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| ARI at NE | ATL at MIN | BAL at DAL | BUF at DEN | CAR at NYG | CIN at CLE | GB at CHI | HOU at OAK |
| IND at JAX | MIA at KC | NO at DET | NYJ at SEA | PHI at WAS | PIT at TEN | SD at TB | SF at STL |
Week 16 Game Recap: Miami Dolphins 38, Kansas City Chiefs 31
What you need to know
| Miami Dolphins |
The Miami Dolphins braved a game time temperature of ten degrees Fahrenheit and barely managed to leave Kansas City with a victory and the division title in sight.
QB Chad Pennington skillfully diced up the Chiefs secondary and led his team on a series of scoring drives. Pennington's sole interception game at the end of the first half, and otherwise he was nearly flawless in execution despite the gusting winds.
RB Ricky Williams and RB Ronnie Brown split duties in the backfield, as usual. Williams carried the ball four more times but Brown also took three snaps out of the wildcat formation. RB Patrick Cobbs and RB Lousaka Polite also ran the ball well in limited action against the struggling Kansas City Defense. WR Ted Ginn Jr. took an end around handoff for a 31 yard touchdown on the first snap of the game.
Ginn and WR Davone Bess were the only wide receivers to catch balls for Miami in the absence of WR Greg Camarillo. Both are speedy and quick but are not big, sturdy targets for Pennington. TE David Martin caught a beautifully thrown ball in the back of the end zone for an early touchdown and TE Anthony Fasano added two more scores.
The Dolphins defense struggled to stop the Chiefs offense. They were unable to tackle well as a team and if not for the multitude of turnovers by Kansas City -- they may not have pulled out the road win. The Dolphins also benefited from a fumble called back due to penalty and another that was ruled down by contact and upheld by the official's review but could have gone either way.
| Kansas City Chiefs |
The Kansas City Chiefs saw another late lead evaporate and suffered a tough home loss in very cold temperatures. The Chiefs had chances to win this game but could not stop themselves from turning over the ball relentlessly.
QB Tyler Thigpen played with a determined vigor but tossed three interceptions including a late one at the Dolphins' five yard line. His passes appeared to be affected by the howling winds as they seemed to sail away from his targets. He often missed his receivers but again proved to be able to gain first downs and serious yardage with his legs.
RB Larry Johnson looked the running back of old by piling-up over 100 yards on the ground against a suddenly lackluster Miami defense. RB Jamaal Charles was impressive again in limited action and took a screen pass from Thigpen 75 yards to set up a Johnson score.
WR Mark Bradley and WR Dwayne Bowe did the best they could with Thigpen's inaccurate throws. They were often missed outright by the throw or the ball was knocked away by a Miami defender. TE Tony Gonzales was solid in the loss, continuing to show grit and determination despite another disappointing season in Kansas City.
The Chiefs defense had trouble stopping Miami on both the ground and through the air. The team received a lucky break with just two minutes to go in the game as RB Ricky Williams fumbled the ball at the seven yard line and the Chiefs recovered. However, the team was unable to capitalize and eventually turned the ball over again.
What you ought to know
| QB Chad Pennington, Pass: 26 - 34 - 235 - 3 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 2 - -2 - 0 |
QB Chad Pennington was nearly flawless in the victory. The Chiefs were unable to get even a semblance of a pass rush and Pennington picked apart the Chiefs defense for three touchdown passes. Pennington spread the ball around by connecting on at least three completions to five different receivers.
Pennington's accuracy was on-point all day despite the howling winds that plagued both kicks and passes all game long.
| RB Ricky Williams, Rush: 12 - 34 - 1, Rec: 6 - 50 - 0 (8 targets) |
RB Ricky Williams nearly cost the Dolphins the victory. With two minutes left in the game and Miami holding onto a touchdown lead, Williams fumbled on the Chiefs' seven yard line. The Chiefs recovered but were unable to score and the Dolphins held on to win. Williams led all of the team's running backs in carries out of the backfield. His touchdown was set up by a long run by RB Patrick Cobbs. Williams also grabbed six balls as a receiver.
| RB Ronnie Brown, Rush: 8 - 32 - 0, Rec: 5 - 21 - 0 (5 targets) |
RB Ronnie Brown only carried the ball eight times out of the backfield but took three snaps from the wildcat formation. He also grabbed five passes from QB Chad Pennington but RB Ricky Williams carried the ball more frequently.
Brown did not appear to be injured or hindered and looked capable carrying the ball even leaping right over a head on defender.
| RB Patrick Cobbs, Rush: 2 - 44 - 0, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (1 targets) |
RB Patrick Cobbs was the team's leading rusher despite only taking two handoffs. He racked-up 44 yards on an end around handoff from RB Ronnie Brown out of the wildcat formation that set up RB Ricky Williams' four yard touchdown run. Cobbs also had two strong kick returns in the first quarter to give the team good field position.
| WR Davone Bess, Rec: 6 - 57 - 0 (8 targets) |
Rookie WR Davone Bess continues to fill in effectively for injured WR Greg Camarillo. Bess was a frequent target of QB Chad Pennington and exhibited great speed and hands throughout the game.
| WR Ted Ginn, Rush: 1 - 31 - 1, Rec: 4 - 44 - 0 (5 targets) |
WR Ted Ginn scored on the first play from scrimmage in the game as he took an end around handoff from QB Chad Pennington 31 yards for a touchdown. Ginn also contributed some clutch receptions as the Dolphins pulled off the come from behind victory in the fourth quarter.
| TE Anthony Fasano, Rec: 3 - 47 - 2 (4 targets) |
TE Anthony Fasano refused to go down on both of his touchdown grabs. He shed tacklers and simply forced his way past the goal line for each score.
| TE David Martin, Rec: 1 - 11 - 1 (1 targets) |
TE David Martin's only catch was a touchdown reception from a beautifully placed QB Chad Pennington toss in the back of the end zone.
| PK Dan Carpenter 1 - 1 FG, 5 - 5 XP, 8 points |
PK Dan Carpenter was perfect on the day for field goals and extra point attempts but the wind nearly killed his 34 yard field goal before it went over the uprights.
| MIA Rush Defense |
The Dolphins' defense had trouble stopping both RB Larry Johnson and QB Tyler Thigpen on the ground. The defenders on Miami had trouble bringing down anyone carrying the ball for Kansas City.
| MIA Pass Defense |
The Dolphins did not manage much of a pass rush against QB Tyler Thigpen but did pull down three interceptions which essentially kept them in the game. Miami had trouble tackling and stopping the Chiefs' suddenly potent offense. If not for the turnovers and general inaccuracy by QB Tyler Thigpen the Dolphins may have ruined their playoff chances with a loss. The Dolphins also deflected a number of passes and could have added another interception or two to their tally if the defenders had held on to the ball.
| QB Tyler Thigpen, Pass: 20 - 41 - 320 - 2 TD / 3 INT, Rush: 6 - 57 - 1 |
QB Tyler Thigpen played hard but was very inaccurate and threw three interceptions in the loss. Thigpen's passes seemed to be drifting and sailing which could have been a consequence of the gusting winds inside the stadium but he under threw his deep receivers regularly and threw into double coverage too often.
Thigpen also continued to demonstrate his exceptional running ability. He runs well but may take too much of a beating from it. He also muffed a snap and a handoff to RB Larry Johnson but was able to turn both into gains on the ground himself.
One of Thigpen's interceptions came at the Dolphins' five yard line at a critical point in the second half.
| RB Larry Johnson, Rush: 12 - 108 - 1 (4 targets) |
RB Larry Johnson finally put up another 100 yard rushing game. He ran well and looked determined against a Miami team that was struggling to tackle anyone. His touchdown run was set up by RB Jamaal Charles' 75 yard reception off of a screen pass.
| RB Jamaal Charles, Rush: 3 - 15 - 0, Rec: 3 - 102 - 0 (3 targets) |
RB Jamaal Charles has clearly been relegated to back-up duty with the return of RB Larry Johnson but he continues to show a lot of skill and quickness. He took a screen pass from QB Tyler Thigpen 75 yards to set up a two yard touchdown run by Johnson.
| WR Mark Bradley, Rec: 4 - 57 - 0 (11 targets) |
WR Mark Bradley was missed by QB Tyler Thigpen five times in the first half but also managed to pull down a jump ball between two defenders later in the game despite taking a shot to the chest.
| WR Devard Darling, Rec: 3 - 69 - 1 (7 targets) |
WR Devard Darling showed great hands and catching ability during the loss. He pulled down one sensational catch along the sidelines where he managed to keep both feet in bounds while catching the ball with his gut in the air.
| WR Dwayne Bowe, Rec: 3 - 28 - 0 (7 targets) |
WR Dwayne Bowe had trouble getting anything going in the loss. He was a regular target for QB Tyler Thigpen but did not receive many well-thrown balls. Bradley was the most targeted wide receiver in the game.
| TE Tony Gonzalez, Rec: 7 - 64 - 1 (12 targets) |
TE Tony Gonzalez continues to be a favorite target of QB Tyler Thigpen. Gonzalez looks as strong and reliable as ever coming off of the line to receive. He caught a reception on fourth and one in the first half and simply battled his way into the end zone for a touchdown.
| PK Connor Barth 1 - 1 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 7 points |
PK Connor Barth was perfect on the day for field goal and extra point attempts.
| KC Rush Defense |
The Kansas City rush defense allowed five different runners to put up a combined 170 yards on the ground. Needless to say, they did not have much success in stopping the run -- either out of standard formations or the famed wildcat with RB Ronnie Brown at the helm.
| KC Pass Defense |
The Chiefs were unable to stop the precision passing of QB Chad Pennington. They had no discernible pass rush and despite the wind and cold were only able to pull in a single interception. The Chiefs were also called for a roughing the passer call that negated a potential fumble recovery by the team in the first quarter. They also had another potential fumble recovery that was whistled down and the coach's challenge upheld the call after the official's review.
