Week 14 Matchup: CB Xavien Howard VS WR Tyreek Hill

When the Miami Dolphins host the Kansas City Chiefs in week 14 a premiere cornerback and wide receiver matchup will be on display.

The much anticipated position battle between the Dolphins’ CB Xavien Howard and the Chiefs’ WR Tyreek Hill will be a battle of current NFL bests. 

Howard, Hill Hot NFL Names in Their Careers

The two will make an intense matchup for Sunday’s game, when the Dolphins roll with man-coverage, as Hill is tied for first in the NFL in touchdowns and Howard is first in the NFL in interceptions. The two are definitely hot names in the league this year, and they have been in recent years as well. They are both in their fifth seasons, with the NFL seeing Hill earn himself three 1,000-yard seasons with more than 5,000 career yards and 45 touchdowns. Howard has also made a name for himself, picking up 51 pass deflections, 139 solo tackles and a whopping 20 interceptions in his career. He also leads the league in interceptions since 2017.

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Hill Still Producing Despite Being Behind Travis Kelce in Receiving on Chiefs

With 12 games already in the books for this year’s NFL season, Hill is actually one of two position players on the Chiefs who already has more than 1,000 yards. But still, he is producing as a top league-threat, proving just how dangerous this Kansas City offense is and what he adds to it. Hill has 74 receptions on the season for 1,079 yards, good for second on the team in receiving behind long-time teammate, tight end Travis Kelce. For clarity, Kelce has 82 receptions for 1,114 yards. Hill has been in the end zone 13 times to Kelce’s 8 though — that is tied for first in the NFL.

Howard, Byron Jones: Two-Man Wrecking Crew

For Howard, he finally has company in the secondary and isn’t the only standout defensive player for this turnaround unit. But nevertheless, Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes is still likely going to hesitate a smidge in throwing his way and may favor the opposite side with CB Byron Jones who hasn’t been as successful this season. But, that isn’t saying much, as no one CB has the numbers Howard has this season. Jones and Howard are also the second and third highest CBs in the league, posing a true test to the high-powered Chiefs offense on Sunday. While Kansas City brings the second-highest scoring offense into the game, the Dolphins bring the second highest-scoring defense, due in-large part to the pressure from Howard.

Head coach Brian Flores said Miami will rotate between man coverage, zone coverage and blitz heading into the game, giving Howard a little less time on Hill, but viewers should still expect to see Howard on Hill whenever Miami can get an advantage on the matchup. Howard already has accumulated 16 pass deflections and 31 total tackles on the season, and as far as the numbers go, you can consider him a lockdown defender. 

These two’s battle begins in Hard Rock Stadium at 1 p.m. eastern on Sunday.

– Christian Chappell is a Sports Contributor for Full Press Coverage Miami Dolphins. Like and follow on Follow @cmoneypc Follow @FPC_Dolphins and Facebook.