Three Things That Mattered in Chiefs' 24-10 Win Over Dolphins

The Kansas City Chiefs may not have shocked the world with their performance on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, but they performed well enough to secure a win nonetheless. Thanks to some late-game production from the offense and timely stops on defense, the visitors got away from Hard Rock Stadium with a 24-10 victory.

Both sides of the ball flashed some good, although there was plenty of bad mixed in alongside it. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes made it clear on Sunday afternoon that he believes his team is capable of more, which is glaringly obvious given how Weeks 1 and 2 unfolded. Still, it's hard to be too upset with Kansas City rising to 3-0 in this young season.

With that in mind, here are three of the top things that mattered from Sunday's game.

Even on an off day, Kenneth Walker III still made a profound impact

It's virtually impossible for someone to live up to an average of 184.5 scrimmage yards on a weekly basis, but that's the bar the Chiefs have set for new running back Kenneth Walker III. He dazzled against the Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts, creating chunk runs and also factoring into the receiving game in a major way. Unfortunately for the club's prized free agent pickup, both the raw box score and some advanced statistics painted an ugly picture of how he fared in Week 3.

Walker toted the ball 18 times down in Miami Gardens, mustering just 70 yards and adding a pair of catches for three yards through the air. On top of that, per RBSDM, he averaged -0.27 EPA per rush and the team itself logged a mark of -0.20 on early downs and -0.39 on late downs. Peeling back another layer of the onion, however, reveals that Walker was better than that in his first road game as a Chief.

Not only did Walker find the end zone twice, once as a rusher and once as a receiver, but he forced 12 missed tackles. According to NFL Pro, as of the conclusion of Sunday's contest, no other player had forced more than 10 missed tackles in a single game this year. Walker's done so three times. Additionally, he's freed up the offensive scheme to involve more play-action passes, which Mahomes is thriving on.

The Kenneth Walker effect

Patrick Mahomes completed all 14 of his play-action attempts for 201 yards and a TD Sunday, tied for the most attempts without an incompletion by any player in the last 20 seasons💯

KC ranks 1st in play-action usage this season (36%) after ranking 13th… pic.twitter.com/1Om2p8EP7t
— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) September 27, 2026

It's clear that even on an afternoon that saw the opponent sell out to stop the Super Bowl MVP, he's going to find a way to make an impact.

Is Rashee Rice back to his normal self after all?

The Chiefs had plenty to sort out regarding their wide receiver room just a couple of months ago, and Rashee Rice's name sat at or near the top of the list.

The former second-round pick was entering a contract year following both a knee procedure and a stint in jail following a probation violation, putting him behind the proverbial eight-ball at training camp. Rice had a quiet Week 1, hauling in two passes for 19 yards, before doubling his reception total and increasing the yardage mark to 83 in Week 2. Now, he seems to be back to his normal self for Kansas City.

Rice got targeted a team-leading nine times in Week 3; the next-closest Chief finished with just three passes thrown their way. He also topped the roster in receptions with seven and yards with 88. A pair of his catches went for 15 or more yards, and he could've logged another one if not for a tip-drill interception near the halftime break:

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

It's unclear whether the interception was more Rice's fault or that of Mahomes, but the point remains the same. With fellow wideout Xavier Worthy fading off after being heavily involved in the offense to begin the year, perhaps Rice is resuming duties as a featured piece. It does make some sense — he's always been a heavy-volume target in Kansas City.

The Kansas City defense and offensive tackle groups are both works in progress

Let's cap this off with a two-for-one special centered around Steve Spagnuolo's defense and Andy Heck's offensive line. Neither group held up particularly well on Sunday, which might seem ironic considering some early dominance by the offense and only 10 points given up on the other side of the ball, but stick with me here.

Allowing an offense like Miami's, which came into the weekend ranking 21st on third downs, to go 8-for-16 in those situations is atrocious. There's no dancing around the fact that Kansas City let quarterback Malik Willis extend plays with his legs and either scamper for yardage himself or find an open man.

Add in that star running back De'Von Achane was out of the lineup after a while due to injury, and it's difficult to feel too great about this showing. If not for Spagnuolo dialing up the pressure (he brought six or more rushers on 11.9% of dropbacks, courtesy of TruMedia), things may have looked a bit different.

On the other side of the field, it wasn't that the Chiefs had Mahomes constantly under duress, but neither of his tackles was good enough in Week 3. On the left side particularly, this was undrafted free agent Kahlil Benson's worst game yet. Mahomes got absolutely lit up on two occasions in the second half, which simply can't happen if he's going to hold up over the course of the 2026-27 campaign.

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