The Miami Dolphins are set to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Germany Sunday morning. It could very well be a preview of the AFC Championship Game with two MVP candidates in Tua Tagovailoa and Patrick Mahomes getting at it.
Frankfurt has to be excited about hosting this International Series game. We’re talking about a world-wide brand in that of the Chiefs going up against a Dolphins offense that has been revolutionary thus far in 2023.
The expectation is that we’ll see a high-scoring game between the two AFC foes inside Deutsche Bank Park. Below, we provide four bold predictions for what promises to be a great mid-season game.
Related: Week 9 NFL power rankings
Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce goes for 150 yards, two touchdowns
We highly doubt Taylor Swift will be on hand in Germany for this one. That could impact Kelce’s statistical performance in that he’s been tremendous with the tight end’s better half in attendance since they became an item.
But it’s not like Kelce was some sort of scrub before becoming Mr. Swift. We’re talking about an eight-time Pro Bowler and one of the best tight ends in the history of the NFL, one that is averaging 1,150 receiving yards throughout his career.
Look for Kelce to go for 150 yards and two touchdowns against a questionable Dolphins defense. Miami has yielded an eye-opening 78% completion to tight ends on the season. While safety Jevon Holland has cleared the NFL Concussion Protocol and will play Sunday, he’s had his issues in pass coverage this season (74% completion, 106.6 QB rating allowed). Linebacker David Long has not been better (79% completion, 133.6 QB rating). Kelce is going to eat against this Dolphins defense. Take that to the bank.
Miami Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa sacked five times
Despite major injury issues to Miami’s offensive line, Tua has gone down just 11 times in eight games this season. It’s crazy to think about given that the Dolphins played with one starting offensive lineman last week against the New England Patriots.
But there is going to be regression to the mean here. Starting left tackle Terron Armstead saw his practice window in returning from injured reserve open this week. Robert Hunt and Connor Williams are questionable to go against the Chiefs. We’ve also seen Tua sacked five times in the past two games after going down a combined six times in as many outings to open the season.
As for the Chiefs, they’ve tallied 28 sacks in eight games this season. Second-year EDGE rusher George Karlaftis III leads the team with six. Defensive tackles Chris Jones and Michael Danna are tied for second with 5.5 each. We’re expecting these three to take advantage of the Dolphins’ injury issues Sunday morning, helping this unit tally a season-high five sacks of Tagovailoa.
Related: NFL Week 9 offense rankings
Tyreek Hill surpasses 200 yards for the Miami Dolphins
Having already put up 1,014 yards and eight touchdowns in eight games this season, Hill is just dominating. He’s actually on pace to obliterate Calvin Johnson’s single-season NFL record of 1,964 yards by a whopping 200 yards. That’s just how good Hill has been on the campaign.
From an individual game perspective, Hill has seen double-digit targets five times in eight games. He’s tallied north of 150 yards in half of his outings through Week 8. That math is not hard when it comes to the all-time great pass-catcher.
Set to take on his former Chiefs team, we’re expecting Hill to be on another plane of existence in Germany. Sure, Kansas City has been good covering wide receivers on the season (eighth-fewest receptions allowed in the NFL). But that’s what makes this a bold prediction. We know Hill wants to exact revenge against a team that traded him. He’s on a roll. There is going to be no stopping that.
Second-highest-scoring NFL game of 2023 thus far
Miami was already involved in the highest-scoring game with 90 combined points against the Denver Broncos back in Week 3. Of course, the Dolphins scoring 70 points in that outing helped matters. It also doesn’t hurt that the Dolphins’ defense continues to be vulnerable. It ranks 25th in the NFL in scoring defense at 25.5 points per game.
On the other side, Miami is on pace for a record 33.9 points per game. It has dropped 30-plus points five times.
With Kansas City coming off a nine-point, five-turnover outing in a loss to the Denver Broncos last week, we’re expecting Patrick Mahomes and Co. to rebound big time. The over-under in this one is set at 50.5. That number is going to be obliterated, too.
Final score: Miami Dolphins 45, Kansas City Chiefs 42