A substantially depleted New Orleans Saints team proved no match for the Miami Dolphins on Monday night.
Tua Tagovailoa threw for 198 yards with a touchdown and an interception, Jaylen Waddle caught 10 passes for 92 yards and a score, and the Miami defense harassed Saints starting quarterback Ian Book for eight sacks in a 20-3 victory.
Book was getting the start for New Orleans with both Taysom Hill and Trevor Siemian on the COVID-19 reserve list. Hill and Siemian are among 22 players on the COVID-19 reserve list for New Orleans and starting left tackle Terron Armstead was also inactive for the contest due to a knee injury.
Emmanuel Ogbah (2.0), Jerome Baker (1.5), Brandon Jones (1.0), Zach Sieler (1.0), Xavien Howard (1.0), Raekwon Davis (0.5), Christian Wilkins (0.5) and Jevon Holland (0.5) all contributed to the sack party on Book. The Dolphins defense didn’t allow a single third down conversion from the Saints as they were 0-for-12 on the night.
Book completed just 12-of-20 passes for 135 yards and was intercepted twice by Miami.
Nik Needham intercepted Book’s second pass of the night and returned it for a 28-yard touchdown to give the Dolphins a 7-0 lead.
A 48-yard field goal from Jason Sanders extended the Miami lead to 10-0 late in the first quarter.
The Saints only significant drive of the first half covered 55 yards on eight plays and took advantage of a roughing the passer call against Book by Brandon Jones. Brett Maher converted a 38-yard field goal to get New Orleans on the board late in the half.
Tagovailoa made big connections with Mack Hollins for 40 yards and Waddle for 24 yards as Miami marched 86 yards on nine plays on a decisive third quarter drive. A 1-yard touchdown from Tagovailoa to Waddle made it a 17-3 game as the Dolphins took full command.
Brandon Jones intercepted Book in the fourth quarter to put the finishing touches on a stellar outing for the Dolphins defense.
Caleb Benenoch started at right tackle for New Orleans. He would leave the game in the fourth quarter with Kyle Murphy taking his place to finish the game. The Saints signed Murphy today to add emergency depth to the roster.
