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Saints recover critical onside kick after lengthy review, controversial ruling vs. Dolphins

Brian Jones Profile Picby: Brian Jones11/30/25brianjones_93

The New Orleans Saints recovered an onside kick in their game against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, and the recovery came with controversy. Down 21-17 with 1:17 remaining in the fourth quarter, Saints kicker Charlie Smyth attempted an onside kick, and it was recovered by Saints wide receiver Devaughn Vele. The play was reviewed, and officials ruled that the kick didn’t go 10 yards, but since the Dolphins touched the ball first, the onside kick was upheld.

It didn’t appear that the Dolphins touched the ball, but the Saints could not capitalize on the onside kick, turning the ball over on downs. With the Saints losing to the Dolphins, they are officially eliminated from playoff contention with a 2-10 record.

After being down 16-0 at halftime, the Saints tallied in the second half and were down by two (19-17) with 1:17 left in the fourth, the same amount of time they attempted the onside kick. The Dolphins got it to 21-17 when Minkah Fitzpatrick intercepted a Tyler Shough pass on a two-point conversion play. Fitzpatrick took the end zone to score two points for the Dolphins.

A challenging 2025 season for the Saints

It’s been a tough 2025 season for the Saints, who hired former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore as the head coach. It looked as if Derek Carr was going to be the starting QB this year, but he announced his retirement in May. Before Carr made the announcement, the Saints selected Shough in the second round of this year’s draft.

In the loss on Sunday, Shough completed 26-of-38 passes for 239 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Heading into Sunday’s game, the former Lousiville star has completed 64.3 percent of his passes with three touchdowns and three interceptions.

“Tyler’s starting, so we’re not looking back on that,” Moore said about Shough about being the starting QB back in late October, per Katherine Terrell of ESPN. “Obviously, the goal is to let Tyler play and get going, and Spencer knows that his role is to be the backup and he’s supposed to help Tyler in any possible way. He did an excellent job today running the scout team.”