NFL highlights on Jan. 13: Coldness in Kansas City freezes Dolphins

The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Miami Dolphins 26-7 in the National Football League (NFL) American Football Conference (AFC) Wild Card game at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, on Saturday, advancing to the AFC Divisional playoffs.

The game began under the cold temperature of -19 degrees Celsius (°C), which Miami's quarterback (QB) Tua Tagovailoa didn't enjoy at all. He completed 20 of his 39 passes, but for only 199 yards and one touchdown with one interception. By contrast, his Kansas City counterpart Patrick Mahomes threw 23-of-41 for 262 yards and one touchdown. He also completed two carries for 48 yards.

Cold weather was not the decisive factor of Saturday's game, of course. The difference in preparations of the two sides on both offense and defense was why the Chiefs secured a solid win at home. Knowing the Chiefs' problem with receivers this season, the Dolphins launched a lot of blitzes against him, but Mahomes always made the right passing decisions quickly.

Wide receiver Rashee Rice was targeted 12 times and caught eight of those passes for 130 yards, including scoring a touchdown in their first drive. Tight end Travis Kelce produced 71 yards with seven catches under the watch of his girlfriend, superstar singer Taylor Swift, at the stadium.

Moreover, kicker Harrison Butker made all four of his field goals to add 12 points for the Chiefs. The other touchdown of the team came from running back Isiah Pacheco, who rushed for 89 yards with 24 carries.

On the Dolphins' side, their biggest offensive weapon is wide receiver Tyreek Hill, whose speed beats every of his former teammates in the Chiefs. He had a remarkable highlight at the beginning of the second quarter when it took him and Tagovailoa only two connections to score a touchdown. The second pass was completed from as deep as 53 yards.

Nonetheless, that became only highlight of Hill and the only scoring drive of his side. Their offense was completely seen through by the Chiefs. They only converted one of their 12 third downs in total. Tagovailoa threw many tough passes that led to quick tackles right after his teammates caught the ball. Hill was targeted no more than eight times and, three of the passes he completed produced no yards at all.

In the other AFC Wild Card game on Saturday, the Houston Texans smashed the Cleveland Browns 45-14 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. Rookie QB C.J. Stroud completed 16 of his 21 passes for 273 yards and three touchdowns with no interception. He even completed a 76-yard super connection with tight end in the second quarter for the Texans to lead 17-10.

The Browns' veteran QB, 38-year-old Joe Flacco's magic ended in the postseason. He completed 34 of his 46 passes for 307 yards and one touchdown but with two interceptions. They happened back-to-back in the second half and both led to return touchdowns by the opponents. The team progressed no further than 33 yards in any of the other three drives in the third and fourth quarters.