Can Dolphins Handle Unpredictable Steve Spagnuolo Defense?

The Miami Dolphins offense was one of the most electric in the entire NFL throughout most of the season. Tua Tagovailoa took a step forward as a passer. In the running game, Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane were able to sprint away from defenders with ease. But when the Dolphins did struggle, they were largely caught off guard by the tricks of opposing defenses. And in Saturday’s Wild Card game, the Kansas City Chiefs defense is bound to have plenty of tricks up their sleeve, led by Steve Spagnuolo.

Spagnuolo was able to neutralize Miami for much of the first half in the first meeting between these two teams earlier this season. With an emphasis on double-teaming Tyreek Hill, Kansas City made every throw difficult. Tagovailoa had to be precise with any ball that he floated out there. In the meantime, the timing of extra pressure from the Chiefs defense was simply unaccounted for too often by the Dolphins offense.

Miami’s high-flying offense can start to panic when opposing defenses begin to dive into their bag of tricks. In the Wild Card game, Steve Spagnuolo and the Chiefs will likely throw the kitchen sink at the Dolphins offense. Can Miami handle that unpredictability? Let’s kick it off.

Earning Every Throw

When it comes to Tagovailoa, the term accuracy is heavily debated. Compared to other quarterbacks in the league, Tagovailoa is superior with his accuracy and ball placement. However, this wanes much more significantly when every throw has to be earned into tight windows. The same can be said when the pocket is not clean. With how this Chiefs secondary plays, there are going to be moments where Kansas City attempts to get into the face of Dolphins pass catchers. Spagnuolo has long been able to have success when his cornerbacks are playing press coverage at the line of scrimmage.

Against Miami, it would not be surprising to see Steve Spagnuolo throw some wrinkles and disguised coverages at the Dolphins defense. In previous playoff runs, Kansas City has been able to find bright spots when rotating in the secondary at various points. If throwing windows are tight and messy, we have seen Tagovailoa struggle with sailing the ball too high and missing his man. If Spagnuolo and the Chiefs defense are able to play under control physically, KC could quickly gain the upper hand.

Pressure From Any Direction

It is well documented how effective Steve Spagnuolo can be while dialing up unique blitzes. For the second straight season, the Chiefs were second in the NFL this year in sacks with 57. Only the Baltimore Ravens had more with 60 sacks. And of course, the Dolphins offense will know that Spagnuolo is not afraid to bring extra pressure from any level. We have seen Trent McDuffie create havoc coming wide off of the edge as a blitzing slot cornerback. Once in a while, a safety blitz will pop in between the tackles. And overall, Kansas City linebackers have arguably had their best season under Steve Spagnuolo. The addition of Drue Tranquill has really opened things up in pressure packages.

Miami is entering the playoffs banged up in many areas. Unfortunately, for the Dolphins offense, their offensive line has endured many ailments late in the season. Center Connor Williams suffering a torn ACL was one of the biggest losses of any playoff team late in the year. When facing the Dolphins, Steve Spagnuolo will have the opportunity to take advantage of a blocking unit that can become feeble against more physical defensive units. With that already in hand, Kansas City may not hesitate to bring extra pressure from any direction, once again.

Neutralizing The Run Game

The Kansas City defense has not struggled to stop the run as much as they did a few years ago. Yet, this is an area that can give opposing offenses some life from time to time. Miami has done a good job of utilizing misdirection, motion and pulling action in their rushing attempts. They are also not afraid to simply toss it outside and get their man free in the open field.

How could Steve Spagnuolo help this defense to neutralize the Dolphins’ run game? Overall, the mixing of personnel groups in the defensive front could be a key weapon. Spagnuolo and Kansas City have incorporated a dime package look more often in the last couple of years. While that adds more speed on the field, it also forces opposing blockers to worry about more bodies in tighter spots and alignments. Outside of the dime package, it would not be surprising to see Steve Spagnuolo throw in occasional single-high safety looks. This would put a couple of defensive backs near the outside edges of the box, looking to corral the Dolphins to the inside.

If Spagnuolo and Kansas City could somehow wipe out the run game enough on early downs, Miami may become more predictable on offense. As a result, that could lead to more unpredictable looks and tricks from Spagnuolo and this Chiefs defense.