The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Miami Dolphins, 26-7, on Saturday night to advance to the Divisional Round of the postseason for the sixth-straight year.
Here are some quick notes from the win.
1. Saturday's game marked the fourth-coldest game in NFL history.
It was a bitterly cold night on Saturday, and as it turned out, only three games in NFL history were colder. The kickoff temperature was -4 degrees, trailing only the 1967 NFL Championship Game (-13 degrees), the 1981-82 AFC Championship Game (-9 degrees) and the 2015-16 Wild Card Game between the Vikings and Seahawks (-6 degrees) in league history.
Additionally, the wind chill at kickoff on Saturday night was -27 degrees, marking the third-coldest in league history behind only the 1981-82 AFC Championship Game (-59 degrees) and the 1967 NFL Championship (-48 degrees). It only got colder throughout the night, too.
It's no accident that the 1967 NFL Championship is remembered as "The Ice Bowl" while the 1981-82 AFC Championship Game is noted as "The Freezer Bowl." After Saturday night, it's only fitting that the Chiefs' victory over the Dolphins may be in need of a nickname.
2. The Chiefs' defense turned in an outstanding performance.
Despite the conditions, the Chiefs' defense was nothing short of tremendous throughout Saturday's game. Kansas City held Miami's high-powered offense to a 1-for-12 mark on third down and only seven points, marking a season-low.
Keep in mind, the Dolphins entered Saturday's game with the No. 1 total offense (401.3 yards-per-game) and the No. 2 scoring offense in the NFL (29.2 points-per-game). Kansas City never allowed Miami to get going offensively, however, as the Dolphins managed just 264 yards of offense. In fact, aside from a 53-yard touchdown pass that took place early in the second quarter, Miami gained just 211 yards and went scoreless on 10 possessions, failing to enter the red zone a single time.
One major key to that defensive effort was the Chiefs' ability to stifle the Dolphins' running game, which averaged 135.8 yards-per-game during the regular season. Kansas City held Miami to just 76 rushing yards on Saturday, limiting game-breaking tailbacks Raheem Mostert (33 rushing yards on eight attempts) and De'Von Achane (nine rushing yards on six attempts) to modest performances.
3. Cornerback L'Jarius Sneed was tremendous.
Sneed continued his exceptional season on Saturday night, yielding only three catches for 29 yards on a team-high nine targets. For the year, Sneed has now allowed just 45 catches for 435 yards on 90 targets – the 14th-most of any cornerback – while surrendering a 50 percent completion percentage, a 54.6 passer rating against and, remarkably, zero touchdowns.
Sneed is the most-targeted player in the NFL this season (including the playoffs) who has yet to allow a touchdown in coverage.
4. Kansas City disrupted Miami's quick-passing game all night long.
The Dolphins' high-powered offensive attack was predicated on its quick passing game all season long, as evidenced by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa's average time to throw of 2.32 seconds, which led all passers. Kansas City managed to disrupt that timing throughout Saturday's game, however, forcing Tagovailoa to hold on to the ball for an average of 2.52 seconds.
Coincidently, that mark of 2.52 seconds was the exact same figure – down to the 100th of a second – that Kansas City forced Tagovailoa into back in Week 9, when the Chiefs defeated the Dolphins in Germany. The result across both matchups was a combined 21 points allowed.
5. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes led the Chiefs to his 12th career playoff victory.
Mahomes matched Tom Brady for the most postseason victories (12) by a quarterback through seven seasons in league history on Saturday, and keep in mind, Mahomes wasn't the Chiefs' primary starter during his rookie campaign in 2017.
Additionally, Mahomes now has the eighth-most postseason victories by a quarterback in NFL history, passing Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman and Aaron Rodgers (who are all tied with 11). Only Brady (35), Joe Montana (16), Terry Bradshaw (14), John Elway (14), Peyton Manning (14), Brett Favre (13) and Ben Roethlisberger (13) own more career postseason victories than the 28-year-old Mahomes.
The Chiefs' 12 playoff victories since 2018 lead the NFL by five wins.
6. Rookie wide receiver Rashee Rice set a pair of franchise records.
Rice was nothing short of outstanding on Saturday, catching a team-leading eight passes for 130 yards. Both marks set rookie postseason franchise records, as Rice passed Knile Davis (7 catches in the 2013-14 Wild Card Round) and Elmo Wright (104 receiving yards in the 1971 Divisional Round) in both categories.
He made plays when it mattered most, too, as six of his eight receptions picked up a first down, including two of which that moved the chains on third down. Rice also hauled in an 11-yard touchdown on the Chiefs' opening possession that set the tone for the rest of the game.
7. Tailback Isiah Pacheco put together a physical performance.
Pacheco rushed for 89 yards on 24 carries during Saturday's game, breaking off runs of 23 yards, 11 yards and 10 yards at various points in the contest. He also forced four missed tackles in the game, gaining 60 yards after first contact.
Pacheco's 3-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter, which completed a 14-play drive that ate up more than seven minutes of clock, essentially put the game away, too.
8. Kicker Harrison Butker was perfect despite the conditions.
Butker was remarkable yet again on Saturday, converting all four of his field goal attempts (and two extra-point tries) despite the frigid conditions. Butker connected on kicks of 28 yards, 26 yards, 32 yards and 21 yards, effectively outscoring the Dolphins all by himself.
The veteran kicker has now made 37-of-39 field goal attempts on the year while converting all 40 of his extra-point tries.
9. The Chiefs matched the Patriots for the most postseason wins in the NFL since 2013.
Kansas City has now won 13 playoff games since 2013 under Head Coach Andy Reid, matching New England for the most of any team in that span. The Chiefs had appeared in just 22 postseason games in franchise history prior to Reid's arrival, going 8-14 in those contests, and five of those victories took place before 1971.
Since Reid took over, however, Kansas City has taken the field for 20 playoff games – winning 13 of them – while moving the franchise's all-time postseason record to an even 21-21.
10. Kansas City is headed to the Divisional Round for a sixth-straight season.
The Chiefs advanced to the Divisional Round for the sixth-consecutive season on Saturday, continuing what has been one of the most impressive stretches of sustained success in league history. In fact, since the second wild card team was introduced to each conference in 1990, the Chiefs' run of six-straight trips to the Divisional Round marks the third-longest in the NFL, trailing only the 2010-18 Patriots (9 straight) and the 1992-98 San Francisco 49ers (7 straight).
For further context, the Chiefs have now advanced to the Divisional Round more times in the last six seasons than nine franchises have since 1990.
Kansas City is undefeated in the Divisional Round since 2018, and now with another postseason matchup on the horizon this upcoming weekend, the Chiefs will look to advance to the AFC Championship Game for a sixth-straight year.
