Another week, another tough loss by the Miami Dolphins against a team with a winning record.  The Dolphins fell to the Kansas City Chiefs 21-14 on Sunday in Frankfurt, Germany.

Miami trailed 21-0 through two and a half quarters before rallying for 14 points and holding the ball at the Kansas City 31-yard line inside the game's final two minutes.  However, a wayward third down pass to a wide open receiver and an error on the snap on fourth down ended all hopes. 

The loss marks the third for the Dolphins this season against teams with winning records.  The Dolphins are 6-0 in all other games this year.  So that begs the question: why does Miami struggle so badly against good teams while looking like world beaters against bad ones? 

They've faced some REALLY good quarterbacks  

Like it or not, it's true.  The Dolphins' losses have come to Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, and Patrick Mahomes.  All are legitimate MVP candidates.  That's kind of self-explanatory, isn't it? 

Yes, Miami needs to win some of these games.  Or, at a bare minimum, they need to be more competitive in them for 60 minutes, to be clear.  Losing 48-20 isn't acceptable against anyone ever.  The Dolphins fell into double digit holes against all of them. 

That being said, facing good quarterbacks is still just a reason and not an excuse.  Miami's own offense needs to execute at a high level to match, and it just happened.  And that's because…

…Miami has struggled to create chunk plays against good secondaries

The Eagles, Bills, and Chiefs all largely managed to do one big thing: keep Tyreek Hill from ripping off highlight plays.  While Hill was able to run through a cornerback/safety double team for a touchdown against the Eagles, he's otherwise been covered well in the Dolphins' three losses.  

Against the Bills, Eagles, Chiefs, Hill posted catch/yardage stat lines of 3/58, 11/88, and 8/62, respectively.  They've all managed to keep him contained from over the top and force Mike McDaniel to use him mostly in short motion passing plays and shorter routes.  The results have spoken for themselves.  Those teams are all legitimate Super Bowl contenders in a passing league for a reason.

The secondary play has also been complimented by good pressure, as Tua was sacked at least 3 times in all of the Dolphins' losses.  

Penalties and self-inflicted issues have plagued the Dolphins

The Dolphins' three losses are replete with examples of self-imposed mistakes that proved costly.  When the pressure has been on, Miami has simply made mistakes.  That's been a result of good play from opponents, certainly, but it's also been a sign of a team that's not paying attention to details and executing with discipline.  

8 penalties for 98 yards against Buffalo.  10 for 70 against the Eagles.  6 for 45 against the Chiefs.  However, a fumble-lateral-touchdown, a misfired pass to an open receiver for a would-be tying touchdown, and a fumbled snap to end the game all worked to doom the Dolphins against Kansas City.  

The mistakes have come in all shapes and sizes in those three games.  Simply put, they're doing things that bad things do, and they're doing them against very good teams.  

That's a recipe for 0-3. 

Chiefs 21, Dolphins 14: Instant analysis

The Dolphins fought back from an early hole but came up short against the Chiefs