The New Orleans Saints are facing a road contest versus the Miami Dolphins this Sunday in what should be a low-scoring affair between two of the poorer offenses in the league. The Saints are coming off a 24-10
loss to the Atlanta Falcons, while Miami enjoyed time off during its bye week.
Through week 12, New Orleans is tied with the Las Vegas Raiders as the worst scoring offense in the league. Both teams are averaging just 15 points per game. A big factor in the Saints’ inability to put points on the board has been their inefficient red zone offense all year. The team is scoring touchdowns on fewer than 40% of their red zone possessions.
Not only can the team not score TDs, but even when they would get close enough to attempt field goals, this season’s performance has not been automatic whatsoever. After missing two more field goals last week, the Saints opted to move on from kicker Blake Grupe. Although perfect on extra point attempts, the third-year specialist had made just 18/26 FGA this season, a 69.2% accuracy rate.
New Orleans, struggling enough as is, will likely be without one of its top playmakers on Sunday as running back Alvin Kamara is questionable with an MCL sprain suffered against Atlanta. With tailback Kendre Miller already out for the remainder of the season, it appears that rookie Devin Neal will be in line for the first start of his NFL career.
Miami, even in a down year, will not make things easy on the black and gold. Their defensive efforts start with the NFL’s tackle leader, linebacker Jordyn Brooks. The sixth-year vet, currently in his second season as a Dolphin, has 125 tackles, 71 of which are solos.
Brooks’ backup, Willie Gay Jr., is a familiar face to the Saints’ organization. Gay spent the 2024 season in New Orleans and played in 15 games.
In the secondary, Tyler Shough will face stiff competition going against one of the better safeties in the NFL. Minkah Fitzpatrick currently has six pass deflections and an interception. He joined Miami via a trade from Pittsburgh earlier this season.
Opposing offenses are averaging 349.8 yards and 24.5 points per game against the Dolphins. Both marks rank Miami’s defense in the bottom half across the league, but one thing that they do well is putting their hands on loose footballs. The Dolphins rank second in the NFL with nine fumble recoveries. New Orleans will have to be cautious and protect the ball at all times, as they’ve lost the second-most fumbles as a team this year.
This game should be a slow-paced slugfest. I’d certainly take the under, in my humble opinion. Although both teams’ records are indicative of a bad season, I feel like the Saints will be dealt their tenth loss as the Dolphins ride the wave of home-field advantage to a cross-conference victory.
