Dolphins Coordinators Complimentary of KC Chiefs Ahead of Wild Card Matchup

Frank Smith and Vic Fangio aren't taking either side of the Chiefs lightly entering their Wild Card Weekend outing.

The Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins don't necessarily have a rivalry but with them meeting for the second time this season on Saturday, the AFC foes are becoming quite familiar with one another. Their coaches, players and fans are well aware of what the opponent brings to the table.  

Ahead of Wild Card Weekend, Miami's coaches are delivering no shortage of respect when talking about the other side. 

Kansas City's defense, surprisingly, is its leading unit by a pretty significant margin this season. Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith, in fact, has experience working with Steve Spagnuolo. The two were members of the same 2012 New Orleans Saints coaching staff. Now a decade-plus removed from that, Smith finds plenty that stands out regarding Spagnuolo's defense with the Chiefs. 

“Basically, their ability to really communicate well," Smith said. "You can see that they’re very well connected. They like to dictate the terms, make sure that they’re all, from the back end to the front end, they’re playing sound defense. I worked with him in New Orleans in 2012, so he’s a very meticulous guy. He’s going to be on all the details. He’ll be on all the things that we do as an offense. So it’ll be a big challenge because you have a guy like Steve and his staff that do a great job with Andy (Reid) and just the whole program, and going into Arrowhead is not an easy endeavor. It’s going to be on us to be on all of the things we need to be ready for and our communication and the environment as we go into Saturday night.”

With a stellar 2022 draft class now in its second season, the Chiefs' defense is emerging as one of the NFL's best. Thanks to that growth, some savvy free agent pickups and perhaps the best version of Spagnuolo, Kansas City has been consistently great all year long. Entering the playoffs, it ranks second in yards and points allowed despite not generating a ton of takeaways. In the first Chiefs-Dolphins matchup back in Week 9, Miami was held to 14 points and 292 yards. Ironically, a Tyreek Hill turnover was a critical play in the game. 

On the other side of the ball, things haven't gone as originally planned. Patrick Mahomes is coming off the worst and most trying regular season of his career. Travis Kelce's numbers fell just enough for everyone to notice it. The offensive tackle play hasn't lived up to the hype. The most alarming position group, the wideout room, just never took off. Even with that, Dolphins defensive coordinator Vic Fangio sees plenty of positives and isn't downplaying Kansas City's offense. 

“I think (Rashee) Rice has really emerged for them," Fangio said. "He’s really a good runner after the catch. He’s shown good hands. (Justin) Watson has really emerged here the last part of the season and really gets down the field. He’s fast with good speed and you can tell Mahomes likes throwing to him. (Marquez) Valdes-Scantling has always been a good receiver. They’re still one of the top offenses in the league and they can explode at any moment with Mahomes at quarterback.”

In Week 9's meeting, the Chiefs amassed just 267 net yards and averaged 4.8 yards per play. At the end of the regular season, they ranked ninth in yards and 15th in scoring. With each passing game, this appeared more and more to be right around a middle-of-the-pack unit. With that said, the Reid-Mahomes-Kelce trio remains one of the scarier ones in football. The idea of the Kansas City offense hasn't left. 

Whether it's Smith, Fangio or head coach Mike McDaniel, the Dolphins understand the challenge ahead of them. On the Chiefs' side, the same sentiment is echoed. With weather conditions projected to be brutal on Saturday, both teams are in for a mental and physical test. When tossing in the talent Kansas City has on both sides — even if the execution isn't always perfect — Miami isn't taking them lightly. The road team, at least on the surface, seems prepared.

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