Reviewing Five Key Plays in the Dolphins' Week 3 Loss Vs Chiefs

These five moments stood out the most in Miami's home opener.

Miami Dolphins defensive end Chop Robinson (44) hits Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) during the third quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Miami Dolphins entered Week 3 as heavy underdogs against the Kansas City Chiefs and things didn't look any better after the Chiefs' opening drive ended with a quick touchdown.

But Miami kept fighting and entered the fourth quarter down by only four points. The Dolphins had multiple chances to even take a lead in the second half but ultimately could not get it done. The Chiefs eventually pulled away with a Travis Kelce touchdown to go up two scores, and the Dolphins fell 24-10 in the home opener at Hard Rock Stadium.

Here are five key plays that stood out in the loss.

BREAKING DOWN FIVE KEY PLAYS

1. De'Von Achane exits early

After Week 1, the Dolphins made it a point to give De'Von Achane more touches and stood true to their word the following week. The opening drive was setting up to be a heavy dose of Achane but was halted in a brutal manner.

Following an 11-yard run, Achane was down and gingerly walked off the field. The replay showed that the injury occurred when he planted his left foot as he tried to make a move on the defender.

Getting questions on the step before contact for De’Von Achane.

It does look like his left knee drifts into valgus after planting, but hard to tell if there’s tibia shift.

Worst case could be ACL but I’m hoping that’s not the case here.

ACL vs meniscus https://t.co/DyzxUAiaw7 pic.twitter.com/zTeAGucG4c

— Jeff Mueller, PT, DPT (@jmthrivept) September 27, 2026

In the postgame press conference, head coach Jeff Hafley made an ominous comment when discussing Achane's injury.

This is a huge blow for Miami's offense that looks like it could be down their best offensive player for a large portion of the season.

Dolphins show resilience following the injury

Following the Week 2 debacle against the San Francisco 49ers and how this game began, the game appeared to be getting out of hand quickly.

The Dolphins sent a loud message that they were going to battle at home and responded to the Chiefs' opening drive touchdown with a 17 play, 91-yard touchdown drive that took 9:27 off the clock.

One of Miami's main early-season struggles is converting in the red zone. Kadyn Proctor made sure that the Dolphins would punch it in as he opened a running lane for Ollie Gordon II and brought him in the end zone for the touchdown.

Ollie Gordon II gets the Dolphins on the board 🗣️@KCvsMIA on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/LLDxI8lIHN

— NFL (@NFL) September 27, 2026

A main focal point of this new regime is to be physical, and the opening Dolphins drive captured how this team wants to play moving forward.

The Dolphins are still hunting for their first sack

The Chiefs quickly drove down the field on their following drive and found themselves in a third-and-2 from the Miami 9-yard line.

Hafley decided to send the house and blitz Patrick Mahomes, and it worked. Jordyn Brooks quickly got into the backfield and brought down Mahomes, apparently securing the Dolphins' first sack of the year!

That celebration was shortly killed, as rookie safety Michael Taaffe was called for illegal contact while defending Travis Kelce.

Instead of holding Kansas City to three, the drive extended, and the Chiefs found the end zone once again with Kenneth Walker II scoring his second touchdown of the game.

Malik Willis' costly fumble

The Dolphins found themselves once again having to try to stop the Chiefs from scoring another touchdown. The defense responded in a huge manner and stopped Walker from gaining a yard, forcing a turnover on downs.

Miami began to move the ball down the field with a huge 44-yard gain to Chris Bell. After converting a fourth down by drawing a penalty on L'Jarius Sneed, the Dolphins were well into Chiefs territory.

Unfortunately, the drive was stopped after Malik Willis fumbled the ball on a scramble. The Dolphins tried to snap the ball, but Chiefs head coach Andy Reid threw the challenge flag down beforehand, and it was quickly determined that Willis did in fact lose the football before touching the ground.

Chop Robinson's controversial penalty

The Dolphins had the Chiefs pinned at their own 5-yard line facing a third-and-9. Although the end result would have been a first down due to Zach Sieler's holding penalty, a second flag was thrown with Chop Robinson being called for roughing the passer.

Game's gone pic.twitter.com/xRbAo74zT9

— Marcel Louis-Jacques (@Marcel_LJ) September 27, 2026

Instead of still being deep in their own territory, Kansas City now had breathing room instead of their backs being right in the end zone. This play received a lot of attention and sparked a debate.

In a still frame, the ball was still in Mahomes' hands as Robinson made contact. As both players went down to the ground, Robinson lifted his hands up to not drive Mahomes into the ground with even more force.

Robinson was in a no-win position and ultimately faced the consequences. With that being said, Robinson came alive in the fourth quarter with multiple pressures and had a big tackle for loss with him and Jacob Rodriguez stopping Walker for a loss of 6.