If there’s a position group capable of flipping the Miami Dolphins' Week 13 matchup on its head, it’s the young, rugged interior of the Dolphins’ defensive line -- a unit headlined by first-round powerhouse Kenneth Grant and fast-rising fifth-rounder Jordan Phillips.
For all the explosiveness Miami has on offense, the ballgame could be decided in the trenches, where two developing anchors will be tested repeatedly by a New Orleans offense that, despite its own struggles, knows exactly what the numbers say about Miami’s run defense.
Maybe the best way to attack the Dolphins is the simplest: run the ball, as the Dolphins enter the week with the league’s fourth-worst run defense, allowing 142.6 yards per game.
A front that porous is begging for attempts, and even a Saints offense averaging just 91.5 rushing yards per game -- fourth-fewest in football -- can't ignore a weakness that glaring.
Kenneth Grant, Jordan Phillips must be stout for the Dolphins against the Saints
Peeling back the layers a little more, the matchup practically demands New Orleans try to hammer the interior.
And this is where Kenneth Grant has to show up. His sheer mass, knock-back strength, and suddenness off the ball give the Dolphins a presence they haven’t consistently had at the heart of their front since Christian Wilkins departed. Grant is still young and still raw, but the flashes are violent and undeniable. When he wins early, he changes the math of a run lane instantly.
Beside him, Jordan Phillips has developed into an excellent young stalwart out of Maryland. Miami trusted his leverage, motor, and hand discipline enough to give him meaningful snaps early, and he’s responded with the kind of toughness and awareness that stabilizes the middle of a defense.
It's a duo that by no means is perfect -- but it is ascending, youth-infused, and this week offers a stage to accelerate that curve.
On Sunday, New Orleans is expected to lean heavily on rookie Devin Neal with Alvin Kamara sidelined (knee). Neal is coming off a career-high snap count last week against Atlanta, and the Kansas product has the burst to stress Miami if left unchallenged at the second level.
Tyler Shough and Taysom Hill will add designed QB runs and zone-read looks, both effective tools for creating displacement up front and forcing hesitation from interior defenders, and if the Saints can control tempo on the ground, they can keep Miami’s offense -- its greatest weapon -- watching from the sideline.
But if Grant and Phillips hold firm, reset the line of scrimmage, and force New Orleans into long downs, the Dolphins flip the script. Their young interior becomes the hinge that determines rhythm, possession, and ultimately, the game’s balance.