First Look: Dolphins vs. Saints

The Saints and Dolphins are both looking to keep their postseason hopes alive, and one team will have a harder path after Monday Night Football.

The Saints (7-7) play host to the Dolphins (7-7) on Monday Night Football to close out NFL action in Week 16. Of course, that's assuming something doesn't throw a monkey wrench in the schedule like last week, but that seems highly unlikely right now. Both New Orleans and Miami are in the playoff hunt, as each have had their own interesting path to get to identical records this season.

Here's a look at some things we're watching as we get closer to game day.

What to Watch For

COVID Surge. This has been a nightmare for the NFL, as cases are on the rise across the league. The Saints have 11 players on the COVID-19 Reserve List currently, with 9 landing on there Thursday. They're still without Sean Payton, and it's knocked out starters like Malcolm Jenkins and Taysom Hill. Dennis Allen canceled the team's walkthrough, and hopefully the team doesn't have anymore positive cases over the next few days.

This situation may see a ton of players from the practice squad used as COVID replacements for the game. It'll be interesting to see if New Orleans makes any moves there because of it.

Rookie Show/QB Outlook. Ian Book is set to start for the first time in his young career, and the pressure is certainly going to be on the rookie. It goes without saying that this is the current outlook for the Saints, given that he doesn't pop positive for COVID. 

The interesting question or challenge now is trying to figure out who the backup option will be. That could fall on Alvin Kamara, but the likeliest scenario is that the team finds an option to bring to the practice squad. Situations like this are so hard to predict, but it's the reality of the league right now. This will be the fourth different quarterback to start for the Saints this season, and it hasn't happened under Sean Payton.

BLACKOUT. The Saints haven't been good at home, as they've only had one win inside the Superdome. It's been a bit of everything as to why they've had struggles, but we haven't seen New Orleans get off to good starts in their losses. This game is going to be as electric as they come, and fans are being asked to wear all black to match the team's black jersey/black pants combo.

If you're attending the game, get there early and get ready to lose your lungs. Presumably, these next two games will be the last time to see the 2021 Saints.

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