MIAMI GARDENS — The Miami Dolphins’ race to a .500 record took a step in the right direction Sunday with a closer-than-necessary 21-17 victory over the New Orleans Saints at a sometimes rainy Hard Rock Stadium.
The Dolphins (5-7), who have a three-game winning streak and have won four of their past five games, had a few rough spots in dispatching the Saints (2-10). But considering style points don’t count in the NFL it was no big deal.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementStill, it’s worth noting Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was sacked four times and the offense only scored one touchdown. Beyond that the Dolphins had to make a couple of big plays at the end — intercepting a 2-point conversion attempt and getting a fourth-down stop — to secure the win against one of the worst teams in the league.
But whatever. The Dolphins won.
Here’s what we learned:
Hard Rock Stadium crowd excitedThe crowd at Hard Rock Stadium, which was decidedly pro-Dolphins with very few New Orleans fans, was enthusiastic but it was among the smallest of the season with plenty of patches of empty seats.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe crowd was notable because already this season Dolphins fans have flown banners seeking the firing of coach Mike McDaniel and former general manager Chris Grier, they’ve booed the team, and they allowed a large number of Baltimore and Buffalo fans to acquire tickets.
On Sunday, however, Dolphins fans were fired up about their team, and they were fairly loud. — Chris Perkins
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The Dolphins are now 3-2 in the games immediately after the bye under coach Mike McDaniel. In 2022, the Dolphins defeated Houston, 30-15; in 2023, the Dolphins defeated Las Vegas, 2013; in 2024 the Dolphins lost to Indianapolis, 16-10.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementDolphins undefeated since . . .For those keeping track, the Dolphins are 3-0 since dismissing Grier (Oct. 31), trading edge rusher Jaelan Phillips (Nov. 3) and removing the Pop-a-Shot game and card table (Nov. 5) from their locker room.
Achane reaches 1,000 yards rushingRunning back De’Von Achane, the 2023 third-round pick, has eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the first time in his young career. Achane ended the game with 134 yards on 22 carries and one touchdown.
Achane, who had 1,499 yards from scrimmage last season, entered the game with 900 yards rushing and 370 yards receiving (1,270 from scrimmage).
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAchane’s 29-yard touchdown run in the first quarter was his team-leading sixth touchdown of the season.
Achane became the fourth Dolphins running back to gain 1,000 yards in the first 12 games of the season, joining Larry Csonka (1972), Delvin Williams (1978) and Ricky Williams (2002, 2003).
Tua matches career high in interceptionsQuarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s interception in the second quarter was his 14th for the season, tying his career high established in 2023. Tagovailoa’s 14 interceptions this year came in 11 games while the 14 in 2023 came in 17 games. Tagovailoa was 12 of 23 for 157 yards, no touchdowns, one interception and a 55.9 passer rating on Sunday.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTagovailoa, who entered the game with 17 touchdowns, 13 interceptions and an 88.1 passer rating, threw two ill-advised passes to the same corner of the end zone (east end zone), one resulting in the interception by Saints cornerback Kool-Aid KcKinstry on a pass intended for wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. The first ill-advised pass was intended for wide receiver Malik Washington and defended by safety Terell Burgess.
Another ill-advised pass came early in the fourth quarter when cornerback Quincy Riley was close to intercepting a low pass intended for Waddle. New Orleans challenged but the call on the field of an incomplete pass was upheld.
Run defense comes up bigThe Dolphins held the Saints to 81 yards rushing on 27 carries, which is significant. Miami, which allowed Washington 172 yards rushing, entered the game 29th in run defense at 142.6 yards allowed per game. The biggest play was New Orleans’ final offensive snap, a stop by edge rusher Chop Robinson when Saints quarterback Tyler Shough attempted a sneak up the middle on fourth-and-1 from the Miami 36-yard line with the Dolphins clinging to their 21-17 lead.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementJackson starts, plays fairly wellRight tackle Austin Jackson, who was on the injured reserve list for 10 weeks with a toe injury, started Sunday in place of Larry Borom. Jackson, the 2021 first-round pick, has played 58 of a possible 95 career games (61.1 percent) while fighting off a multitude of injuries. Jackson showed signs of rust — he was initially beaten on a pass rush that required Tagovailoa to step up in the pocket before a sack — but played fairly well all things considered.
Douglas starts, secondary has good showingCornerback Rasul Douglas, who had been sidelined with foot/ankle injuries, started Sunday alongside fellow cornerback Jack Jones and with safeties Minkah Fitzpatrick, Iffy Melinfonwu and Ashtyn Davis. Cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. also got in to play some nickel/slot.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe secondary was good overall (Fitzpatrick caused a fumble and intercepted a 2-point conversion pass) but it wasn’t perfect (it allowed touchdowns to wide receivers Chris Olave and DeVaughn Vele).
Waller returnsTight end Darren Waller (pectoral) came off the injured reserve list to record two receptions for 47 yards, highlighted by a 34-yard reception. Waller, who came out of retirement, battled a hip injury, played well, and then battled pectoral injury, now has 12 receptions for 164 yards and four touchdowns for the season.
Minkah starsFitzpatrick sealed the victory with his 2-point conversion interception return when Shough was trying to throw to Vele. Fitzpatrick also had a caused fumble earlier in the game that defensive tackle Zach Sieler recovered. Miami’s defense had four sacks and an interception.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Achane 2,000-yard-o-meterWith his 134 rushing yards Sunday, third-year supernova De’Von Achane established a career high for season with 1,034 rushing yards. And, with the 134 total yards gained against the Saints, Achane is on pace for 1,989 total yards in 2025 (he has 1,404 through 12 games). Ricky Williams is the Dolphins’ record holder for most yards in a season with 2,216. Tyreek Hill’s tour de force 2023, with 1,814 yards is second behind Williams on the team charts. — Steve Svekis
Tua and the wet stuff have not mixedSunday was Tua Tagovailoa’s third career game played primarily in the rain (joining 2022 in Tennessee and last month in Cleveland), and these have been his horrific statistics: 42 for 84 for 462 yards, 0 touchdown passes, five interceptions (41.9 passer rating) and seven fumbles, with the offense scoring a combined 28 points (7.3 a game).
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Dolphins coach continues to be woeful with challengesMike McDaniel red flagged a Saints reception in the first half, but the play was upheld. Which was almost as predictable as the sun rising in the east. That failure dropped McDaniel to an unacceptable 4 for 21 over his career.
Dolphins got another Saints neophyte quarterback to feast onWhen Miami last played New Orleans, in December of 2021, the Dolphins got the good fortune of rookie quarterback Ian Book making his first – and only – NFL start. After an overwhelmed performance that included a Nik Needham pick-six, the Dolphins breezed 20-3 in the Superdome. Sunday, the Dolphins faced rookie Tyler Shough making his fourth NFL start. Shough was much more able than Book, but the Miami defense still had him on skates most of the game, with him also turning the ball over multiple times, capped by Minkah Fitzpatrick’s clinching … “Pick-2”!
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementJordyn Brooks keeps piling up those negative-yardage playsIn the first quarter, the tackle-machine linebacker, brought down Saints running back Devin Neal a yard behind the line of scrimmage. It was his 20th tackle for loss in his 29 games as a Dolphin. In his previous 64 NFL games, all with Seattle, he had only 23 TFLs.
McDaniel’s December and January challengeAnd thus ended another NFL November for the Dolphins coach. In the first three months of the season, McDaniel has put together a respectable 26-20 record, but the homestretch of the season has been very challenging, with the Dolphins saddled with a 7-10 regular-season mark, plus two playoff losses.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOn deck: New York Jets, MetLife Stadium, Sunday, 1 p.m.The early forecast on weather.com is for a high of 40 degrees with a 32% chance of snow or rain, so, while the Dolphins will be favored, that could be an equalizer … During Tua Tagovailoa’s career, he has played in two of the five games the Dolphins have played at MetLife Stadium. In those games, Tagovailoa has thrown three touchdown passes but also lost a fumble and thrown three interceptions, one for a touchdown.
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