MIAMI GARDENS - The Miami Dolphins host the Kansas City Chiefs at Hard Rock Stadium this week in the venue’s 40th home opener and the first regular-season NFL game played there since 2025, with head coach Jeff Hafley’s youngest team in the NFL facing a 2-0 Chiefs squad that has added a new offensive weapon to an already formidable roster.
Kansas City arrives in South Florida with running back Kenneth Walker leading the league in rushing, giving an offense that already features one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks, multiple deep threats and one of the league’s best tight ends yet another dimension to defend. Hafley acknowledged the challenge plainly.
“He adds such a dynamic dimension to their offense, right? Obviously, the quarterback is one of the best quarterbacks in this league, has been for a very long time. They have receivers, multiple receivers who can fly. They have one of the best tight ends in the league who’s done it time and time again. And they’re o-line’s solid. So now you add one of the premier backs in this league who’s currently leading the league in rushing, it’s all right, you want to load the box, and you want to stop the runner. Well, then they got guys who can run by people, and they have a quarterback who can keep it alive and throw the ball down the field,” Hafley said.
Linebacker Jordyn Brooks framed the matchup as a measuring-stick moment for a Dolphins team still finding its footing. “Probably one of the top five teams in the league right now. It’s good to see if we can bounce back from Week 2 to Week 3 against a great opponent and measure ourselves up against an opponent like that. So it’s a challenge for everybody going out there, coaches, players, all included, to go out there and perform, execute, and come away with a W,” Brooks said.
Hafley has made relentless effort a non-negotiable standard for the NFL’s youngest roster, and he said the team’s response in difficult moments has reinforced his confidence in the group’s character. “When you’re in the huddle and I’m in the huddle with those guys and the game’s out of reach and I’m looking them in the eye and they are so intent and they’re playing as hard as they did the first snap of the game, that’s important to me. And it shows that those are the right guys and isn’t like that everywhere. That’s why I appreciate the leaders that we have on this team and the vets that we have on this team, because they’re doing that. And it’s important for them to do that so the younger guys see what it’s supposed to be like so as we do build this thing, that’s the mentality that we have. Because I do think there’s some rareness to that in the NFL,” he said.
Offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik echoed that standard on his side of the ball. “The standard we’re going to hold everybody to the first play of the game is the same standard we’re going to hold guys to the last play of the game. Are we displacing people? Are we finishing people when the ball carrier is getting tackled by multiple people? Are we adding into the pile and making sure that we’re creating the surge forward for two, three yards? I believe in that wholeheartedly. Obviously, Coach Hafley has talked about it numerous times. He believes in that wholeheartedly. And I think our team has really embraced that,” Slowik said.
Quarterback Malik Willis said the home crowd will bring an energy the team has been anticipating. “I’m excited. I think it would be cool, just like the preseason was cool. I mean, being on the sideline and just having the Fins fans in the building. It was cool and I just expect that to be doubled or tripled. A lot more people want to come to regular (season) games than they do preseason,” Willis said. Hafley added: “I’m looking forward to our players getting a chance to play in front of our fans, to have some energy brought into the stadium. I think that’s always fun when they run out.”
Kickoff at Hard Rock Stadium is scheduled for this Sunday, with the Dolphins seeking their first win of the 2026 season against a Kansas City team that has won three Super Bowl titles with its core largely intact.