Kansas City Chiefs Dominate Miami Dolphins in NFL Showdown at Frankfurt Stadium

The top game in the NFL has been one-sided for a long time: Super Bowl winner Kansas City celebrates a victory over rival Miami. Lothar Matthäus sits at the football spectacle – but not Taylor Swift.

Frankfurt/Main – Patrick Mahomes did a little lap of honor in the Frankfurt football madhouse, with “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey blaring from the speakers at full volume. Led by their superstar, the Kansas City Chiefs have cemented their supremacy in the NFL and defeated rival Miami Dolphins. “It was a breathtaking experience. I saw red everywhere, all over the city. We really felt the love. I was really excited to be here,” said match winner Mahomes after the 21:14 (21:0), which was actually briefly in danger after an excellent first half in front of 50,023 enthusiastic spectators.

After days of debate about a possible visit from Taylor Swift, the pop giant was not seen in the stands on Sunday. The Chiefs around the strong Mahomes and Travis Kelce, who was recently photographed dancing with Swift, were in strong form as a team. “Where is Taylor,” said a journalist’s white shirt at the press conference that followed. Where is Taylor? In recent days, the Swift secret has become a real business for the NFL alongside the actual sport – no one really wanted to reveal it.

Like the premiere a year ago in Munich, where Tom Brady spoke of one of the best experiences of his professional life, this game also became a football holiday in Germany. However, for a long time only the defending champions under coach Andy Reid offered a spectacle in the top game, who pulled ahead so clearly in the first half that there was hardly any tension left. “The audience was incredible. It was a great event. The German fans were phenomenal,” said Reid, whose exuberant enthusiasm is not always immediately apparent.

For the Dolphins, who had already scored 70 points in one game this season, the 21-point mortgage was too much despite a strong second half. The real goosebumps moments, like those in “Sweet Caroline” or “Country Roads” in the Allianz Arena in 2022, didn’t really happen this time despite the top-class cast. After the end of the game, the organizers tried again with exactly the same songs.

Mood music from Queen to DJ Ötzi thrilled the audience until the final phase. The NFL could have sold over three million tickets for the game, which many Chiefs fans would have preferred to see in the USA given the nature of the top game. With its seventh win in the ninth game, Kansas City took another step towards the Super Bowl, which will be played on February 11, 2024 in Las Vegas.

A few hours before the game started, tens of thousands of football fans in various jerseys lined the stadium area. The omnipresent question about superstar Swift as a lucky charm for the this time inconspicuous Kelce remained current, even Frank Buschmann commented on the RTL microphone: “I don’t give a damn whether Taylor Swift is here.” Instead, only Germany’s football icon Lothar Matthäus was visible . Less than 24 hours after the criticism of Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel, the record national player was once again sitting on the sidelines in Frankfurt – and suddenly spoke about football for US television.

The Eintracht stadium was almost unrecognizable in its football look; Nena and the regionally known Rodgau Monotones were blaring from the speakers. With the roof closed, the Dolphins, coached by Mike McDaniel, kicked off promptly at 3:30 p.m. And Mahomes immediately delivered what fans were hoping for. The Chiefs scored their first touchdown straight from their first attack – and repeated this when the first attempt was disallowed after being checked by the referee. During the first time out, a Chiefs fan proposed marriage to his partner – he was successful, the stadium cheered. The entertainment factor was also huge off the field.

There was initially little to see of Mahomes’ quarterback rival Tua Tagovailoa. This also applied to Dolphins star Tyreek Hill, one of the best players of the current NFL season. Instead, Mahomes led his team to another touchdown before halftime, making it 14-0. A real rarity happened immediately afterwards: The Chiefs’ defense captured the ball in the final minutes of the first half and immediately carried it – including a pass – to another touchdown. “That was great, a huge play for us,” Mahomes said. The numerous fans dressed in red cheered, the game seemed to be decided early with the score at 21:0.

But that only seemed that way. In the second round, a completely different picture suddenly emerged. Miami’s playmaker Tagovailoa now acted precisely and focused, and the qualities of the 70-point offense were suddenly clearly visible. With two touchdowns in the third quarter alone, the challenger from Florida defied the numerous Chiefs fans and reduced the lead to 14:21. The final period promised to be exciting again, but Miami’s offense couldn’t maintain the high level. dpa