Things to watch for in Saturday night’s Miami Dolphins-Kansas City Chiefs wild-card playoff game

MIAMI GARDENS — It’s survive and advance for the Miami Dolphins.

When the Dolphins visit the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday night it’ll mark the second consecutive season they limp into a wild-card playoff game with an injury-depleted roster, in a situation where they’re going to a cold, hostile environment that few visitors survive in January.

So be it.

It’s better than being at home and out of the postseason.

And although the Dolphins will be without players such as edge rusher Bradley Chubb (knee), linebackers Jerome Baker (hand), Andrew Van Ginkel (foot) and Cameron Goode (knee), and they’ll likely be without cornerback Xavien Howard (foot), and safety Jevon Holland (knee), running back Raheem Mostert (knee/ankle) and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle (ankle) might be limited, they’re in the tournament.

And they still have coach Mike McDaniel, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, wide receiver Tyreek Hill and cornerback Jalen Ramsey. 

With that in mind, here are some things to watch for in Saturday’s game:

Big plays

The Dolphins need big plays on both sides of the ball and special teams. Long touchdown runs, long touchdown receptions, pick-sixes, interceptions, fumble recoveries, sacks, etc.

To use a boxing analogy, the Dolphins need knockout punches. Because of injuries, they probably don’t have the strength or stamina to go 15 rounds. 

The good news is big plays are the Dolphins’ specialty. No team does big plays as well as the Dolphins so from that standpoint they’re well-equipped to pull an upset in this tough road matchup.

Dolphins’ injuries and complementary football

The injuries are reality, so now the question is how the Dolphins adjust. The answer is complementary football, something the Dolphins did well in early December.

For example, the pass rush will need strong efforts from pass rushers such as Melvin Ingram and Emmanuel Ogbah, but they can’t do it alone. They’ll need help from the secondary.

And the defense will need field position help from the punt team. And so on.

It sounds corny, but they’ve all got to help each other because each group — offense, defense and special teams — is affected by this late-season injury wave.

Will Dolphins’ pass rush change its identity?

Most likely the Dolphins want to pressure Kansas City star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, force him to get rid of the ball, and therefore put pressure on his hot-and-cold receivers (aside from tight end Travis Kelce, of course) to make plays. But that requires a pass rush.

Will the Dolphins change their identity and blitz frequently?

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio doesn’t blitz much. The Dolphins rank 27th in blitz frequency at 21.5%.

That’s unlikely to change.

They’ll probably rely largely on defensive linemen Zach Sieler (10.0 sacks) and Christian Wilkins (9.0 sacks) to provide the pressure.  

Stopping Mahomes

Mahomes (27 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, 92.6 passer rating) hasn’t been in MVP form this season, but he’s 9-2 in playoff games at Arrowhead Stadium, which means he’s almost invincible. 

As you can see, however, his interceptions are high (more on that later) so perhaps that provides a ray of hope. 

But Mahomes has only been sacked 27 times, 27th-fewest. 

The Dolphins need to somehow make him uncomfortable.

Tua coming through

Tagovailoa (29 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, 101.1 passer rating) could use a good game.

In his past three games — a win against Dallas and losses to Baltimore and Buffalo — he had four touchdowns passes and four interceptions. Worse, the Dolphins went 1-2. 

In his past five games, all in December and January, Tagovailoa has five touchdowns and four interceptions to go along with an 88.5 passer rating and the Dolphins went 2-3.