Top Players to Watch: Kansas City @ Miami

Kansas City (11-1) visits the surprise AFC contending Miami Dolphins (8-4) on Sunday as the Chiefs continue looking to takeover the Pittsburgh Steelers for the conference’s No. 1 playoff spot and earn a first-round bye. But, the pesky Dolphins stand in their way, who currently own the AFC’s No. 6 seed. In a tight conference race, both teams need a win to keep pace in their respective races and have stand-out guys to keep an eye on.

QB Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs)

The QB has taken the NFL by storm since being named a starter for the Chiefs and has not looked back. What this young man has done is truly something special to watch every single week of the season. What Mahomes’ has done this season is worth putting him in Most Valuable Player conversation as he has 31 passing touchdowns to only two interceptions.

During this impressive 12-game stretch of 2020, Mahomes has completed a career high 68.3-percent of his passes and is averaging 8.2 yards per attempt. He also airs it out for more than 300 yards per game, 318 to be exact, and currently has 3,815 yards on the season. His ability to keep plays alive during drives will keep the Dolphins defense frustrated all game long and Mahomes’ cannon of an arm will make defenders spin a full 360 degrees.

QB Tua Tagovailoa (Miami Dolphins)

Ever since being named the starter for the Dolphins, Tagovailoa has taken some positive strides in his rookie campaign. He is 4-1 as a starter and has thrown 7 TDs and has yet to record an INT. While the numbers are not extremely high, this is certainly a building block toward the future and shows the fan base glimpses of what he could be.

Through his five games as a starter Tagovailoa has completed 63.2-percent of his passes with 6.6 yards per pass attempt. He’s averaging 149.7 passing yards per game and has 898 passing yards on the season. The game on Sunday will be a tough, but welcoming challenge to see if Tagovailoa is truly ready to handle the best teams in the league. With Miami likely chasing points, the playbook may be open for him like it was against the Arizona Cardinals, and moreso than the last few games, where we can see more of his skillset.

WR Tyreek Hill (Kansas City Chiefs)

The next biggest threat the Dolphins will have to contend with outside of Mahomes is one of the fastest players in the league. WR Tyreek Hill has so much speed he will take the breaks off the defender, and before you know it, he’ll be near the end zone with the ball in his hands.

Through 12 games this season, Hill has 74 receptions for 1,079 receiving yards and is averaging 14.6 yards per reception. He also already has a career-high 13 receiving TDs.

WR DeVante Parker (Miami Dolphins)

The Dolphins’ former first-round pick will need to step up and produce a big day if Miami wants to have any sort of chance of winning this game.

Parker’s numbers aren’t as impressive as they were in 2019, but through 12 games, he has 56 receptions on 87 targets for a team leading 677 receiving yards. He’s averaging just over 12 yards per catch and has four receiving scores.

In the past five games, Parker has been the focal point of the offense with an average nine targets per contest and looks to be building more of a rapport with Tagovailoa. In a potential shootout, that should continue.

– Carl Mahler is a Sports Contributor for Full Press Coverage Miami Dolphins. Like and follow on Follow @C3Mahler Follow @FPC_Dolphins and Facebook.