The Kansas City Chiefs are 3–0.
It was not always pretty, and Kansas City repeatedly made life more difficult for itself with penalties and stalled drives, but the Chiefs eventually pulled away from the Miami Dolphins for a 24–10 win.
First Quarter: Walker Gets Kansas City Started
Kansas City wasted little time getting started. Patrick Mahomes connected with Travis Kelce for a huge play-action completion on the opening possession before a screen to Rashee Rice moved the Chiefs into the red zone.
Kenneth Walker III finished the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run up the middle to give Kansas City the early lead.
Miami answered.
A 44-yard reception by Chris Bell helped spark the Dolphins.
Melvin Gordon eventually powered his way into the end zone to tie the game at seven.
The Chiefs began moving again before the end of the quarter, entering the second with another opportunity to score.
Second Quarter: Walker Scores Again as Chiefs Take Control
Kansas City returned to the red zone, where Walker continued to make his presence felt.
Mahomes found Kenneth Walker III on a shovel pass for his second touchdown of the afternoon and a 14–7 Chiefs lead.
From there, the game became much more defensive.
Miami had opportunities to keep drives alive by being aggressive on fourth down, while Kansas City repeatedly moved the football only to hurt itself with penalties. That became one of the biggest themes of the afternoon: the Chiefs would gain yards, commit a costly penalty, and then have to fight to regain the yardage they had just lost.
L’Jarius Sneed also punched the football loose on a Miami possession, with Kansas City coming away with the turnover.
Walker opened another Chiefs possession with a 22-yard gain, but Kansas City couldn’t capitalize. Mahomes threw an interception after the ball took a wild ricochet and the Miami defense showed excellent awareness and reflexes to come down with it.
The Dolphins couldn’t turn the takeaway into points. Mansoor Delane made a big tackle for loss that helped force Miami into a third-and-15, and Kansas City eventually got the football back with roughly 50 seconds remaining.
A late penalty essentially killed the Chiefs’ opportunity to add points before the break, sending Kansas City into halftime with a 14–7 lead.
Third Quarter: Miami Cuts Into the Lead
Miami received the ball to begin the second half and put together a scoring possession, but Kansas City’s defense kept the Dolphins out of the end zone.
Miami settled for a field goal to cut the Chiefs’ advantage to 14–10.
The rest of the quarter was relatively uneventful. Neither offense was able to take control, and Kansas City carried possession into the fourth quarter with its four-point lead intact.
Fourth Quarter: Mahomes and Kelce Put It Away
Kansas City began threatening again early in the fourth after a big reception from Noah Gray moved the Chiefs into the red zone.
A loss by Walker helped stall the possession, forcing Kansas City to settle for a field goal and a 17–10 advantage.
Then the Chiefs defense took over.
Nick Bolton broke up a third-down pass to put Miami in another difficult situation. The Dolphins once again elected to go for it on fourth down, but this time Kansas City shut the door and took possession.
After repeatedly being aggressive on fourth down throughout the afternoon, Miami finally paid the price.
Rashee Rice immediately made the Dolphins pay even further, breaking loose for a huge 34-yard gain.
After spending much of the afternoon making drives harder than they needed to be, Kansas City finally delivered the knockout blow with one of the most familiar combinations in football.
Mahomes to Kelce.
Patrick Mahomes connected with Travis Kelce for a fourth-quarter touchdown to stretch the Chiefs’ advantage to 24–10 and effectively put the game away.
The defense added one more exclamation point when a Miami pass ricocheted into the hands of George Karlaftis for an interception late in the fourth quarter.
Kansas City missed a field goal that could have added the final points, but it didn’t matter.
Final Thoughts
The Chiefs weren’t flawless. The penalties were frustrating, the offense left points on the field, and there were stretches where Kansas City struggled to build sustained momentum.
But good teams find ways to win even when everything isn’t clean.
Walker scored twice. Rice delivered several important plays. Kelce came through when Kansas City needed to finish the game. And the Chiefs defense repeatedly answered the call, particularly on fourth down.
Final score: Chiefs 24, Dolphins 10.
Kansas City is 3–0.
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