At Deutsche Bank Park on Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs held on to defeat the Miami Dolphins 21-14 despite two touchdown passes from quarterback Patrick Mahomes and a touchdown on a 59-yard fumble return by safety Bryan Cook.
The Chiefs (7-2) almost wasted a large lead in the first-ever regular season game in Frankfurt, but they did enough to limit the NFL’s top-ranked offense. With 1:03 remaining, Miami’s attempt to rally was dashed when quarterback Tua Tagovailoa mishandled a snap on a fourth-and-10 from the Kansas City 31.
Mahomes gave Rashee Rice and Jerick McKinnon touchdown throws in the first half, forcing Miami (6-3) to repeatedly find itself in third-and-long situations. In addition, the Dolphins’ season record against winning opponents dropped to 0-3 as well.
In his first game in Europe, Mahomes completed 20 of 30 passes for a season-low 185 yards, but the Chiefs’ offense faltered in the second half. Travis Kelce, a tight end, only had three catches for 14 yards. Just before halftime, three Chiefs players combined to put Kansas City up 21-0 on one of the best defensive plays of the season thus far.
Tyreek Hill, a former teammate, was the victim of it. Cornerback Trent McDuffie stripped the ball from All-Pro receiver Josh Hill after stuffing him on a short pass in the flat with the Dolphins down late in the first half. After Hill attempted to tackle Mike Edwards, who had picked it up, Edwards lateraled to Cook, who returned it for the score.
Hill finished with eight catches for 62 yards, which was a team high. Miami’s offense was nonexistent in the first place, as was Taylor Swift. More unexpected than Miami’s offensive woes in the first half was the referee Clay Martin’s “false start” call in the first quarter, which he made in German.
Since Week 2 of the 2021 season, Miami hadn’t been shut out in the first half of a game. However, in the third quarter, Tagovailoa sparked the comeback with a 31-yard touchdown pass to Cedric Wilson Jr.
