The Patrick Mahomes-Travis Kelce predicament and options the Dolphins have for the duo

The Dolphins’ defense has faced stiff quarterback challenges in the first half of the season, from the Los Angeles Chargers’ Justin Hebert to the Philadelphia Eagles’ Jalen Hurts.

However, no matchup this season may be as tough as the one Miami will face on Sunday with the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, the NFL’s reigning Super Bowl MVP who is widely regarded as the best quarterback in the league.

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who faced Mahomes six times as head coach of the Denver Broncos, said the key to limiting the two-time MVP is “just trying to keep him from having an unbelievable game.”

He added: “He’s always played well and try and hopefully limit the improvised plays where he starts scrambling around, making great throws on the run, guys getting open, him pulling the ball down and running the ball himself for critical first downs. He’s really tough. You’ve got to defend the play they call in the huddle, which is hard enough, and then you’ve got to defend the play that he creates after the first one break down a little bit.”

The Chiefs’ loss to the Broncos in Week 8 was arguably Mahomes’ worst game since he entered the league. In a 24-9 loss, Mahomes completed 63.2 percent of his passes for 240 yards and was intercepted twice. It marked the first time since Dec. 5, 2021, that Mahomes did not throw a touchdown, breaking a streak of 29 games.

“It was a little bit of everything,” Fangio said the Chiefs’ offensive struggles. “They turned the ball over four times, a fifth time by fumbling a punt. So you’re never going to win many games turning it over five times. They had a couple dropped passes, he missed a throw. Denver ran the ball 40 times, before you know it, you’re in to the fourth quarter, you haven’t had it much.”

The Dolphins’ defense has matched up with its share of athletic quarterbacks but maybe none like Mahomes, who has become known for his scramble drill plays, evading defenders for several seconds before finding a receiver downfield, oftentimes throwing passes from unfathomable arm angles.

“Sometimes he looks like a magician with some of the things he does,” said outside linebacker Bradley Chubb, who also faced Mahomes several times as a member of the Broncos. “But at the end of the day, you just have to be disciplined in your rush.”

For the first six years of his career, wide receiver Tyreek Hill was on the receiving end of Mahomes’ scramble drills. Hill, who will face his former team on Sunday for the first time since the 2022 trade to the Dolphins, said the Chiefs have a PowerPoint detailing what pass-catchers should do when Mahomes leaves the pocket.

Of the keys to the scramble drill, Hill said, “Just find [Travis] Kelce,” referring to the star tight end who is Mahomes’ No. 1 pass-catching option.

While Mahomes offers his own problems for defenses, few teams have also been able to find an answer for Kelce, who leads all tight ends in catches (54) and receiving yards (583).

The Dolphins have options to defend Kelce, though. One could be safety Jevon Holland, whom Fangio called the “quarterback of the secondary.” Holland missed the Week 8 game against the New England Patriots because of concussion protocol but has been cleared and will play on Sunday.

Another option is cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who made his team debut against the Patriots and intercepted a pass. In the past, Ramsey has played a “STAR” role, lining up in the slot — where Kelce does a lot of his work — and closer to the line of scrimmage.

The last time Ramsey faced the Chiefs, as a member of the Los Angeles Rams last season, he was lined up on Kelce for seven pass plays, according to the NFL’s NextGen Stats. Ramsey was targeted three times and gave up a 39-yard touchdown but was also in coverage on an interception while Kelce was targeted.

Fangio said Kelce lines up all over the formation, so it’s possible he could see Ramsey, who lined up exclusively as an outside corner in his debut. When asked about the possibility of using Ramsey to cover Kelce, Fangio said it’s an option — as soon as Sunday — but he wants to get Ramsey comfortable in the defense.

“I thought he played good, obviously,” Fangio said. “He’s not back to where he wants to be or where he will be. But for that, for him to play in the game and luckily the game worked out in that there was a bunch of short series, three plays, four plays, five plays, which allowed him to play most of the game. He never totally got taxed with a long drive or having to cover a bunch of deep routes so that’s why we were able to leave him in there as long as we did.”

The Dolphins are expected to have their entire starting defense on the field for the first time together in the high-stakes AFC matchup. Along with Holland’s return, cornerback Xavien Howard, who has missed the last two games because of a groin injury, said he plans to play.

So, for the first time all season, Miami will be at full strength on defense — for arguably its biggest test of the season.

“They’re obviously a very tough assignment,” Fangio said. “They’ve been great on offense the last five, six years, whenever Mahomes took over. It’s a tough assignment, but we’ve got some good players and hopefully we’ll be able to slow them down some.”