Time for Dolphins to prove they can hang with the big boys in international showdown with Chiefs
FRANKFURT, Germany — Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel astonished NFL Network broadcasters this past week with the passion with which he spoke ahead of Sunday morning’s showdown against the Kansas City Chiefs in Germany — specifically, the way he detailed his belief in quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
But he also mentioned something else in that production meeting, as play-by-play commentator Rich Eisen revealed. The Dolphins set out to spend the week in Frankfurt, not only to keep the normal practice schedule intact, but to get a rehearsal at taking the operation remotely.
Because, where else does a team spend a practice week away from its home facility? The Super Bowl.
As McDaniel notes he doesn’t want his team’s first experience doing it that way to come in that setting, it also speaks to, one, how meticulous he is as a coach, but two, his confidence his Dolphins are capable.
Everyone knows the Dolphins (6-2) are good. But there’s another level they need to reach. One they haven’t proven to those on the outside they can do: Beat the NFL’s top teams.
Their six wins have come against teams that enter Week 9 with losing records. Their two losses by a combined 42 points to others expected to contend, the Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles.
On Sunday, they have a chance to show the world — literally — that they can indeed hang with other upper-echelon teams. And they can do it against the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs (6-2) on the international stage, in a 9:30 a.m. kickoff from Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt, Germany.
And while the Dolphins have spent the week overseas, arriving Tuesday morning, the Chiefs just got into town Friday morning, participating in one practice abroad in preparation for Sunday’s kickoff.
Yes, McDaniel, aside from the Super Bowl tidbit Eisen revealed Friday, wanted his players to take in the experience and memories that come from exploring a foreign country. Miami players — those who weren’t too tired from a nine-hour flight — got to do their sightseeing Tuesday before getting acclimated to the time difference earlier, keeping their practice week consistent with what they’d do back home.
The Chiefs didn’t seem fazed by jet lag at their Friday media session, though.
“We’re ready to roll anytime, anywhere,” Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce said. “It’s all mental for us, and we’re ready to rock and roll.”
A subplot to Dolphins-Chiefs: Star Miami wide receiver Tyreek Hill faces his former team after spending six seasons in Kansas City — all Pro Bowl campaigns and once winning a Super Bowl.
Hill reminisced some on his time with the Chiefs this past week, but he also fired off some smack talk when an opportunity arose, when asked about his first game against Kansas City being played on foreign soil instead or Arrowhead Stadium.
“It doesn’t really matter where we play at. They’re going to get this work wherever, though,” Hill proclaimed when he spoke Thursday.
His former teammates, all too familiar with Hill, know where he is coming from.
“He wants to rile his crowd up, and I’ll support it,” Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones said Friday. “We still got to line up and play.”
Said quarterback Patrick Mahomes: “It’s going to be cool. That’s my brother. … It’ll be a great challenge for our defense.”
Mahomes and Tagovailoa are No. 1 and 2 as odds-on favorites for MVP honors. The winner Sunday will have an edge in that race, and more importantly, his team will take the No. 1 seed in the AFC heading into the bye week — and own a tiebreaker against the other.
Tagovailoa will try to deliver passes to Hill and Jaylen Waddle against Kansas City’s second-ranked pass defense.
Mahomes may see the debut of Miami’s Jalen Ramsey-Xavien Howard cornerback combination, if Howard is able to play through a groin injury that has kept him out the past two weeks. Ramsey played his first game as a Dolphin, three months removed from a knee procedure, in last week’s win over the New England Patriots — and had an interception.
Beyond the global spectrum of the NFL expanding to international fans based on the game itself, a different pop culture-centered set of eyes will be on this game in particular.
Kelce is dating singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. He would not reveal if Swift was attending Sunday’s game in Germany, joking that Las Vegas moves the betting line because he tends to play better when she’s there.
Both teams bring a strong pass rush, and the Dolphins will have to protect Tagovailoa with questions remaining on whether left tackle Terron Armstead will be activated in his first week eligible off an Oct. 1 knee injury and if center Connor Williams, who is questionable, can return to start from a groin ailment that has kept him out of four of the past five games.