Entering the weekend, there were five different possible outcomes. With the Buffalo Bills’ victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 18, the Kansas City Chiefs’ opponent for the wild-card round of the playoffs is officially set.
Just as we anticipated, the Chiefs will face a familiar face in the first round of the AFC playoffs. Chiefs Kingdom is getting the game they were deprived of in Week 9 when the NFL sent the Chiefs to Frankfurt, Germany to face the Dolphins.
Tyreek Hill’s homecoming is finally happening, but it’s happening in the first round of the playoffs. The Dolphins will travel to Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday, Jan. 13 at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Fans who are local to the Kansas City area will be able to watch the game on the local NBC affiliate, while the national audience will have to watch the game on NBC’s Peacock streaming service. This is the first season that the NFL has put a playoff game behind a streaming-only paywall.
When these two teams squared off back in Week 9, they were overseas on neutral ground. The game featured an incredible defensive play with Chiefs CB Trent McDuffie forcing a fumble against Hill. Chiefs S Mike Edwards recovered the fumble and lateraled it to fellow defensive back Bryan Cook, who took a lateral for 59 yards for a touchdown. As it turned out, that defensive play was the difference-maker.
There will certainly be different challenges for both squads in this game, though. Perhaps the biggest challenge for the Dolphins? The forecast in Kansas City calls for frigid temperatures below zero with a chance of snow at kickoff. That’s not exactly the warm weather that Miami’s players are used to playing and practicing in.