Saints vs Dolphins Match Player Stats: Full Breakdown of the 21-17 Week 13 Result

Miami beat New Orleans 21-17 at Hard Rock Stadium on November 30, 2025, but the dolphins vs saints score doesn’t explain much on its own. This was a game that Miami built early and New Orleans nearly stole late, and the player stats show exactly how each team got there. Below is a full look at who did the damage on both sides, how the game swung, and what the numbers mean beyond the final tally.

Score by Quarter

Miami scored on a De’Von Achane rushing touchdown and three Riley Patterson field goals to go up 16-0 by halftime. New Orleans didn’t get on the board until the third quarter, when quarterback Tyler Shough hit Chris Olave for a 17-yard score and ran in the two-point conversion himself. A Charlie Smyth field goal and a Devaughn Vele touchdown catch in the fourth quarter pulled the Saints within four, but Miami answered with a Minkah Fitzpatrick defensive two-point return off a failed Saints conversion attempt, which sealed the 21-17 final.

Quarterback Stats: Shough vs. Tagovailoa

This is where the box score gets interesting, because the passing numbers actually favored the team that lost.

Shough, making a start in his first NFL season, threw for 82 more yards than Tagovailoa and produced two touchdowns to none. He also took a heavier workload, dropping back 38 times compared to Tagovailoa’s 23. Tagovailoa’s day was quiet by his usual standard, but Miami’s game plan never asked him to do much through the air. He didn’t need to.

Rushing: Achane Carries the Load

If one stat line decided this game, it belongs to Dolphins running back De’Von Achane.

Achane alone rushed for 134 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, an average of 6.1 yards every time he touched the ball. That single performance outproduced New Orleans’ entire rushing unit by 53 yards. Devin Neal led the Saints on the ground with 14 carries for 47 yards, and no other New Orleans back reached double-digit yardage totals. The 83-yard rushing gap between the two teams is arguably the clearest explanation for why Miami controlled the game for three quarters despite a middling passing performance from its quarterback.

Receiving Leaders

Devaughn Vele was the standout target for New Orleans. He caught all 8 passes thrown his way for 93 yards and a touchdown, a near-perfect connection rate that made him Shough’s clear go-to option. Chris Olave added 4 catches for 47 yards and a score, and Juwan Johnson chipped in 5 catches for 39 yards.

Miami spread the ball around instead of leaning on one player. Darren Waller led the team with just 2 catches for 47 yards on a 34-yard long, Jaylen Waddle caught 3 passes for 40 yards, and Malik Washington added 4 receptions for 30 yards. No Dolphins receiver found the end zone, which is part of why Miami’s offense looked so different from New Orleans’ despite the win.

Defense: Brooks and Davis Lead the Way

Both defenses played physical, disruptive football.

Miami linebacker Jordyn Brooks recorded a team-high 12 tackles, and the Dolphins’ defense also picked off Shough once, through cornerback Rasul Douglas, who returned the interception 38 yards. Miami finished with 4 sacks on the day.

New Orleans countered with 9 tackles from veteran linebacker Demario Davis and a Kool-Aid McKinstry interception off Tagovailoa. The Saints also got to the quarterback 4 times, matching Miami’s sack total, led by defensive end Cameron Jordan, who had 2 of those sacks. It was Jordan’s 128th career sack, tying him for 17th on the NFL’s all-time list.

Kicking and the Point Miami Couldn’t Give Back

Riley Patterson quietly had one of the biggest games on the field. He made all 4 of his field goal attempts, including a 48-yarder, and added his lone extra point for 13 total points. That’s more than half of Miami’s scoring output, and it’s the reason the Dolphins were able to build a lead without needing much from the passing game.

New Orleans got one big moment from its own kicker. Charlie Smyth, an International Pathway Program kicker from Northern Ireland who had just been signed after Blake Grupe was cut, drilled a 56-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, the longest of his career and the first field goal try of his NFL career. It was a clutch kick in a game the Saints were still trying to claw back into.

Turnovers That Mattered

Each team threw one interception. Shough was picked off by McKinstry’s counterpart on the Dolphins side, and Tagovailoa was intercepted by McKinstry for New Orleans. Shough also lost a fumble that Miami’s Zach Sieler recovered, giving the Dolphins an extra possession they didn’t have to work as hard for.

In a four-point game, that fumble recovery is the kind of play that swings a final score. New Orleans simply couldn’t afford the extra giveaway against a team that was already controlling field position through its running game.

How the Series Has Gone Between These Two Teams

This wasn’t the first meeting between the Saints and Dolphins, and Miami has historically had the upper hand. Going back through their head-to-head history, the Dolphins hold an 8-6 series edge over New Orleans. Some of the more memorable recent meetings include a 2021 Monday Night Football matchup at the Caesars Superdome and a 2020 game that saw Ryan Fitzpatrick outduel Drew Brees. The November 30, 2025 result kept that trend going in Miami’s favor.

What the Result Meant for Both Teams

The win pushed Miami to 5-7 on the season and 4-3 at home, keeping the Dolphins in the thick of a crowded AFC playoff picture heading into December. For New Orleans, the loss dropped the team to 2-10 overall and 1-5 on the road, continuing a rough rebuilding season under first-year head coach Kellen Moore. Shough’s performance, however, gave Saints fans a reason for optimism about the position going into 2026, even in a loss.

Three Things the Box Score Reveals

1. Explosive plays beat volume. New Orleans out-threw Miami by 82 yards and out-completed the Dolphins 26-to-12, yet still lost. Achane’s single 134-yard rushing day, worth more than New Orleans’ entire ground game, was the bigger factor than any passing category.
2. Field goals count just as much as touchdowns. Patterson’s 13 points came entirely off his leg. Teams that can finish drives with points, even short ones, put constant pressure on an opponent that has to match scoring drive for drive.
3. A close final score can hide a lopsided game. Miami led by 16 at the break and only needed to survive a 17-5 second half to win by four. Looking only at the 21-17 final makes the game look like a nail-biter throughout, when in reality it was mostly decided in the first 30 minutes.

Full Statistical Summary

FAQ

What was the final score of the Saints vs Dolphins game? Miami won 21-17 on November 30, 2025, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

Who had the best individual performance in the game? De’Von Achane’s 134 rushing yards and a touchdown on 22 carries stands out as the most impactful single performance, though Tyler Shough’s 239 passing yards and two touchdowns were also a big factor for New Orleans.

Why did Miami win despite Tagovailoa’s modest passing stats? Miami leaned on its running game and kicking unit instead of the passing attack. Achane’s 164 combined team rushing yards and Riley Patterson’s 4-for-4 field goal day supplied enough scoring without requiring a big day from the quarterback.

Did New Orleans have a chance to win late in the game? Yes. The Saints scored 17 unanswered points to start the second half and pulled within four points before a failed two-point conversion, which Miami turned into a defensive score, put the game out of reach.

Who led each team in tackles? Jordyn Brooks led Miami with 12 tackles, and Demario Davis led New Orleans with 9.

How many sacks did each team record? Both defenses recorded 4 sacks apiece, with Cameron Jordan accounting for 2 of New Orleans’ total.