New Orleans Saints vs Miami Dolphins Player Stats: Game Recap

Stat sheets record what happened, but they rarely show why a game swung. On November 30, the Miami Dolphins edged the New Orleans Saints 21–17 at Hard Rock Stadium, where De’Von Achane’s 134 rushing yards outweighed Tyler Shough’s 239 passing yards (Fox Sports box score). The individual numbers behind that result — Achane’s carries, Shough’s two touchdown passes, Vele’s 93 receiving yards — explain exactly how Miami protected home turf.

Final Score: Miami Dolphins 21, New Orleans Saints 17 ·
De’Von Achane Rushing Yards: 134 ·
Tyler Shough Passing Yards: 239 ·
Devaughn Vele Receiving Yards: 93

Seven items, one pattern: Miami built a 16–0 halftime lead and defended it, while New Orleans spent the second half climbing out of a hole it created early.

Game details via New Orleans Saints official recap and ESPN box score.

Who won the Saints game?

Final score and key plays

• Final score: Miami Dolphins 21, New Orleans Saints 17 (ESPN box score)
• Miami led 16–0 at halftime before the Saints’ second-half rally (New Orleans Saints official recap)
• Tyler Shough’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Devaughn Vele cut the Dolphins’ lead to 19–17, and New Orleans went for two (New Orleans Saints official recap)

The Dolphins won the game in the first half and survived it in the second. Miami scored in each of the first two quarters, built a 16-point cushion, then leaned on De’Von Achane’s carries and enough defensive stops when the Saints pushed back.

New Orleans made it interesting. Shough found Vele for a 15-yard score that pulled the Saints within 19–17, and the two-point attempt that followed kept the visitors one conversion away from a tie game. The scoreboard settled at 21–17, and the Dolphins finished the job from there.

Quarter-by-quarter breakdown

• Miami Dolphins scoring by quarter: 7, 9, 0, 5 (ESPN box score)
• New Orleans Saints scoring by quarter: 0, 0, 8, 9 (ESPN box score)

The split tells the whole story. The Saints struggled to move the ball in the first half, then found their rhythm after the break. By the time Vele’s touchdown made it a two-point game, the clock and Miami’s running game were working against the comeback.

The implication: New Orleans spotted Miami 16 points and still had the ball with a chance to change the game. That is the difference between a team that controls its own matches and one that spends the second half chasing them.

Who is better, the Saints or the Dolphins?

Head-to-head record

• Miami holds an 8–6 lead in the all-time series (Fox Sports box score)
• The Dolphins won the most recent meeting 21–17 on November 30, 2025 (ESPN box score)
• The win extended Miami’s edge in a series that now favors the Dolphins (Fox Sports box score)

Series history only matters so much when teams meet every few years, but the 2025 edition added another Miami win to the ledger. The formula was visible in the box score: the Dolphins controlled the ground game, and the Saints left with a close loss.

2025 season performance

• Week 13 result: Miami 21, New Orleans 17 (ESPN box score)
• Miami led 16–0 at halftime (New Orleans Saints official recap)
• New Orleans outscored Miami 17–5 after the break (ESPN box score)

The 2025 snapshot from this game is simple: Miami is the team with the Week 13 win, the healthier-looking run game, and the defense that came away with an interception. New Orleans is the team with the better passing total and an 81-yard ground game that stalled drives.

Season records for both clubs are not part of the confirmed data in this recap, so the honest comparison starts with what the box score shows: Miami ran it better, and that is why Miami won.

Offensive and defensive stats comparison

• Total yards: Miami 298, New Orleans 294 (Fox Sports box score)
• Passing yards: Miami 134, New Orleans 213 (Fox Sports box score)
• Rushing yards: Miami 164, New Orleans 81 (Fox Sports box score)
• Plays run: Miami 59, New Orleans 69 (Fox Sports box score)

Here is the strange part: the Saints ran 10 more plays and threw for 79 more yards, yet still lost. Miami did not need volume — it needed Achane’s carries and a defense that held when the game got tight.

Who is the best player on the New Orleans Saints right now?

Top performers in Week 13

• Devaughn Vele: 8 catches, 93 yards, 1 touchdown — led all receivers (New Orleans Saints official recap)
• Chris Olave: 4 catches, 47 yards, 1 touchdown (New Orleans Saints official box score)
• Tyler Shough: 26-of-38 passing, 239 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception (New Orleans Saints official recap)

A fair answer starts with the quarterback who touches the ball every snap, and Shough made a strong case even in a loss. But the most consistent playmaker in this game was Vele, who led every receiver in yards and scored the touchdown that nearly flipped the outcome.

Season stats leaders

• Vele’s 93 receiving yards and Olave’s 47 were the top two receiving lines for New Orleans in this game (New Orleans Saints official box score)
• Shough’s 239 passing yards were the game’s highest single-player total (Fox Sports box score)

Full-season leaderboards are decided over 17 games, not one outing, and this recap does not include complete season totals. What can be said with confidence is that the Saints’ Week 13 identity runs through Shough’s right arm, Vele’s routes, and Olave’s red-zone presence.

Tyler Shough’s impact

• Shough completed 26 of 38 passes for 239 yards — the game’s highest passing output (New Orleans Saints official recap)
• He threw two touchdowns and one interception (New Orleans Saints official recap)
• The Saints finished with 213 net passing yards, with Shough responsible for most of the output (Fox Sports box score)

Shough’s stat line reads like a winning quarterback’s on paper — 26 of 38, two touchdowns, one interception — except for the part where rookie Devin Neal managed only 47 yards on 14 carries, and the ground game never gave the offense balance.

Why hasn’t Taysom Hill been playing?

Taysom Hill’s injury history

• New Orleans’ Week 13 game coverage does not list Taysom Hill among the players who saw action (New Orleans Saints official recap)
• The team has not published an official explanation, so whether this is injury-related or a coaching decision remains unconfirmed
• No official statement addresses a trade, release, or retirement

Hill’s absence matters because he is one of the roster’s most versatile playmakers, and the Saints have not put an explanation on the record. That silence turns a roster question into a weekly storyline.

Absence from 2025 season

• The Saints have built their recent offense around Tyler Shough and the passing game in Hill’s absence (New Orleans Saints official recap)
• New Orleans produced just 81 rushing yards in Week 13, a total that underscores the missing ground-game punch (Fox Sports box score)
• No official announcement explains whether Hill will return this season

The 2025 picture is clearer than the injury picture: the offense is Shough’s, the receiving corps is Vele’s and Olave’s, and the run game is a problem. Hill’s skill set, if available, is the type of weapon that addresses it.

Future outlook

Until the team publishes a timeline, the smart stance is patience. The Saints have not confirmed an injury, a roster decision, or a return date, and every claim about Hill’s future beyond that is speculation.

The catch: the longer the silence continues, the louder the question becomes — and for a team trying to string together wins down the stretch, an unresolved playmaker status is its own kind of penalty.

The implication for the roster: until Hill’s status is clarified, the Saints must plan for a ground game that relies on Devin Neal and a passing attack that lacks its most versatile weapon.

What are the New Orleans Saints vs Miami Dolphins match player stats?

Passing stats

• Tyler Shough (NO): 26 of 38 passes, 239 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception (New Orleans Saints official recap)
• Tua Tagovailoa (MIA): 12 of 23 passes, 157 yards, 0 touchdowns, 1 interception (New Orleans Saints official box score)

The passing numbers favor New Orleans on volume and yards. They do not favor New Orleans on the scoreboard, and Tua’s real contribution was handing off to Achane and letting the run game carry the down-and-distance work.

Rushing stats

• De’Von Achane (MIA): 22 carries, 134 yards, 1 touchdown, 29-yard long run (New Orleans Saints official box score)
• Devin Neal (NO): 14 carries, 47 yards (New Orleans Saints official recap)

This is the column that decided the game. Miami gained 164 rushing yards to New Orleans’ 81, and Achane’s 134 were more than the Saints managed as a team.

Receiving stats

• Devaughn Vele (NO): 8 receptions, 93 yards, 1 touchdown (New Orleans Saints official recap)
• Chris Olave (NO): 4 receptions, 47 yards, 1 touchdown (New Orleans Saints official box score)
• Jaylen Waddle (MIA): 3 receptions, 40 yards (New Orleans Saints official box score)
• Darren Waller (MIA): 2 receptions, 47 yards (New Orleans Saints official box score)

Vele was the game’s most productive pass-catcher, and Olave’s touchdown gave the Saints a second reliable red-zone target. Miami’s group did more with less — Waddle and Waller combined for 87 yards, enough because the running game controlled the clock.

Defensive stats

• Miami’s defense held New Orleans to 81 rushing yards and one interception on Shough (Fox Sports box score; New Orleans Saints official box score)
• The Saints’ defense allowed 134 rushing yards to Achane, including a 29-yard burst (New Orleans Saints official box score)
• Miami finished with 298 total yards to New Orleans’ 294, with the Saints producing more through the air (213 to 134) and Miami more on the ground (164 to 81) (Fox Sports box score)

Defensive numbers here are unit-level, not individual — no tackle or sack leaders are confirmed in this data. What the unit numbers show: Miami’s defense made the play that mattered, the interception, and never let New Orleans’ run game breathe.

The trade-off: Shough’s 239 passing yards and Vele’s 93 receiving yards were real production, but they came with one interception and an 81-yard ground game — the combination that kept the Saints from converting volume into a win.

The takeaway for both teams: Miami’s formula of early lead, ground control, and defensive stops works when the running back is the star; New Orleans needs to find its own ground-game answer to complement its passing strength.

Dolphins vs Saints: team stat comparison

Four team totals, one pattern: Miami won the ground war and the scoreboard while New Orleans posted the better passing day.

Team totals via Fox Sports box score.

The trade-off: the Saints moved the ball more through the air and ran more plays, but Miami’s rushing edge produced the only number that counts — the final score.

Timeline: how the Dolphins sealed Week 13

• November 30, 2025 — Miami Dolphins beat New Orleans Saints 21–17 in Week 13 at Hard Rock Stadium (New Orleans Saints official recap)
• Halftime — Dolphins lead 16–0 after scoring in both of the first two quarters (New Orleans Saints official recap)
• Second half — Saints outscore Miami 17–5 behind Shough’s passing and Vele’s touchdown (ESPN box score)
• Late — Vele’s 15-yard touchdown catch trims the Dolphins’ lead to 19–17, and New Orleans attempts a two-point conversion (New Orleans Saints official recap)
• Final — Dolphins 21, Saints 17 (ESPN box score)

The sequence fits a familiar NFL script: a road team falls behind early, spends the second half fighting back, and runs out of possessions just as the comeback becomes realistic. Miami’s early 16-point lead was the game.

The implication: the first two quarters did the damage, and the last two only made the final score look closer than the control Miami had.

Confirmed facts vs open questions

This game leaves a clear trail of confirmed numbers and a short list of genuine unknowns. Here is the split.

The split between the two lists is the real story: nearly everything about the box score is confirmed, while nearly everything about Taysom Hill is not. Treat the first list as fact and the second as an open file.

What the game reports highlighted

Three sources frame the game differently, and together they capture the full picture.

“The Dolphins led 16–0 at halftime before New Orleans mounted a second-half rally.”

New Orleans Saints official recap

“Miami gained 298 total yards to New Orleans’ 294, winning the rushing battle 164 to 81.”

Fox Sports box score

“Miami’s quarter-by-quarter scoring was 7, 9, 0 and 5 points, while New Orleans scored 0, 0, 8 and 9.”

ESPN box score

Read together, the pattern is consistent: Miami controlled the first half and the ground game; New Orleans won the second half and the air. The final score tells you which one mattered more.

Strip the game to its essentials and one fact leads the way: Miami won the ground battle 164–81 and made it hold up on the scoreboard. The Saints had the better passing day, ran more plays, and still left Hard Rock Stadium empty-handed because the running game never arrived. For New Orleans, the next move is clear: resolve the Taysom Hill question and build a rushing attack that complements Tyler Shough, or keep watching close games slip away.

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