Miami Dolphins no longer winless after defeating Kansas City Chiefs

One day after an earthquake rattled the Plains, the Dolphins delivered another jolt, sending the needle on the NFL seismograph into spasms with a stunning victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
The earthquake registered a forceful 5.6 on the Richter scale and could be felt throughout these parts. The football upset could trigger aftershocks that will be felt long after the Dolphins’ first win of the season, a near-flawless 31-3 whipping of the Chiefs on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.
To be specific, the winless Indianapolis Colts now have a clear edge over the 1-7 [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Dolphins for the No. 1 overall draft pick and dibs on Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck.
“All I’ve wanted to do for seven weeks is to see these guys smile,” said head coach Tony Sparano. “We’re going to enjoy this plane ride home. I might play hostess on the plane ride, or whatever the heck that is.”
The Dolphins had become so accustomed to blowing fourth quarter leads that even with Sunday’s outcome seemingly secure, quarterback Matt Moore said many of his teammates displayed restraint until it was official.
“Honestly, I think the guys were a little uneasy until we saw the zero, zero, zero (0:00) on the clock,” Moore said.
If it wasn’t the best performance of Moore’s NFL career, it had to [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] be close. He completed 17 of 23 passes, including three for touchdowns, did not throw an interception and finished with a quarterback rating of 147.5 that jumped off the page.
But Moore was far from the only reason the Dolphins prevailed for the first time in 11 months. Save for a few sloppy penalties toward the end, it was about as complete a victory as any Dolphins team has enjoyed in a long time.
They committed no turnovers.
They permitted no sacks.
They allowed no touchdowns.
Most of all, they didn’t waste time. The Chiefs had the ball for more [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] than 34 minutes compared to only 25 for the Dolphins. But the Dolphins made much better use of the clock.
Consider their four touchdowns, which were scored in quick drives that took next to not time to complete.
There was the first touchdown, which came on a 3-yard catch by tight end Anthony Fasano in the back of the end zone. There was the second, in which Moore hit a wide open Fasano on a 35-yard pass. There was the third, when Brandon Marshall caught one of his season-high eight passes for a 14-yard TD. And there was the fourth in which Reggie Bush zipped in for a 28-yard run.
Those four drives consumed a grand total of only six minutes and 41 seconds, required a total of 15 plays and demanded that the Dolphins convert just two third-down plays, a sore spot in their seven losses to start the season.
“We had a couple of big plays early on to some key guys, and it kind [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] of lit that fire and kept it going,” Moore said. “We had big play after big play a couple of times.”
The Dolphins needed only three plays to go 78 yards for their go-ahead touchdown, with Moore finding receivers for gains of 21, 22 and 35 yards to make it 14-3 in the second quarter. Charles Clay caught the first two passes while Fasano was on the receiving end for the third, which came on an audible by Moore.
“Great calls. Great scheme. Great execution,” Fasano said.
Said Marshall, who has deflated the Dolphins this season with a multitude [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] of dropped passes but was sure-handed on Sunday: “Matt did a great job of getting everyone involved, from our tight ends to our receivers and running backs. That builds chemistry.”
The Dolphins ran the ball just twice on their first three scoring drives, relying instead on Moore’s arm, but Bush did all the work on the fourth one. After the Dolphins took over at the Chiefs 46 midway through the third quarter, Bush picked up 18 yards on one carry and the rest on another to make it 28-3.
Moore praised offensive [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] coordinator Brian Daboll for a game plan that produced a season-best 31 points.
“He had a great mentality today: attack, attack, attack,” Moore said.
Alas, it took half the season for the Dolphins to post their first win, and it knocked them behind the Colts in positioning for the first overall draft pick.
Not that anyone on these Dolphins cared.
“We’ve been waiting for this one,” Bush said. “It’s been a tough little road.”
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