Just three weeks ago, doubts surrounded Andy Reid. Not only was he entering Week 1 for a divisional clash with a new squad, but the team had an injury problem. Their starting left tackle was sidelined, and in his place was going a rookie who hadn’t started in that role since high school. Needless to say, Andy Reid needed a break. 

Three games later, that break has finally appeared. We’re not talking about the three consecutive wins for the Chiefs. Although that’s definitely a massive confidence booster to the squad, the coach, and the fans, we’re talking about the Chiefs getting a clean slate in Week 3. 

Following the game, Reid finally delivered some good news for the team around injuries. Even though the team was without left tackle Josh Simmons and safety Chamarri Conner, there won’t be any players missing after the Dolphins win. And for the Chiefs, this could be a sign of bigger things to come. 

“Right,” Reid said when asked about injuries during the presser. “Really, we didn’t have, so far, any injuries to report. Listen, my hat goes off to the Dolphins and the job in which they did.”

Now it wasn’t just Simmons and Conner who were on the injury report before the game. Chris Jones and L’Jarius Sneed were both limited in practice. And while the likes of Mahomes and Mansoor Delane practiced, there were some concerns around both of them.

Even then, the Chiefs came away with a win. Miami kept the game competitive for most of the afternoon, but Kansas City made the bigger plays when it needed them.

Patrick Mahomes set the tone on the opening drive when he found Travis Kelce for a 48-yard gain. Kenneth Walker III finished the possession with a touchdown run, and the Chiefs had an early lead. Walker eventually scored twice, adding a receiving touchdown later in the game.

Mahomes finished 20-of-24 for 246 yards and two touchdowns, although he also threw two interceptions. Kelce had just two catches, but they went for 59 yards, including one for a touchdown, while Rashee Rice led Kansas City with seven receptions for 88 yards.

The Chiefs also had a question mark in the secondary heading into the game. Rookie cornerback Mansoor Delane had been dealing with a shoulder injury, but Reid expected him to play.

Delane did more than simply take the field. The No. 6 overall pick recorded 10 tackles, seven of them solo, along with a tackle for loss and a pass defended in just his third NFL game.

There were still some areas for Kansas City to clean up. After averaging more than 450 yards and 32 points through the first two games, the Chiefs found it harder to move the ball consistently against Miami. Walker carried 18 times for 70 yards and added the rushing touchdown, while Kansas City also scored through the air.

The bigger concern may be the pass rush. The Chiefs failed to record a sack for the second consecutive week after registering four in the season opener. Miami did not turn that into enough points to threaten the result, but Kansas City will want more pressure as the schedule gets tougher.

The Chiefs now head to Las Vegas for a Week 4 divisional matchup with the Raiders. And ahead of one of their bigger tests, Andy Reid’s side has plenty of confidence, especially given where this squad was just a few games ago. There were doubts around Patrick Mahomes’ ability, whether Travis Kelce was fit enough, if the Chiefs secondary was good enough. 

The side has answered them all so far. Going into an AFC West clash against a Raiders’ squad that went from being one of the worst teams in the league last season to a 3-0 start this year, that same confidence is all the Chiefs need.

In any case, Andy Reid had some words of appreciation for his entire squad, having acknowledged there were places for the team to improve. 

“We knew it’d be four quarters of football and that’s what it took. But we got plenty of things to work on, but it’s great to be 3-0. There are some real good things we can take out of it, and there are some things we can definitely work on going forward. But I thought the second half, we had some stops defensively. I thought we did a nice job there and then took advantage of a couple of those with the offensive side.”

The team is already looking forward to making those improvements, as QB Patrick Mahomes emphasized just seconds later. 

“We’re a young football team and so guys have to learn that, and there will be learning experiences throughout the season… Luckily enough for us, we still won the football game…  Just because we had a first two weeks good weeks against really good opponents doesn’t mean that you can relax when you’re playing a 12 pm game.”

For the Chiefs, the 3-0 record remains the biggest takeaway. For Reid, though, coming out of Miami without adding another name to the injury list may prove just as valuable as the win.