KC CHIEFS (5-3) ATMIAMI DOLPHINS (2-6)
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 12,
12:00 PM (CENTRAL)
Listen Live to the Chiefs vs Dolphins
Herm Edwards Press Conference
Regular Season Game 9 (PDF)
TV: CBS Regional Coverage (KCTV-5) – Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker.RADIO: KCFX-FM (101.1) – Mitch Holthus, Len Dawson, Bob Gretz and Bill Grigsby.
THE MATCH-UP
Kansas City makes the trek to South Florida for a second consecutive year as the Chiefs visit the Dolphins on Sunday. The Chiefs are 5-3 and are seeking to extend their winning streak to four games under head coach Herm Edwards, who has guided Kansas City to victories in five of its last six contests. Kansas City is coming off a convincing 31-17 road win at St. Louis (11/5) after securing home victories against San Diego and Seattle. Meanwhile, Miami got a huge boost by snapping a four-game losing streak as the Dolphins handed the previously-undefeated Bears their first loss of the season, registering a decisive 31-13 victory at Chicago (11/5).
Last season, the Chiefs prevailed by a 30-20 margin in an unusual Friday night contest at Miami (10/21/05). Kansas City traveled to Miami on the day of that game due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Wilma. The Chiefs will be seeking to win back-to-back road games against the Dolphins for the first time since registering victories in the club’s initial three trips to Miami in ‘66-68.
Both the Chiefs and the Dolphins are playing with a quarterback other than their Opening Day starter. Former Miami QB Damon Huard has posted a 5-2 record as Kansas City’s starter subbing for injured two-time Pro Bowl QB Trent Green. Huard has registered a rating of 100.0 or better in all five of the Chiefs victories and currently ranks second in the NFL with a 105.2 overall rating. In Miami, former Lions QB Joey Harrington has opened the last four games in place of QB Daunte Culpepper and threw three TDs last week against the Bears.
The Chiefs are one of seven AFC squads that own a 5-3 record or better at the midseason mark and are in the thick of the AFC West race with Denver and San Diego, who both own 6-2 records. The Chiefs have averaged 32.0 points per game during their three-game winning streak thanks in large part to RB Larry Johnson who ranks second in the NFL in yards from scrimmage (143.1 ypg) and is third in rushing yards (102.0 ypg). Up next for the Chiefs is a home date vs. Oakland (11/19), while Miami hosts Minnesota (11/19).
THE SERIES
The Dolphins hold a slim, 13-12 overall edge in the 25 meaningful games played in the series, including a pristine postseason mark of 3-0 against the Chiefs. KC owns a 12-10 advantage in regular season play, while the two squads have gone 1-1-1 in three preseason meetings. The Chiefs have won their last two meetings with the Dolphins and are attempting to construct their first three-game winning streak against Miami since winning the first six games in this series from ‘66-68.
Kansas City was victorious in its last visit to South Florida, winning by a 30-20 count at Dolphin Stadium (10/21/05) in a game that was moved to a Friday night due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Wilma. That contest snapped the Chiefs six-game losing streak at Miami. KC is 6-10 all-time in games played at Miami, owning a 2-6 mark at Dolphin Stadium and a 4-4 record at the Orange Bowl. The Chiefs other victory at Dolphin Stadium came by a 26-21 count (12/3/89). The Chiefs are 6-3 against the Dolphins in Kansas City, including a 48-30 win at Arrowhead (9/29/02).
Without question, the most memorable and most significant contest in this series was Miami’s 27-24 double-overtime AFC Divisional Playoff win at Kansas City (12/25/71), Miami’s first-ever victory over the Chiefs after six straight losses dating back to ‘66. That Christmas Day classic remains the longest game in NFL history (82:40). It was not only the final game ever played at Kansas City’s Municipal Stadium, but also marked the Chiefs final postseason appearance of the magnificent Hank Stram era.
Miami also owns victories in two other historic postseason meetings against Kansas City. The Dolphins prevailed by a 27-17 count in a ‘94 AFC Wild Card duel (12/31/94) between QBs Joe Montana and Dan Marino, a game that proved to be the final NFL contest of Montana’s Hall of Fame career. Kansas City also suffered a gut-wrenching 17-16 AFC First Round loss at Miami (1/5/91), an outing that marked the first of 10 playoff contests during Marty Schottenheimer’s 10-year tenure (’89-98) as Chiefs head coach.
