3 instant takeaways from the Dolphins' 21-17 win vs. Saints

The Miami Dolphins are 5-7 after leading from start to finish against the New Orleans Saints. But the 21-17 win wasn't exactly smooth sailing down the stretch.

After climbing out to a 16-0 lead, the Dolphins watched it slowly trickle away. With less than two minutes left, New Orleans scored on what had a chance to be a game-winning touchdown. But the Saints couldn't convert the two-point conversion and, despite a successful onside kick, couldn't get another touchdown in the final minute.

It's a win that won't leave many convinced that the Dolphins are truly turning a corner even though it was the team's third straight win. Here are three instant takeaways from the Week 13 win for Miami:

Miami's defense made just enough plays

New Orleans finished the first quarter without a first down, the first half without a point, and the game with three turnovers (not counting a late turnover on downs). It wasn't a perfect day for Miami's defense, which gave up a lot of ground after halftime, but it was that unit that earned the win.

When the Saints got down to Miami's 24-yard line just before halftime, cornerback Rasul Douglas jumped in front of a Tyler Shough pass and set up a field goal opportunity for the Dolphins that pushed the lead to 16.

And when a Dolphins turnover on downs afforded the Saints one last chance to tie, it was Minkah Fitzpatrick who saved the day with a game-winning pick-two on a Saints two-point conversion attempt.

The Dolphins' special teams unit forced the defense to step up once again after failing to recover an onside kick. Miami held on again with a fourth down stop.

At the final whistle, the Saints had 294 yards of offense, making it only the third time the Dolphins held an opponent under 300 this year. It wasn't the prettiest performance, but Miami's defense deserves the most credit for the victory.

Maybe the arm punts should stop?

Dolphins coaches have been pretty insistent that Tagovailoa's recent interceptions on deep passes have been by design. After a win against the Bills, the quarterback said he was coached to take a shot "no matter what" against certain coverages.

"He was doing exactly what we've asked him to do," Dolphins quarterbacks coach Darrell Bevell told reporters earlier this week. "We're not just doing it willy-nilly and just saying 'Oh yeah, we just want to take shots just to say that we take shots.'

"Tua is following the instructions. Those are the ones that eat him probably the most, because he might not of made the throw, but it's something that we asked him to do."

Against the Saints, the FOX commentary crew blasted Tagovailoa's decision to throw a deep ball into double coverage immediately after the defense got a takeaway. But it's tough to know for now if it was the quarterback's decision or the coaches' call. Either way, it should probably stop.

Shots down the field simply haven't been a winning formula for the Dolphins. During their recent winning ways, Miami has found explosive plays, but those moments have come primarily via De'Von Achane runs and Tagovailoa hitting receivers who are actually open.

Run the dang ball

De'Von Achane averaged more than 6 yards per carry Sunday as he crossed 1,000 rushing yards in a season for the first time in his career. His backups, Jaylen Wright and Ollie Gordon II, combined for 26 yards on six attempts (4.3 per carry).

So it's a little baffling that the Dolphins continued to stall drives by asking Tagovailoa to throw on a day where he was struggling from start to finish.

No time was that more apparent than the Dolphins' first drive of the fourth quarter. On the first play, Tagovailoa nearly threw his second interception of the game. But after a throw to Jaylen Waddle picked up a first down, Miami handed it off to Achane on three straight plays and the running back plowed ahead for 20 yards.

Then, for some reason, the Dolphins opted to throw the ball three straight times in the red zone. Two fell incomplete and Tagovailoa was sacked on third down, forcing Miami to settle for its fourth field goal of the game.

In a game where the Dolphins had a lead for all but four minutes, they had every incentive to run the ball and grind away at an inferior Saints team. The decision to pass 23 times (which only produced 12 completions) was a puzzling one.

This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: Dolphins 21, Saints 17: Three instant takeaways from Miami's win