Instant analysis: What went right, what went wrong in Saints-Dolphins

That's in the books. The New Orleans Saints fell to 2-10 on the year after a late rally couldn't make up their deficit against the Miami Dolphins, but it ended up being an entertaining game. And that's probably the best you can ask for with the Saints competing for draft positioning rather than playoff seeding.

But how did we get here? Let's recap Week 13's loss by asking and answering four key questions.

• What went right?

• What went wrong?

• What's the bottom line?

• What comes next?

What went right?

Let's start with the positives. Cameron Jordan and the Saints defense gave Tua Tagovailoa fits, sacking him four times (Jordan had two of them) and hitting six times, with Kool-Aid McKinstry coming down with a very timely interception in the end zone. Rookie cornerback Quincy Riley was a finger's width away from having an interception of his own, too. But that's about all you can say positively of the defense. We'll get to the negatives in just a moment.

First, let's highlight some standouts on offense. Wide receiver Devaughn Vele came alive in the second half -- he caught all eight of his targets to gain 93 yards and score a touchdown, and he converted a rare onside kick. He needs to keep it up but performances like this do a lot to explain why the Saints traded for him.

One more thing; he didn't play a perfect game, but Tyler Shough showed us a lot of good things. He bounced back well from four sacks of his own and made some heady throws under pressure. He also flashed a willingness to bail out from a collapsing pocket and pick up yards with his legs, smartly sliding to protect his body. There were some throws he'd like back, like a two-point try that was underthrown, intercepted, and returned for two Miami points, but you can see the potential here. If Chris Olave caught a late pass to the end zone that passed through his hands, Shough would have finished 27-of-38 for 275 yards and three touchdowns in what very likely would have been a win.

What went wrong?

This was easily the worst half of football the Saints played all year. New Orleans only gained 63 yards from scrimmage in the first half, their lowest total through two quarters in more than 50 years. A lot of our complaints about Kellen Moore's playbook came back to light. There was no cohesion between the passing game and rushing attack, no effort to design touches for playmakers like Chris Olave or Devaughn Vele (who wasn't targeted until the second half!), and no accounting for Shough's strengths as a passer to the intermediate and deeper stretches of the field. It's like Moore doesn't know how to use the players available to him.

Defensively, the Saints couldn't stop the run, and that's almost always going to lose you games. Allowing the opposition to control the pace of play and dictate terms is going to put you in a tough spot. We saw that with De'Von Achane rushing 22 times for 134 yards and a score. You could count the number of times Pete Werner overran his spot or was blocked out of the play on two hands. Davon Godchaux plays too many snaps for the Saints to be so weak in the middle. It's bad.

And what's the bottom line?

The Saints are a flawed team. We knew that going in. They have a shortage of weapons (Devin Neal led the team in rushing with just 47 yards off of 14 attempts) and they struggle with the fundamentals, like making room at the line of scrimmage on offense and keying in on run plays on defense. They're also led by a head coach who still looks like he's out of his depth. Moore has a lot of work to do in replacing the assistant coaches he inherited or had to settle for with better candidates during the next hiring cycle. And he needs to do a better job evaluating himself and his gameday responsibilities. You can't be held to 63 yards through two quarters and not consider giving someone else play calling duties.

So what comes next?

It's another road game in Florida next Sunday -- this time a rematch with the same Tampa Bay Buccaneers team that routed the Saints 23-3 earlier this year. You have to hope Moore and his staff can carry over some positive momentum from this week's second half and set the tone at Tampa Bay. The NFC South crown will be out of reach with another loss. They've got to show us something.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Instant analysis: What went right, what went wrong in Saints-Dolphins