, we sure got our answer on this day. The Dolphins went for it on fourth down three times, and the bad news is they were 0-for-3.
— We certainly admire the aggressiveness and also need to point out that one factor here is that kicker Riley Patterson hasn’t been terribly reliable so far this season, with a miss in each of the first two games. We would question the last one, though, when it was fourth-and-5 from the Miami 48 with the score 17-10. The defense had tightened up at that point and maybe the prudent move would have been to punt and try to pin the Chiefs deep.
— We’re not about to criticize being aggressive, though, and it’s important to add that even pinning the Chiefs deep might not have mattered because Mahomes is at his best in game-winning situations like that.
— The offense topped 300 yards for the first time this season and did a really good job on third down, going 8-for-16 in those situations. And this is without wide receiver Caleb Douglas for the whole game and without De’Von Achane for most of the game.
— The Dolphins finished the game with a group lacking big-play ability, which makes it tougher to move the ball. The Dolphins ended up with their highest yardage total, their best third-down showing and yet scored their fewest punts on the season.
— Malik Willis was more active with his running than he had been this season, and obviously a lot of it was by necessity, so we caught a glimpse of the risk on the last play of the game when he took a high hit from linebacker Nick Bolton that left him upset and/or shaken up.
— Willis’ scrambling ability should be a bonus, not a staple of the offense.
— Though it is awesome to have a quarterback who consistently will convert third-and-1 situations.
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