Kansas City, Mo. ? Moving up the Kansas City Chiefs game at Miami at first seemed to give the Dolphins an advantage, but it wound up giving the Chiefs a fabulous fall weekend.

They got a victory in Miami, a place where they almost never win, after learning Thursday they would have to fly down Friday and play that night. Team president Carl Peterson, echoing everyone in the organization, said the Chiefs had been put at a competitive disadvantage.

Maybe they were, but they responded with perhaps their best game in two years and won, 30-20.

Back home, the players got three days off, as AFC West rivals Denver and San Diego suffered last-minute losses Sunday.

Now, the bonus: two extra days to get refreshed and ready for the Chargers on Sunday.

“Medically, we’ve got a few guys who are dinged. But it’s too early in the week to give them a definition. I kind of doubt that any of them are out,” coach Dick Vermeil said Monday.

The Chiefs, after going into their bye week on the heels of a disappointing home loss to Philadelphia, have reeled off victories over Washington and Miami. They seem to be playing much better than they did the first month of the season.

“Our offense is starting to ascend,” Vermeil said. “I think Friday night’s performance was more indicative of the kind of team we want to become over the second part off the season.”

Two veteran Pro Bowlers, left tackle Willie Roaf and right guard Will Shields, helped anchor an offensive line that played its best game in a month. Behind the dominating blocking, Larry Johnson rushed for 93 yards and Priest Holmes for 90.

The defense also seemed to have its best game.

“I think our defense has shown steady improvement. Maybe not overall ranking, but we definitely feel we’ve made some improvement in some critical areas,” Vermeil said.

Dolphins quarterback Gus Frerotte, harried by the Kansas City defense, had a miserable game while overthrowing and underthrowing receivers all day.

“We had eight quarterback hits,” Vermeil said. “We had 18 quarterback pressures and one sack. That’s a lot of times the quarterback was back there with somebody making him move, duck under somebody, or getting hit.”

Also getting a positive report card was cornerback Eric Warfield, who saw his first action after sitting out four games under suspension and not even dressing against Washington after he finally became eligible.

Warfield would make his first start of the year in San Diego, Vermeil said.

“Overall, he did a good job. He didn’t get challenged a lot. Our pass pressure was outstanding and that took a little heat off the secondary.”

The players were given Saturday, Sunday and Monday off. Vermeil and his staff spent the weekend preparing for the Chargers, who lost a 20-17 heartbreaker to Philadelphia when the Eagles blocked a field goal attempt and returned it for a touchdown.

The Broncos also had a nightmare loss when Eli Manning hit Amani Toomer with a short touchdown pass with five seconds left, lifting the New York Giants to a 24-23 victory.

It all left Kansas City (4-2) back in the thick of the AFC West race with Denver (5-2) and San Diego (3-4).