Miami Dolphins 14-21 Kansas City Chiefs: Super Bowl champions hold off fightback to win thriller in Frankfurt

The Kansas City Chiefs hold on to a commanding 21-point first-half lead to beat the Miami Dolphins in the first ever regular season game to be held in Frankfurt, Germany; Miami fall to 0-3 against teams with winning records in 2023.

Behold Arrowhead abroad, where a red sea of Kansas City Chiefs fans swarmed Frankfurt to watch on as their defending Super Bowl champions held off a Miami Dolphins fightback to clinch a dramatic 21-14 win at Deutsche Bank Park on Sunday.

The Miami Dolphins had trailed 21-0 at half-time, before pulling within seven points thanks to touchdowns from Cedrick Wilson and Raheem Mostert to threaten overtime.

Such has been the story of their season, it was Steve Spagnuolo’s Chiefs defense that would prove defining as they recovered Tua Tagovailoa’s fumble on fourth down to ice the game with a minute to play.

Tyreek Hill was limited to 62 yards on the ground while Travis Kelce made just three catches for 14 yards in a game that delivered on its promise of fireworks without two of the league’s most talked-about offenses lighting up the game.

It had been touted as a potential AFC Championship Game preview. On that assessment, few would turn it down.

Bedlam had been brewing across a historic week for Frankfurt, which glistens among the foundations of Europe’s NFL love affair having staged the first ever World League of American Football game in 1991.

Bedlam arrived in the closing seconds of the first half when Bryan Cook returned a Tyreek Hill fumble 59 yards for a touchdown to hand Kansas City a stunning 21-0 lead at the break.

It continued in the third when Tagovailoa connected with Cedrick Wilson for a 31-yard touchdown to put the Dolphins on the board.

Stats leaders:

Miami Dolphins

• Passing: Tua Tagovailoa, 21/34, 193 yards, 1 TD
• Rushing: Raheem Mostert, 12 carries, 85 yards
• Receiving: Tyreek Hill, 8 catches, 62 yards

Kansas City Chiefs

• Passing: Patrick Mahomes, 20/30, 185 yards, 2 TDs
• Rushing: Isiah Pacheco, 16 carries, 66 yards
• Receiving: Noah Gray, 3 catches, 34 yards

Miami’s comeback was suddenly on, Raheem Mostert running in for an 13-yard touchdown to punish an unnecessary roughness call against Chris Jones after the Chiefs thought they had held the Dolphins to a field goal.

The drive had stemmed from Bradley Chubb’s forced fumble, recovered by Zach Sieler at the Chiefs’ 27-yard line to prompt wild celebrations from the Dolphins sideline.

The Chiefs laid down an immediate marker when Rashee Rice turned a screen pass into an 11-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown on the opening drive of the game, Justin Watson’s catch at the back of the end zone having been ruled incomplete following a review on the previous play.

Spagnuolo’s defense would hold the Dolphins to four straight punts before Jerick McKinnon doubled Kansas City’s lead with a 17-yard touchdown on a sneak route to cap a 13-play 95-yard drive lasting 8.28.

Kadarius Toney had ignited the drive by breaking three tackles for a catch-and-run of 18 yards, before Mahomes found Justin Watson on a deep over route for a gain of 23 yards down to the 24.

Scoring summary

What’s next?

The Chiefs now enter a bye week before returning to action against the Philadelphia Eagles at Arrowhead in Week 11, while the Dolphins follow up their bye week at home to the Las Vegas Raiders.

Week Nine continues on Sunday with the Baltimore Ravens against the Seattle Seahawks from 6pm live on Sky Sports NFL, followed by an all-NFC East clash between the Dallas Cowboys and Eagles before the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals meet in Sunday Night Football.

The Los Angeles Chargers then visit the New York Jets to conclude the week in Monday Night Football.