Everything to Know from Dolphins' Week 13 Win vs. Saints

It shouldn’t have been as close as it was, but the Miami Dolphins won their fifth game of the season, beating the New Orleans Saints 21-17 at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.

The Dolphins led 16-0 at halftime and then sputtered on offense, while the Saints finally found some traction. Miami’s defense and running game were just enough to seal the game in the end, though.

The Dolphins are now 5-7 after starting 1-6. Here’s everything you need to know from the team’s second straight sloppy win against a bad opponent.

Drive-By-Drive Recap

The Dolphins wasted no time taking the lead, as their first drive went 69 yards in six plays. De’Von Achane capped it off with a 29-yard touchdown run, where he used his speed and contact balance to cover up some iffy blocking.

After five straight three-and-outs between both teams, the Dolphins finally got the offense going again. Sparked by an explosive completion to Darren Waller, Miami drove 69 yards in eight plays to make the score 10-0 early in the second quarter.

Before we forgot that both of these teams are well below .500, the turnovers started. Minkah Fitzpatrick had a strip sack of Tyler Shough, beating a WR on a blitz. However, Tua Tagovailoa threw his 14th interception of the season on the next play.

It was a total duck, as he tried to hit Jaylen Waddle on a vertical route near the front pylon. Tua’s ball hung up in the air way too long, allowing the cornerback to roam over and make the play.

Miami’s defense continued its first-half domination, forcing a quick three-and-out after the interception. The Dolphins’ offense then drove 44 yards in 10 plays to kick another field goal, going up 13-0.

Achane had what looked like a touchdown on third and goal, but couldn’t make the tough catch on an angle screen — a staple of the Dolphins’ red zone offense.

The Saints finally strung together a few first downs on the ensuing drive, but Miami’s defense created another turnover. Rasul Douglas got his first INT of the season, as he sat on a stick route and drove downhill to make the easy INT. He returned it 38 yards, setting up the offense in Saints’ territory.

Miami picked up a first down before trotting Riley Patterson out for his third goal of the half to make it 16-0 at halftime.

The Saints came out of the locker room and looked like a different team on offense. They drove 65 yards on 10 plays to get on the board. Shough found Chris Olave for a 17-yard touchdown and then ran in the two-point conversion to make the score 16-8.

The Dolphins’ offense went three-and-out on the next drive after Tua missed a wide-open Julian Hill on third and short. Tua just put it on Hill’s back shoulder while rolling out to his left.

The Saints moved the ball a bit on the ensuing possession, but a false start put them behind the chains, allowing the Dolphins’ defense to catch its breath and force a punt. The offense took over deep in its own territory and moved it near midfield before another sack forced Miami to punt, ending the third quarter.

The Dolphins’ defense forced yet another stop, and the Dolphins strung together a couple of first downs to get to the Saints’ 11. After two incompletions and a sack, Patterson hit his fourth field goal of the game to make the score 19-8.

New Orleans answered with a field goal of its own, as Charlie Smyth hit a 56-yard attempt to make the score 19-11 with just more than six minutes left.

The Dolphins’ offense had a chance to ice the game on the following possession, but Ollie Gordon was stopped on fourth and short, trying to bounce the run outside. That gave the Saints the ball near midfield with just more than two minutes left.

New Orleans capitalized with a touchdown when Shough hit Vele in the back of the end zone to make it 19-17. However, Fitzpatrick intercepted and ran back the two-point conversion attempt to make it 21-17.

The game should’ve been over, but Miami failed to recover the onside kick, giving New Orleans another chance. It was a close call, as it didn’t really look like Miami touched the ball before the Saints recovered.

However, Miami’s defense made one last stop — stuffing Shough on a tush-push attempt on fourth and 1 with 30 seconds left.

Offensive Recap

Miami continued its trend of running the ball well but struggling mightily to throw the ball. Of the Dolphins’ 300 total yards, 166 of them came on the ground.

The effort was, of course, led by De’Von Achane, who finished with 134 yards on 22 carries and had one touchdown. Achane has been the team’s MVP this season, and that continued against the Saints.

Credit to the offensive line as well, which saw the return of right tackle Austin Jackson for the first time since Week 1. It wasn’t always perfect, but Miami’s line got a solid amount of push throughout the game.

While the running game continues to impress, the passing game was quite rough. Tua Tagovailoa struggled throughout this game. His early interception put him at 14 for the season, a new career high.

He was also inaccurate on several easier throws. He threw a tough pass to Achane near the goal line that should’ve been a touchdown, and he missed Hill on a deep crosser on third and short in the third quarter.

Tua finished the game completing 12 of 23 passes for 157 yards, zero touchdowns, and one interception. He was also sacked four times; some of those were on him holding the ball too long, and others were probably on the offensive line.

The bigger issue for Miami is how unsustainable the passing game looks. Miami limped to victories against the Commanders and Saints — two teams that are not remotely good.

Tua’s regression is reaching untenable levels.

Defensive Recap

Miami’s defense is the reason the score looked the way it did for most of the game. The Dolphins’ unit dominated the first half of the game, only allowing the Saints to have two first downs through most of the half.

The Dolphins also got a couple of turnovers, something they’ve improved quite a bit at during the season. The first came courtesy of a Minkah Fitzpatrick strip fumble off a blitz, and the second was an INT from Rasul Douglas during the Saints’ best drive of the first half.

The Saints moved the ball a bit more in the second half, as they used some up-tempo looks to keep Miami’s defense from subbing. Still, Miami only allowed 17 points and 294 total yards.

The Dolphins also had a bunch of splash plays in the backfield, sacking Shough four times and getting five tackles for loss. It was a struggle for the Saints to generate any explosive plays.

New Orleans finished the game converting only four of 12 third downs. Miami’s pass rush was effective, and the secondary was sitting on a lot of the short throws that Shough wanted on money downs.

Given how limited the offense looks, the defense might have to be the driving force behind any miracle playoff run.

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