10 Observations From Chiefs’ Sloppy Victory Over Dolphins in Week 3

The Kansas City Chiefs moved to 3-0 on the season with a questionable performance in Miami on Sunday afternoon. Despite a late push from the Dolphins, KC was able to prevail 24-10 in a sloppy battle from both sides.

Andy Reid's squad played down to their competition and made some fatal mistakes that could have dug them into a much deeper hole against a better team. Regardless, it will show up as a victory in the win column, which is all that matters in the end.

There are certainly some takeaways to gather from today, both positive and negative. Here are 10 of our instant observations from the win.

Sep 27, 2026; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis (2) passes the ball against the Kansas City Chiefs during the first quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

10. Third-Down Defense: What Happened?

Kansas City was holding its opponents to under 30% on third-down conversions coming into today. Yet the Dolphins faced four third downs on their first drive and converted every single one!

By the end of the day, Miami finished 8-for-16 on third-down opportunities, which is abysmal for this Chiefs defense. At least they tightened up when it mattered most in the fourth quarter. We'll chalk it up to a "trap game" if this can even be considered one, but KC needs to improve in that area.

9. De’Von Achane’s Absence Makes Defensive Showing Worse

Kansas City was lucky that star running back De'Von Achane was held out from the first drive on due to a knee injury that sidelined him for the rest of the day. His absence makes the Chiefs' defensive showing even more confusing.

The Texas A&M product's numbers this year may not be great, as he was only averaging 3.5 yards per carry coming into this contest. However, it's important to note that opposing teams are stacking the box heavily against him, and yet Kansas City still had some trouble containing Ollie Gordon II, who received his first extended action of the year.

Achane probably wouldn't have swung the outcome of this contest, but his absence makes you wonder just why the defense was so inconsistent today.

8. Patrick Mahomes Took a Few Rough Hits

For the first time all season, I think Mahomes took a little more contact than he's probably been used to after being babied throughout training camp. He got rocked multiple times, including in the end zone on this play.

Mahomes absolutely rocked. pic.twitter.com/qCrjBcCnTQ
— SleeperChiefs (@SleeperChiefsKC) September 27, 2026

Neither team surprisingly recorded a sack all game, but Mahomes definitely felt the brunt of some big defensive linemen. It's safe to say he's feeling fine in his return from injury after absorbing a few serious hits.

7. L'Jarius Sneed's Up-and-Down Performance

L'Jarius Sneed silenced some of his doubters with a punch-out that forced a fumble in the second quarter, but things didn't go quite as smoothly for the veteran cornerback from there. He made a few blunders later in the game before exiting in the second half with an injury, giving rookie Jadon Canady an opportunity to take some slot snaps in his place.

FUMBLE SNEED WITH PUNCH OUT❗️

Never a doubt. pic.twitter.com/7gFHWMN9cq
— SleeperChiefs (@SleeperChiefsKC) September 27, 2026

Sneed entered this matchup as one of the NFL's worst-performing defensive backs, so forcing a turnover was certainly a welcome sight. Regardless, the aging cornerback may have shown that he's not quite the starter-caliber corner Kansas City hoped he'd be when it brought him in for his second stint.

6. Offense Came Alive Early

The Chiefs were the first team all Sunday to put points on the board. They started the afternoon with a 48-yard strike to Travis Kelce, then needed just three more plays for Walker to find the end zone for the first of what would be two touchdowns on the afternoon.

Kansas City has now scored on each of its three opening drives across the first three weeks, two being touchdowns and one a field goal. That's a trend that this squad could certainly use to its advantage to stay undefeated.

5. Playing Down to Competition

This is a theme that many NFL teams deal with, especially the Chiefs. There are going to be days when things simply aren't going your way and you end up playing down to the competition.

Kansas City isn't as bad as it looked today, nor is Miami going to keep it to one score against every top AFC team it faces this season. However, this was a classic example of the Chiefs failing to put together a clean performance from start to finish.

4. Kansas City’s Pass Catchers Struggle

I'm going to follow this observation with praise for one Chiefs receiver, but the rest of the group left plenty to be desired. It was a subpar showing from Kansas City's wideouts today in Miami.

Rashee Rice's brutal drop accounted for Mahomes' second interception of the season. Xavier Worthy didn't look much better, struggling to create separation or use his speed to make things happen. If one of those two isn't approaching elite territory on most weeks, it'll be hard for this to become a Super Bowl-level offense.

TIPPED INT 🚨 @KCvsMIA on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/JchmFJHv4F
— NFL (@NFL) September 27, 2026

The most glaring mistake of the day came from Rice, who had been serviceable through the first two games. However, questions about the receiver room will only continue to grow once one of its members inevitably goes down with an injury. A reunion with Tyreek Hill can't come soon enough.

3. The Unexpected Rise of Tyquan Thornton

After expressing my concerns about the receivers, it's only fair to give some praise to Tyquan Thornton. Did anyone have him developing into a legitimate WR3 (potential WR2) at any point in the season? If you did, you would have been in the minority, but I commend you for being smarter than me.

The former Patriot finished the day with only 22 yards, but that makes his two-week total dating back to Sunday night against the Colts a total of 108.

Tyquan Thornton with the reaching catch for the first down!@KCvsMIA on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/YiHElDXGvr
— NFL (@NFL) September 27, 2026

For all the training camp hype rookie Cyrus Allen received, there's very little reason for KC to cut Thornton's snap count anytime in the near future. He's getting it done in all facets of the game and can no longer be considered a one-trick pony who solely relies on his speed. He's shown an ability to get up and make impressive contested catches.

2. A Rocky Defensive Outing

The defense wasn't all bad today. Mansoor Delane had some bright spots in his return, it came up with some stops when it needed to, and forced two turnovers.

However, it's hard to come out of that win feeling too encouraged about Steve Spagnuolo's unit. They surrendered 30 points a week ago in a leaky outing against the Colts and certainly didn't inspire more confidence in the fanbase today.

Some of the little things just didn't make sense, like the Dolphins going 91 yards on 17 plays on their first drive or blown coverages allowing chunk plays to receivers you probably had never heard of coming into the game (sorry for the stray, Chris Bell).

What a throw and catch 🔥@KCvsMIA on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/H21pwUbF1E
— NFL (@NFL) September 27, 2026

I understand that games like this are always difficult to prepare for, as you're expected to be perfect against an opponent like this, and perfection isn't possible in the NFL. Still, the defense gave Spagnuolo plenty of film to study over the next week heading into Raider week.

1. Chiefs Keep Leaning Heavily on Kenneth Walker

In what feels like it will be a consistent theme throughout the 2026 season, running back Kenneth Walker bailed the Chiefs out of an otherwise mediocre performance. His incredible start to his tenure with the red and gold continued as he racked up the third and fourth touchdowns of his young tenure in Kansas City today.

This week, the coaching staff spoke about potentially limiting his workload moving forward to ensure he'd stay fresh throughout the year. Naturally, Emmett Johnson received a whopping six carries, half of which came with the Chiefs running out the clock. When the offense couldn't get anything going, Walker was the man to give the ball to.

KENNETH WALKER IS THE 1.01
NO DEBATE. pic.twitter.com/QB3N7Vy6Tz
— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) September 27, 2026

Last year's Super Bowl MVP just finished with 70 yards on the ground, two receptions and two touchdowns altogether. He scored one on the ground and one on a shovel pass from Mahomes in the red zone.

I'm going to feel like a broken record saying this every week by the end of the season, but Walker is the real deal. Kansas City hasn't had a tailback of his caliber in a long, long time.

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