Dec. 11—Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs earned their championship pedigree by overcoming playoff deficits of 21, 10 and 10 points during their 2019 Super Bowl run. The Dolphins, meanwhile,

The Dolphins, meanwhile, haven’t won a playoff game in 20 years.

And, as astutely pointed out by national NFL writer Scott Kacsmar, they have exactly one late-season win against playoff teams not named the New England Patriots since 2004.

So when these two historic NFL franchises meet Sunday in a potential postseason preview, the Dolphins will be operating from a credibility deficit.

But one that’s not as deep as you might think.

This game is the exact sort of moment general manager Chris Grier and coach Brian Flores accounted for when they loaded up their roster with champions in the offseason.

Much was made this spring when Flores added four former of his former Patriots players to Miami’s roster.

But that take missed a broader point:

Aside from cornerback Byron Jones, basically every big Dolphins free agent addition either won an NFL or college football title, or played in the championship game.

The same goes for players targeted by Grier in the draft. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, defensive lineman Raekwon Davis and long snapper Blake Ferguson all have rings.

And the only reason guard Solomon Kindley doesn’t is because of Tagovailoa’s iconic touchdown pass in overtime that propelled Alabama past Georgia in the title game three years ago.

Grier telegraphed that organization’s intentions 10 months ago at the Scouting Combine — the NFL’s last big event before the pandemic — when asked about his goals for the coming offseason.

“It’s important to establish that culture of winning, the importance of winning and doing things the right way,” Grier said. “So for us, it’s just to keep building upon that.”

Did they ever. At 8-4 and currently the AFC’s sixth seed, it’s fair to say the plan is ahead of schedule.

And that’s a function of Grier and Flores acquiring not just talented players, but winners.

Davis, who was Tagovailoa’s freshman teammate on that Crimson Tide championship team and returned to the title game as a sophomore, is a perfect example.

He has been a difference maker in Year 1, leading all rookie defensive linemen with 30 tackles through Monday’s games.

The moment has not been too big for him because he is used to big moments.

Davis has played in more nationally televised network games that some of his more veteran teammates have combined.

He has tangled with Clemson, LSU, Florida, Florida State and Auburn.

He has played in front of crowds nearly 10 times what he will Sunday.

So what it does take to win a big game on a big stage?

“Just everybody focusing and everybody [playing] together,” he said. “Defend the deep part of the field, communicate, setting the edge and tackling. That’s where it starts.”

If that sounds like a meatand-potatoes approach to what promises to be a Michelin-star meal, it comes from his head coach.

“[Nothing] that’s happened in the past really matters right now,” Flores said. “Those are different teams, different years, people change over time for a myriad of reasons — on the field, off the field. Every team, every year is a little bit different, so college, pros, different teams; I guess I don’t look too much into that.

“I like the guys we have here,” he continued. “They’re tough, they’re competitive, they’re smart. Football is really important to them. They’re team first. If you want to take those qualities and put a label on that, then to me that’s just what we’re looking for in a Dolphin.”

That’s all true, but they’re also battle hardened.

Kyle Van Noy, the AFC’s Defensive Player of the Week after last Sunday’s three-sack game, not only knows what it takes to beat the high-flying Chiefs, but did so on the road in the 2018 AFC title game.

Van Noy was part of a Patriots defense that shut Kansas City out in the first half, executing a game plan devised by Bill Belichick and executed by Flores.

The Patriots held Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce to a combined four catches for 65 yards in Flores’ penultimate game with New England.

The winning formula? Assigning Jonathan Jones, and not New England’s No. 1 corner Stephon Gilmore, to Hill with safety help over the top, according to a game breakdown published at the time by Boston Sports Journal.

Flores dialed up a bunch of man coverage and blitzed “about every down,” Reid said at the time. The Patriots pressured Mahomes on 55 percent of his dropbacks.

“Brian did a great job,” Reid said this week. “He’s a heck of a defensive mind. He’s doing a great job as a head coach. The Miami Dolphins know that. The city knows that too. He’s great for the NFL and great for Miami.”

Safety Eric Rowe was part of that championship team but did not appear in any playoff games that winter due to a significant groin injury.

But he played plenty — 32 defensive snaps, to be exact — in Super Bowl 51, when the Patriots rallied from 25 points down in the third quarter to stun the Falcons.

When you deal with that type of pressure on that type of stage, a home Week 14 regular-season game — even one against the best team in the world — won’t faze him.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Rowe said. “You can’t really ask for anything better — going against a guy [Mahomes] that’s been consistent every game for years now. Just having that challenge ahead of you. I’ve been looking forward to it since the schedule came out. It’s a great test, not just for me, but as a whole defense too and as a whole team. It’s going to be a great test this week.”