Chiefs defeat Dolphins in bitter cold NFL Wild Card game
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Chiefs battled the Dolphins and the elements on Saturday night for a spot in the divisional round of the NFL Playoffs. Despite the historically low temperature, Kansas City took down Miami 26-7 to continue its quest to defend last season's Super Bowl title.
The temperature at kickoff was -4 degrees Fahrenheit at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, which made it the fourth coldest game in NFL history. The wind chill in Kansas City hovered around -30 degrees Fahrenheit during the contest.
It might have been brutally cold at Arrowhead Stadium, but the Chiefs got off to a hot start. Patrick Mahomes and company strung together a 9-play, 69-yard drive to start the game, capped off by an 11-yard touchdown pass to Rashee Rice.
Later in the first quarter, the Kansas City defense forced a takeaway. Mike Edwards intercepted a pass from Tua Tagovailoa to give the ball back to the Chiefs offense. However, Kansas City had to settle for a 28-yard field goal from Harrison Butker on the drive, extending its lead to 10-0.
Miami responded on its next drive. Tagovailoa threw a 53-yard touchdown pass to former Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill to cut the Dolphins' deficit to 10-7. This was the first game Hill played at Arrowhead Stadium since being traded to Miami in 2022.
However, Kansas City ended the game by scoring 16 unanswered points. After Miami's lone touchdown drive, Butker converted three consecutive field goals, and the Chiefs found the end zone again in the fourth quarter on a 3-yard touchdown run by Isiah Pacheco. Kansas City never trailed in this contest and will advance to the next round of the postseason.
Mahomes now holds a 12-3 career record in the postseason and finished Saturday's game with 262 passing yards and one touchdown. Mahomes' top receiver in this contest was Rashee Rice. The rookie recorded eight catches for 130 receiving yards and one touchdown in his first career playoff game.
Pacheco also posted a solid performance against the Dolphins, carrying the football 24 times for 89 rushing yards and one touchdown.
On defense, the Chiefs posted two sacks and three tackles for loss in the contest. 1.5 of those 2 sacks were courtesy of George Karlaftis.
Kansas City will have to wait for the results of Monday's Wild Card playoff game between Pittsburgh and Buffalo to learn who its next opponent will be. The Chiefs will either face the Bills in Buffalo or Houston in Kansas City in the divisional round of the NFL postseason.
