The New Orleans Saints (2-9) take on the Miami Dolphins (4-7) Sunday at noon at Hard Rock Stadium. Here are four key factors for the Saints to have a chance to win.
**Fix the red zone woes**
Nothing else written will matter if the Saints don’t solve their issues in the red zone. Or should I say the dead zone since the Saints’ offense seems to die once inside the 20-yard line. The Saints have scored touchdowns just 34.5 % of the times they’ve reached the red zone, which easily ranks last in the league. They scored 58 % last season, so the drop off has been significant under first-year head coach Kellen Moore. The Saints came up without a TD at the 1-yard line on two different drives in last week’s loss against the Falcons. That can’t happen against a team that has scored 30 or more points in two of its last four games.
**Establish the run**
This one may be easier said than done for a Saints’ offense that averages just 91.5 rushing yards per game (29th in the league). It’ll be even more difficult since Alvin Kamara (knee/ankle) will likely be out. The Saints will have to rely on rookie Devin Neal with a dose of Taysom Hill. The good news is the Dolphins aren’t great at stopping the run. They are yielding 142.6 rushing yards per game, which ranks also 29th in the league. They gave up 172 yards on the ground in their last game two weeks ago in Madrid against the Washington Commanders. On the flipside. they held Bills’ RB James Cook to just 53 yards the week before that. Saints need to hope that version of the Miami D doesn’t show up.
**Stop the run**
Miami running back De’Von Achane is the NFL’s fourth leading rusher with 900 yards. His 5.5 yards per carry ranks third in the league. It’ll be a very long day for the Saints’ defense if Achane is getting yards in chunks like that. Backup Ollie Gordon came in and rushed for 45 yards in the Dolphins’ last game to go with Achane’s 120 yards. The Saints did a decent job against Atlanta’s Bijan Robinson (14 carries, 70 yards) last week and an even better job against Carolina’s Rico Dowdle (18 carries, 53 yards) the game before that. They’ll need a similar effort Sunday.
**Create turnovers**
The Saints need to create some turnovers. That’s possible against Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who is tied with Raiders' QB Geno Smith for the league lead in interceptions with 13. Saints’ safety Justin Reid got a pick 6 against the Falcons, the Saints’ lone touchdown of the game. The struggling Saints’ offense could use all the help they can get from Brandon Staley’s defense. Winning the turnover battle and giving the offense favorable field position would make things easier. It'll help if Saints’ edge rushers Cam Jordan and Chase Young can spend some time in Tagovailoa’s face and force him to make some bad throws. It’ll give them a chance to end Miami’s 2-game winning streak.