Welcome everyone to the latest game preview of the New Orleans Saints! This week, we preview the Saints matchup against the Miami Dolphins in London.
Last Week: The Miami Dolphins wound up getting dominated last Sunday by the New York Jets 20-6. The Saints got their first win of the season last week with a convincing 34-13 victory over conference rival Carolina.
Last Meeting: The last time these two teams faced off was in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and saw the Saints improve to 4-0 with a 38-17 victory over the Dolphins. Miami currently leads the overall series 6-5, but the Saints have won three of the last five matchups.
Storylines to Watch:
Can Saints Stop Pass Rush? Through three games, the Saints offensive line seems to have held up. Has there been pressure on Drew Brees? Of course, but only seeing three sacks at this point of the season is refreshing.
Even with one less game under their belt, the defense has looked okay and could cause some trouble to an offensive line that seems like it’s due to slip up at one point. The pass rush for the Dolphins could be key to a victory for a Miami.
Snead Returns: While Drew Brees has no problem finding receivers to throw to, not having Willie Snead for the first game has handcuffed some of the other star wideouts. Look at what Michael Thomas did before Sunday and he underwhelmed.
If Snead can get back up to speed and ready to play on Sunday, that could take some of the pressure of the Saints best wideout and open things up even more for the passing game.
Can the Defense Not Make Jay Cutler Look Elite? One of the biggest concerns for the Saints is their defense making certain quarterbacks look elite. Sam Bradford looked like he had a career resurgence in week one against the Saints.
While the Saints seemed to keep Cam Newton under control, Cutler seems to be one of those quarterbacks that can have one of these games that leaves the fans shaking their heads.
New Orleans Will Win If:
The Saints can get back to .500 if the defense can replicate what they did last Sunday. It sounds like such a basic idea, but when you have three interceptions in a game, whatever worked there needs to be done once again.
Another thing that the Saints will need to do to win across the pond is continue to show that the run game isn’t an afterthought.
Miami Will Win If:
Miami can come away with a win if they can utilize the weapons that they have on offense. When Cutler throws for 220 and a TD with targets like Devante Parker and former LSU Tiger Jarvis Landry, there’s a problem. If the defense from last week for the Saints was a mirage, then these two players will be unleashing fury upon the Saints secondary.
-Clint Domingue