Even the surprising defeat of the Kansas City Chiefs at the Denver Broncos last Sunday could no longer prevent what was to come on Sunday: There has never been an NFL game outside the USA between two teams that, taken together, have such a good record of victories and We had defeats, like this time between the Chiefs and the Dolphins.
Both have six wins and only two defeats. They are the two best teams in the American Football Conference (AFC), and in the entire NFL there is only one better team, the Philadelphia Eagles. On Sunday, Chiefs and Dolphins meet in Frankfurt at Deutsche Bank Park. “You lucky Frankfurters,” wrote the renowned American journalist Peter King in his Monday column. “There haven’t been many must-watch games at 9:30 a.m. in NFL history, but this is one,” King continued. “Set your alarm, America.”
King was referring to East Coast time in the USA. On the west coast the game starts three hours earlier. This has already caused criticism among NFL fans; Normally, such a high-profile game would begin in prime time on Sunday night at 8:20 p.m. Eastern time. The TV station “NBC”, which broadcasts the Sunday evening game, should have expected outstanding ratings. So the highlight of the day arrives a good eleven hours earlier than usual and several thousand kilometers away.
But it’s not just the record of wins and losses that makes the game so special. The teams themselves are simply high-class. Offensive lovers in particular will get their money’s worth. In a season in which many defenses have caused a stir and offenses have had problems with consistency, the Miami Dolphins are the clear exception.
They have a very creative and, above all, fast offense. Even before the start of the game, the opponent is thrown off course with position changes, as long as the rules allow them. This makes it impossible to predict what is coming. Especially when the same formations suddenly play completely different things week after week. It was not without reason that the Dolphins offense put up 70 (!) points against the Denver Broncos. The record for an NFL game is 72 and Miami could have broken it with a field goal, but voluntarily decided not to. “Every now and then you get kicked in the NFLen butt,” said Broncos coach Sean Payton after his team’s 20:70 loss, “but that was something different.”
It was precisely these Broncos who inflicted the Chiefs’ second defeat of the season on Sunday, with Kansas City losing 9:24. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes played despite severe stomach problems, but didn’t want to use his illness as an excuse. Instead there was praise ffor the opponent. The quarterback lost to Denver for the first time ever in his career.
However, there is no reason for the Chiefs to worry as long as Mahomes is at the helm in combination with head coach Andy Reid and has the best tight end in the league in Travis Kelce at his side. This trio is always good for extraordinary moments and Mahomes has proven for years that he can do things that no other quarterback in the NFL can do. Only his pass receivers, who aren’t named Kelce, have been a problem so far this season. Two defeats in a row are also unusual for the Chiefs; Since Mahomes became the regular quarterback (2018), this has only happened three times, but they hardly ever lost at all.
A defeat against Miami could have far-reaching consequences for the rest of the season. Because the result of this game could ultimately determine who has the higher placement for the play-offs – which both the Dolphins and the Chiefs will almost certainly reach – as well as a bye in the first round or home advantage in an eventual one Reunions may depend on it.
Never in the history of the “NFL International Series” has there been a duel between two better teams with a greater significance that was purely of a sporting nature. The lucky fans in Frankfurt who got tickets will be in for a treat – regardless of whether Taylor Swift is in the stands cheering on Travis Kelce or not.
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