MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — What a gift the NFL has given the people of Germany in Week 9: The 6-2 Miami Dolphins vs. the 6-2 Kansas City Chiefs in one of the best International Series matchups ever.
The Chiefs’ stunning 24-9 loss to the Denver Broncos Sunday created a four-way logjam atop the AFC standings. The Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Baltimore Ravens all won Sunday to get to 6-2, but the Chiefs still own the 1 seed — for now — by virtue of tiebreakers.
They’d stay there with a win over the Dolphins. But a loss would move Miami back into the top spot — and give Mike McDaniel’s crew tons of momentum heading into their midseason bye.
So who has the edge? Here’s our way-too-early tale of the tape. (All stats and rankings are through Sunday’s games.)
Miami Dolphins vs. Kansas City Chiefs Stats and Rankings
Offense
Dolphins
- Scoring: 33.9 (first)
- Yards: 453.3 (first)
- Yards per play: 7.3 (first)
- Rushing: 151.8 (first)
- Yards per carry: 5.9 (first)
- Passing: 301.5 (first)
- Yards per pass: 8.7 (first)
- Interception rate: 2.9% (26th)
- Sacks per pass attempt: 4.3% (third)
- First downs: 22.9 (second)
- EPA per play: .186 (first)
- Success rate: 51.2% (second)
- Dropback EPA: .277 (second)
- Rush EPA: .042 (first)
MORE: Tyreek Hill Was Disappointed at NFL’s Decision To Have Chiefs Game at Neutral Field
Chiefs
- Scoring: 23.4 (12th)
- Yards: 381.5 (third)
- Yards per play: 5.9 (fourth)
- Rushing: 105.1 (21st)
- Yards per carry: 4.2 (16th)
- Passing: 276.4 (third)
- Yards per pass: 7.1 (seventh)
- Interception rate: 3.2 (28th)
- Sacks per pass attempt: 3.2% (first)
- First downs: 22.1 (fifth)
- EPA per play: .071 (fifth)
- Success rate: 45.7% (seventh)
- EPA per dropback: .175 (fourth)
- Rush EPA: -.154 (25th)
Defense
Dolphins
- Scoring: 25.5 (25th)
- Yards: 329.4 (16th)
- Yards per play: 5.1 (14th)
- Rushing: 107.9 (17th)
- Yards per carry: 3.9 (13th)
- Passing: 221.5 (15th)
- Yards per pass: 6.6 (19th)
- Interception rate: 1.5% (29th)
- Sacks per pass attempt: 10% (fifth)
- First downs: 21 (26th)
- EPA per play: -.004 (20th)
- Success rate: 46.2% (27th)
- Dropback EPA: -.003 (13th)
- Rush EPA: -.004 (29th)
Chiefs
- Scoring: 16.1 (second)
- Yards: 287.8 (fourth)
- Yards per play: 4.8 (third)
- Rushing: 111.6 (19th)
- Yards per carry: 4.4 (26th)
- Passing: 176.1 (second)
- Yards per pass: 5.5 (second)
- Interception rate: 2% (22nd)
- Sacks per pass attempt: 10.9% (second)
- First downs: 17.4 (t-fourth)
- EPA per play: -.090 (fifth)
- Success rate: 40% (fourth)
- EPA per dropback: -.151 (third)
- Rush EPA: .016 (30th)
Quarterbacks
- Passing: 302 (first)
- Yards per pass: 8.8 (second)
- Touchdowns: 18 (first)
- Interceptions: 7 (eighth-most)
- QBR: 68 (fifth)
- Passer rating: 108.8 (first)
- EPA per play: .184 (sixth)
- CPOE: 6.7 (third)
- Passing: 282.3 (third)
- Yards per pass: 7.4 (11th)
- Touchdowns: 15 (fifth)
- Interceptions: 8 (most)
- QBR: 74.5 (second)
- Passer rating: 95.8 (eighth)
- EPA per play: .289 (third)
- CPOE: 5 (eighth)
Misc.
Dolphins
- Best 2023 win: 36-34 at Los Angeles Chargers, Week 1
- Worst 2023 loss: 48-20 at Buffalo Bills, Week 4
- Current seed: Second, AFC
- Strength of schedule: .403
- Strength of remaining schedule: .582
- Strength of victory: .283
- Moneyline: +114
Chiefs
- Best 2023 win: 17-9 at Jacksonville Jaguars, Week 2
- Worst 2023 loss: 24-9 at Denver Broncos, Week 8
- Current seed: First, AFC
- Strength of schedule: .492
- Strength of remaining schedule: .522
- Strength of victory: .478
- Moneyline: -135
What They’re Saying
“I’m ready, man. It’s just another game. I’m just excited to play against my old brothers. It’s just like if you’re in high school and you move to a different city, it’s still ball. At the end of the day, my job is to go out there and do what I’ve been doing all year, and that’s have fun, help lead this team, and create opportunities for whoever. I’m still going to be the same old Cheetah, baby.”
Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes
“Two of the last three weeks they’ve seen the Broncos stifle our offense. We try to do whatever we can to bounce back. That’s all we can do. We’ll learn from our mistakes in this game and try to be better going into Germany this week and try to get the momentum back in our favor. Obviously, today wasn’t our day, but we can continue to get better and better.”
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