Depleted Saints easily exceed tiny margin for error in loss to Dolphins

NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Saints entered their game against the Miami Dolphins on Monday night with a depleted roster due to a rash of players testing positive for COVID-19 on top of a series of injuries.

They would be starting their fourth quarterback this season – rookie fourth-round draft choice Ian Book, who hadn’t played a down in the NFL.

Additionally they would be missing three-fifths of their starting offensive line, their top two tight ends, their top two linebackers, a starting safety, a few backup defensive linemen and two special team stalwarts – as well as their special teams coordinator.

Their chances of victory in the Caesars Superdome were slim against a team that had won six games in a row, but their psyche was bolstered by an improbable victory eight days earlier.

They weren’t depleted in that game, but they were short-handed, playing on the road against the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who were trying to clinch the NFC South title.

Even in the absence of head coach Sean Payton, who stayed home while recovering from COVID, they claimed an inspiring 9-0 victory.

With Payton returning against the Dolphins amid the player losses, if they could take the ball away more than they gave it away, if they possessed the ball more than their opponent, if they played consistently on offense with a shorter field than they defended, if they could supplement a hamstrung offense with a touchdown from the defense or special teams they might be able to produce another improbable and inspiring victory.

But they did anything but in a 20-3 defeat that dropped them to 7-8, leaving them essentially no margin for error in their final two games if they are going to grab a wild-card playoff spot.

“This is a game that we are going to want to quickly get behind us,” Payton said. “We have a short week and two important games coming up, two division games (against Carolina and at Atlanta) that are going to be important relative to the NFC.”

The Saints gave the ball away twice – including a Pick 6 on Book’s second NFL pass that gave the Dolphins (8-7) all the points they would need less than five minutes into the game.

They gained a mere 164 yards, which helped the Dolphins to possess the ball nearly eight minutes longer than they did and to start their drives on average at their 29-yard line to the Saints 23-yard line for their starting point.

Then, of course, they didn’t get a touchdown from any unit, going 0 for 12 on third-down conversions (the first time in Payton’s 14 seasons that they have failed to convert a third down), though they were 1 for 3 on fourth downs.

They sacked Tua Tagovailoa three times, but allowed Book to be sacked eight times. The rookie finished 12 of 20 for 135 yards with two interceptions.

“Just keeping (Book) upright tonight was a challenge,” Payton said. “It was just a tough position for him to be in.”

Payton said it was “impossible” to evaluate Book under the circumstances.

Just a few hours before kickoff the Saints announced that linebacker Kwon Alexander had joined 21 teammates on the reserve/COVID-19 list, that they had signed four players to the practice roster and activated 14 from the practice roster. Additionally, starting left tackle Terron Armstead was inactive because of a knee injury.

“We had two players today getting fitted for equipment in the locker room in the equipment room that had just arrived,” Payton said.

Despite a poor start, the Saints trailed just 10-3 at halftime and received the second-half kickoff. But they went three and out, as did the Dolphins before the Saints punted again.

Then on a third-and-nine from the Miami 15, Tagovailoa launched a perfect pass up the West sideline that Mack Hollins snared for a 40-yard completion. That triggered a drive that ended with Tagovailoa’s 1-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle for a 17-3 lead that carried into the fourth quarter.

Jason Sanders’ 34-yard field goal completed the scoring early in the fourth quarter as the Saints failed to score a touchdown for a second consecutive game.

Dolphins coach Brian Flores credited defensive coordinator Josh Boyer and his staff for their plan against Book and the Saints offense.

“They had a nice game plan – mixing coverages, mixing the fronts,” Flores said. “They did a good job stopping the run which was a big emphasis. I thought the guys just played hard, they played fast, they gave great effort.”

The Dolphins and Flores approached the game as a battle of attrition against an outmanned opponent, much as Payton and the Saints did against Denver in a similar situation last season.

The Broncos had lost all four of their quarterbacks to COVID concerns and started practice squad wide receiver Kendall Horton, who played quarterback at Wake Forest, under center.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Saints scored 17 points in the second quarter and peppered their way to a 31-3 victory in which Taysom Hill, who started that game in place of injured Drew Brees and would have started Monday but he tested positive for COVID, passed for a mere 78 yards but ran for 44 and two touchdowns.

On Monday, Book’s second pass was tipped by Andrew Van Ginkel and intercepted by Nik Needham, who returned 28 yards for a touchdown.

“It was a nightmare,” Book said of the play that deflated a boisterous crowd.

The Dolphins’ next possession was aided by a defensive pass interference call on C.J. Gardner-Johnson and ended with a 48-yard field goal by Sanders for a 10-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Saints’ first two possessions of the second quarter began with Book completions of 17 and 11 yards to Marquez Callaway, which loosened up the Dolphins defense enough to create a modicum of a running game.

New Orleans reached the Miami 15, but on third-and-two Alvin Kamara was stopped for no gain. Brett Maher kicked a 38-yard field goal that trimmed the Dolphins lead to 10-3 at halftime.

The Saints were still very much in the game, but they couldn’t produce any more points and even just two days after Christmas the Dolphins weren’t in a gift-giving mood.