MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Dolphins might have figured out what works for them defensively. That’s not particularly good news for the New Orleans Saints.
They meet Sunday (Nov. 30) in South Florida, and the matchup might be best summarized like this:
The Dolphins aren’t allowing many points.The Saints aren’t scoring many points.
That isn’t a great formula for the Saints (2-9), who have been held under 20 points in each of their last six games and will be without star running back Alvin Kamara (knee). That is the NFL’s longest active streak of offensive struggle; Cleveland went six games without 20 points earlier this season.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins (4-7) have allowed exactly 13 points in each of their last two games — and probably not coincidentally, they went 2-0 in those matchups to breathe a bit of hope into a season that was going seriously awry.
“They’ve been playing really well on defense,” Saints quarterback Tyler Shough said. “We have to be up for the challenge and go out there and attack.”
Miami will expect exactly that, especially since the Saints haven’t been able to run the ball. New Orleans has an NFL-worst three rushing touchdowns this season — 45 different players across the league entered Friday with at least that many — and none of the Saints’ last 120 carries has reached the end zone.
New Orleans’ last rushing TD was a 1-yarder from Taysom Hill on Oct. 12, and with rookie Devin Neal replacing Kamara while on a gimpy ankle, it doesn’t seem like the ground game will be anywhere near its best form Sunday.
There seem to be good signs for Miami, but Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel isn’t buying any of them. Just because his team has won two straight doesn’t mean it’s time for a false sense of security to settle in, he said.
“Football, if you haven’t noticed, the ball is oblong. I don’t know where that is bouncing,” McDaniel said. “The NFL will teach you the hardest lessons that will have you lose sleep at night if you make the mistake of taking anybody lightly.”
The Dolphins are playing their best football in November, which checks out given quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s history. He’s 15-4 as a starter in November, compared with 15-16 when he starts games in September and October.
The Saints, who have averaged just 12.2 points per game in their recent 1-5 stretch, will have a new kicker in Miami. They cut Blake Grupe this week after he missed two kicks inside of 50 yards last week against Atlanta. New Orleans was deciding Saturday whether to elevate Irish kicker Charlie Smyth or former LSU kicker Cade York to the roster for Sunday’s game.
Taysom Hill’s role in the Saints’ offense continues to evolve as he rounds back into form from a major knee injury last season — the recovery from which also sidelined him for the first four games this season.
The versatile 35-year-old took on more running back duties last week after Kamara went down in the first quarter. He added that to his intermittent role as a wildcat QB and sometimes tight end.
“He’s always ready to rock and roll,” Saints coach Kellen Moore said. “He provides an insurance role.”
See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Click Here to report it. Please include the headline.
Subscribe to the Fox 8 YouTube channel.
Copyright 2025 WVUE. All rights reserved.