(Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images)

After losing to the division-rival Buffalo Bills in Week 18, Tua Tagovailoa and company missed out on an opportunity to win the AFC East division title and, as a result, have to face the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs during Wild Card Weekend.

Obviously, that’s a significant blow for Miami, considering they would’ve taken on the seventh-seeded Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the NFL playoffs had they beaten Josh Allen’s squad on Sunday.

Now the Dolphins have the tall task of trying to take down Patrick Mahomes and company, which will be a tough matchup, to say the least, even though the Chiefs haven’t had a great season thus far.

As if facing the defending champions to start the playoffs wasn’t bad enough, the Dolphins will be without linebackers Jerome Baker and Andrew Van Ginkel for this game on Saturday, according to Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network.

Dolphins LB Jerome Baker had wrist surgery and he’s been ruled out for Chiefs game Saturday + likely rest of playoffs. Same for Andrew Van Ginkel with foot injury out Saturday and likely rest of postseason.

More key defensive starters lost for Miami.

— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) January 8, 2024

The last team the Dolphins want to face while shorthanded on defense in the NFL playoffs is the Chiefs, especially with Andy Reid’s squad having something to prove after being written off by a lot of the media ahead of this postseason clash.

It was already bad enough that the Dolphins would be without star defensive end Bradley Chubb for the playoffs, but now they’re short even more bodies on defense, which doesn’t bode well for this team’s chances of winning and advancing.

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