Kansas City Chiefs vs. Miami Dolphins: Complete Week 3 Preview for Miami

The Miami Dolphins are now licking their wounds after what has been a tough week for the team, a week that started off with a devastating 29-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills and then only got worse from that point. 

The Dolphins managed to score only one touchdown in their loss to Buffalo, in a game where every facet of the game seemed to slip away from Miami. Their special teams were especially atrocious, as a blocked punt and a kickoff return resulted in 10 points for the Bills, while bad punts by Brandon Fields gave Buffalo advantageous field position that it took full advantage of. 

Reeling worse than Miami are the Kansas City Chiefs. A playoff team that went 11-5 just a year ago, Kansas City stands at 0-2, fulfilling the annual role taken by at least one playoff team every year as the model of regression. 

Both teams are banged up, especially in regard to their top running backs, as the Dolphins will be without Knowshon Moreno, while the Chiefs' Jamaal Charles is listed as being questionable for Sunday's game, per Adam Teicher of ESPN.com. 

The Dolphins are well aware that not having Moreno will not be an excuse come Sunday, as with or without Moreno, improvement is needed in the passing game. 

This was expressed by Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who, according to Andrew Abramson of The Palm Beach Post, "had one of the toughest press conferences of his career": 

"I haven’t been at my best. It’s got to change and it’s got to change fast. I’m looking forward to going out on Sunday and changing it."

For the Dolphins, a victory over the Chiefs gets the team back on track heading into their London contest against the Oakland Raiders, which is followed by Miami's bye week. For the Chiefs, a win over the Dolphins will be an early season-saving win. 

Either way, one team's fortunes could dramatically change with a win on Sunday.

Miami Dolphins Week 2 Recap

Bill Wippert/Associated Press

The Miami Dolphins continued their seemingly decades-old habit of following up a major high with the lowest of lows in Week 2 with their 29-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills. 

Not one facet of Miami's game worked, save for a sparringly used running game that averaged a little over four yards per carry and a secondary that mainly had to clean up the poor job done by the linebackers. 

Buffalo's game plan was a brilliant one designed to exploit every weakness Miami had, as it effectively rushed Tannehill, resulting in three sacks and plenty more pressures. On offense, the Bills simply got the ball out to playmakers C.J. Spiller and Sammy Watkins in space, giving them the ball and having them do what they had to do with it. 

The most indicative sign that nothing could go right for the Dolphins came with the special teams play, as Fields had one of the worst days of his career, while the unit also gave up a blocked punt, muffed a punt return and muffed a kickoff return for a touchdown. 

It was just that kind of day where all you can really do is throw up your hands and say Miami was outmatched. With the raucous crowd in Buffalo, it seemed at times that Miami was behind already before the game even began. 

It didn't help that in the first quarter, Moreno would get hurt, which certainly had a huge impact on the game plan in the first quarter. 

Because of all of those factors, along with Miami's dominant Week 1 victory against the New England Patriots, I'm more willing to say that the Bills' game was an aberration, while the Patriots' game was more of the norm for the Dolphins going forward. 

You won't see Miami play in an environment like that again this season (or for a good while), and everything that could go wrong did. 

The only thing you can do after a game like that is turn the page and move on to the next team.

News and Notes

J Pat Carter/Associated Press

Dion Jordan Banned For Four More Games, Now In Treatment

With the NFL's new drug policy, it was expected that Dion Jordan would be reinstated and ready to go for Miami as soon as the new policy was put into place. 

That assumption was half-right, as Jordan's original four-game ban for using a performance-enhancing substance was overturned. 

Now for the bad news, as Jordan faces an additional two-game ban from the league, per Hal Habib of The Palm Beach Post. 

Habib reports that Jordan's original positive test was re-classified from a performance-enhancing drug offense to a substance-abuse offence, and that coupled with a second failed test from Jordan resulted in the ban being extended. 

Jordan issued a statement through the team announcing that he was seeking treatment for his drug problem, which states: “I am currently undergoing treatment to address my situation. I am working hard to become a better man and to make better choices in the future.”

Unfortunately, Jordan said something similar back in July when his first positive drug test came to light. For his sake, I hope he remains committed to getting clean and getting his life back on track. 

As for the Dolphins, they do have plenty of reinforcements to soldier on without him for the next four games, as they can use either Chris McCain or Terrence Fede in the role designed for Jordan in their 5-2 and speed packages. However, the clock is ticking on Jordan, who will have to have a strong final 10 games of the season in order to shake off any mumblings about him being a bust. 

Pro Football Focus Grades Ryan Tannehill Highly, Explains Why

For those familiar with my work, you're well aware that Pro Football Focus' grades are a major component in how I evaluate players, but that's not to say the site's perfect, as in the last two weeks I have disagreed with it in how it's graded Tannehill. 

Per Pro Football Focus, Tannehill is graded as their third-best quarterback in the NFL (subscription required), despite the fact that his play in the first two weeks of the season has led some Dolphins fans to grade him as the worst quarterback on the team. 

With the controversy surrounding the grading, Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus explained why Tannehill is graded as high as he was, stating: 

"

Tannehill has suffered from seven dropped passes already this season (only Joe Flacco has experienced more). He has lost 113 yards of passes due to drops (at a minimum – that only counts the yards in the air the ball traveled, not the potential yards after the catch the receiver lost by dropping the ball).

That is more than any other passer in the league, including Flacco.

If you add those plays into his official stats his passer rating jumps twenty points into the 90s. Sure, you could do that for every quarterback, but as we have already pointed out, Tanneill has suffered more than most from his receivers not helping him out.

"

The explanation itself holds some water, as Tannehill has thrown some good-looking passes that were dropped by his receivers, running backs and tight ends. Later on in the piece, Monson goes through the examples of these plays. 

However, that's not to say Tannehill doesn't deserve some of the criticism he's received for his play, which he does. The man who believes that the most: Mr. Tannehill himself, who said of the grades when asked about them, per Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald: 

“Not accurate by what I’m considering. I haven’t been playing up to my standards and up to our standards as a team. Just have to get better.” 

Pro Football Focus is a wonderful resource to gain a better understanding of the game and why the things that happen on the field happen. It's not the be-all-end-all, but it is a useful tool, not to be dismissed the way Salguero did in his piece. 

At the same time, no, Tannehill hasn't passed the eye test; however, a tool like Pro Football Focus can help by opening up the possibility that in due time this season, he will.

Knowshon Moreno Hopes To Be Ready By Week 6

There has to be some good news in this section of the slideshow, and thankfully it looks like that good news is on the horizon, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald has reported that Moreno has told teammates that he hopes to be back by Week 6, when the Dolphins host the Green Bay Packers. 

Moreno was easily Miami's offensive MVP in Week 1 and was sorely missed against Buffalo last week, so the fact that he will miss the next two games is a big blow; however, if you were to choose two games on the Dolphins schedule that he would miss, these next two games would be the ones you'd choose. 

Following their Week 5 bye, Miami's schedule becomes hellacious, as it hosts the Packers and then travels up to Chicago to face the Bears. Following their Week 8 game at Jacksonville, the Dolphins will then face a very difficult month of November where they host the San Diego Chargers, travel to Detroit, host Buffalo at home on a Thursday night game and then travel out west to Denver. 

That's the time period you want Moreno to be healthy for the most part, and from the looks of it, that's when he will likely be back.

Injury Report

Bill Wippert/Associated Press

Player	Position	Injury	Status
Walt Aikens	Cornerback	Hand	Probable
Branden Albert	Tackle	Shoulder	Probable
Charles Clay	Tight End	Knee	Questionable
Louis Delmas	Safety	Calf	Probable
Terrence Fede	Defensive End	Knee	Doubtful
Jonathan Freeny	Linebacker	Calf	Probable
Bruce Gaston	Defensive Tackle	Knee	Probable
Jelani Jenkins	Linebacker	Shoulder	Probable
Koa Misi	Linebacker	Ankle	Out
Knowshon Moreno	Running Back	Elbow	Out
Mike Pouncey	Center	Hip	Doubtful
Shelley Smith	Guard	Knee	Out
Jordan Tripp	Linebacker	Chest	Doubtful
Billy Turner	Guard/Tackle	Foot	Questionable
Philip Wheeler	Linebacker	Thumb	Probable

Injury status courtesy of NFL.com/miamidolphins as of Saturday Morning 9/20/2014. 

The big news here is Charles Clay is now questionable, as opposed to last week when he was on the injury report, listed as probable and wound up playing. The other big news is Mike Pouncey has been upgraded to doubtful; however, I don't expect to see him play in the next two weeks. 

Dallas Thomas will start for Shelley Smith, which could be bad news for the Dolphins, as Thomas struggled in the preseason. It should be noted that Thomas was actually OK against the Bills, and by that I mean he wasn't horrible.

X-Factor and Matchups to Watch

Lynne Sladky/Associated Press

Mike Wallace vs. Sean Smith

Sean Smith makes his return to Miami for the first time since leaving the Dolphins after the 2012 season, and he could be out to prove to the Dolphins that it was a mistake to let him go come Sunday. 

He will spend most of the game paired up against Mike Wallace, in what should be a pretty good wide receiver-cornerback battle. 

Smith is a physical wide receiver who will attempt to stop plays, but he won't really make any big plays of his own. He's never been the fastest of corners, and he has gotten slower since his days in Miami while remaining effective. 

Wallace should be able to burn Smith; the question is, can Ryan Tannehill capitalize on that and find Wallace down the field?

Jamaal Charles/Knile Davis vs. Miami's linebackers

The Kansas City run game is a major component of the offense, and the Chiefs have two different runners in the backfield in Charles and Davis, two players who will likely split carries. 

Miami's linebackers have made it a habit of giving running backs big days, and Charles at least is the type of running back capable of running over Miami's linebackers. 

Their play is important, because you want Alex Smith throwing the ball as often as possible. 

Dolphins Secondary vs. Alex Smith

This one is an advantage for the Dolphins, and one they will have to dominate. 

Smith is a decent quarterback; under the right circumstances, he will win games. In fact in his last three years as a starting quarterback, Smith has gone 30-11-1, with his team making it into the playoffs in each season. 

However, he has his limitations, and this week, his weapons are those limitations. Dwayne Bowe and tight end Travis Kelce represent his only reliable weapons, and in the case of Bowe, he wasn't very reliable against Denver last week. 

Keeping Bowe covered and keeping Kelce contained is the way to go for Miami. The Chiefs aren't going to attempt too many big passing plays; they will dink-and-dunk down the field. Limiting those dinks and dunks, which they were able to do against the Patriots but failed to do against Buffalo, gives the Dolphins an advantage and most likely the win. 

X-Factor: Daniel Thomas

Just kidding. 

X-Factor: Lamar Miller

Lamar Miller has been two different players this season. 

As a running back he's done well, averaging 4.8 yards per carry on 22 carries. 

As a receiver, he's been the subject of scorn and ridicule. 

It's time to step it up this week, and luckily for him, he faces a very middle-of-the-road Chiefs run defense, a defense that if he plays up to his averages with a heavy workload between 20 to 25 carries, he should be able to do well. 

As a receiver he's needed now more than ever, as Charles Clay is questionable for Sunday's game.

Prediction

Bill Wippert/Associated Press

You're going to have to be a dedicated fan of the game to get through this game. 

This is the type of game where at least one team (Kansas City) will accumulate a lot of yards. I can very easily see Alex Smith breaking 300 yards in this contest simply by using the short passing game. 

The Chiefs will outgain the Dolphins as a whole. 

But they won't outscore them, which is how the victor of the game is determined. 

In a matchup of two coaches who have made game management look more complicated than it has to be, you'll see a close game. These two teams are very eerily similar in a myriad of ways, and it's a matchup that is favorable to the Dolphins. 

This game will be a high-yardage, but low-scoring matchup. It just has the feel of that type of game. 

Prediction: Miami Dolphins 17, Kansas City Chiefs 14 (OT).

Statistics provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com unless otherwise noted. 

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