The Miami Dolphins welcomed Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Ken Walker III and the rest of the star-studded Kansas City Chiefs’ roster to Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday for Miami’s first home game of the 2026 regular season. While Jeff Hafley’s crew fought hard, the firepower possessed by Kansas City’s offense was too much for the Dolphins in the end — and the team ultimately fell by a score of 24-10.
Unfortunately for Miami, they didn’t just suffer a loss on the scoreboard on Sunday — as electric running
back, De’Von Achane, left early in the contest with a knee injury. He would not return to play for the entire afternoon. More on that later…
In a year where losses will be plentiful, all you can ask for from this Dolphins team are showings that are marked by heart, grittiness and foundation building performances. On Sunday against the Chiefs, Miami accomplished those things, in my humble opinion.
As we do after each game, let’s take a look at the good, bad and ugly from Sunday’s loss.
GOOD
Jacob Rodriguez nabs first career interception for improved Dolphins defense
After giving up 35 points to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2, the Dolphins defense needed to show some signs of life in order to give its fanbase something encouraging to latch onto.
They did.
Kansas City managed 334 total yards, but Miami’s defense repeatedly came up with plays to keep Patrick Mahomes and company from running away with the game. The Dolphins also held the Chiefs to just three points during the third quarter, allowing Miami to remain within striking distance heading into the final period.
A major factor in Miami’s step-forward on defense was the play of rookie linebacker Jacob Rodriguez.
Rodriguez intercepted Mahomes late in the second quarter — the first interception in his young career — making an impressive play on a deeply thrown tipped pass. He finished the contest with six tackles, including three tackles for loss.
For a team relying heavily on young players this season, seeing Rodriguez continue to develop is exactly the kind of thing Dolphins fans should be cheering for while watching. There were still plenty of problems on defense, but Sunday’s game was a noticeable step forward from what we saw against the San Francisco 49ers one week ago.
BAD
Dolphins cannot sack an opposing quarterback
Three games.
Zero sacks.
That’s where Miami currently stands after Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs.
The Dolphins managed to hit Mahomes five times Sunday, but none of those pressures resulted in a sack. At one point, it appeared Chop Robinson had finally gotten home for a huge play, only for the third-year EDGE defender to be flagged for a questionable roughing the passer penalty in the endzone.
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to ignore this problem.
Mahomes is one of the game’s most accomplished passers, and the Dolphins weren’t able to consistently make him uncomfortable. As a result, the Chiefs quarterback eventually found Travis Kelce for an 11-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to effectively put the game away.
Miami’s defense has shown flashes. Rodriguez is developing. There are young players making plays. However, until the Dolphins can consistently pressure opposing quarterbacks, it’s going to be difficult for this defense to become a reliable unit.
UGLY
De’Von Achane goes down early with knee injury; doesn’t return
The Dolphins were already dealing with a limited collection of offensive weapons coming into Sunday’s game — with second-string running back Jaylen Wright missing the contest in addition to rookie wide receiver Caleb Douglas riding the pine this week due to injury.
Then the worst thing possible happened — De’Von Achane went down in a heap.
Achane suffered a knee injury on his third carry of the afternoon and was eventually ruled out. The Dolphins’ offense was already struggling to generate consistent production, and losing arguably the team’s most dynamic offensive player made that task considerably more difficult.
Miami managed just 10 points against Kansas City and has now failed to score more than 13 points in any of its first three games.
That’s a problem.
The Dolphins don’t have the veteran playmakers of previous seasons surrounding Malik Willis. The offense is young, inexperienced and still trying to find an identity — and Achane was one of the few players capable of changing a game with the ball in his hands.
We’ll keep our fingers crossed that his injury isn’t as serious as it seems, although Jeff Hafley didn’t have good news following the game. “To be honest with you, it does not sound very optimistic,” said Miami’s coach during his postgame availability. If Achane is forced to miss significant time — and that’s what it’s looking like at the time of this writing — Miami’s offense is going to have an even tougher time finding its footing moving forward.
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The Dolphins find themselves sitting at 0-3 to begin the Jeff Hafley era in Miami. To make matters worse, they just lost their most dangerous offensive weapon with a potentially season-ending injury. Is this already a lost season in South Florida? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter at @MBrave13. Fins up.
