Mack Wilson Sr. had spent his career in the AFC before signing with the Cardinals this offseason, so the linebacker is more familiar with the Miami Dolphins than most.
He played against the Dolphins twice last season when he was with the Patriots. He knows what their offense can be, and what it means to have Tua Tagovailoa back behind center after the quarterback missed the last four games – and five weeks – because of a concussion.
Tagovailoa's return drastically changes the prism through which the Cardinals must see this game.
"It's obviously totally different," Wilson said Wednesday, a walkthrough day for the Cardinals after their Monday game. "I'm sure we'll watch some games from when Tua was playing at the beginning of the year. He's a big piece of their offense. He's the engine of it."
The Cardinals' defense is coming off a good Monday night showing against the Chargers, holding that team to 59 yards rushing and keeping L.A. out of the end zone. That allowed the Cardinals to escape with a 17-15 victory, raising their record to 3-4 and giving them a shot at back-to-back wins for the first time since 2021.
The Cardinals are also only a game out of first place in the NFC West.
But the Dolphins, with their QB, believe they can salvage their season after a 2-4 start.
"We're back, baby," wide receiver Tyreek Hill told Miami reporters on Wednesday. "Strike up the (expletive) band. We're back."
The Cardinals would've liked to play the Tua-less offense. The Dolphins are tied for the fewest completions this season of at least 20 air yards (three) after leading the NFL with 1,126 yards on 29 such completions a season ago.
In the four games the QB missed, Hill – one of the best receivers in the game – had only 14 catches for 140 yards and no touchdowns. Jaylen Waddle had just 13 catches for 119 yards and no touchdowns.
Those are numbers they have sometimes had in one game with Tagovailoa throwing the ball.
"That's the reality over there," Wilson said. "They have some heavy-hitting playmakers over there that can take it the distance. Guys have to be disciplined."
Coach Jonathan Gannon said the Dolphins, with Tagovailoa and coach Mike McDaniel, have played plenty of games to have an idea of what they will do. Cardinals cornerback Starling Thomas V said that while the Dolphins are a "different team when Tua is out there" the receivers are still running the same playbook so the recent video is worth a look.
"You grew up idolizing a guy like Tyreek Hill," Thomas said. "But once you go out there, you throw your fastball too. There's no pressure. You compete at your highest level. I feel I can run pretty fast too."
Tagovailoa hasn't yet been named the starter for Sunday, but after he met with the media on Monday it would be a major upset for him not to make his return. After multiple concussions, there was much discussion whether he might retire, but Tagovailoa made clear that was never an option he'd take.
"Hey, I'm frustrated but this is what it is," he said. "Do I want to be known for this? No, I don't but that's the cards I've been dealt with given the history of it. So it is what it is."
He added later, "For me, this is what I love to do. This is what makes me happy and I'm going to do it."
The Cardinals are dealing with the loss of yet another defensive starter with outside linebacker Dennis Gardeck out for the season with a knee injury. Wilson acknowledged he might have to spend more time on the edge instead of inside now.
But the way the defense kept the Chargers from scoring a touchdown Monday demonstrated "the resiliency we have defensively and the will we have," Wilson said.
The unit will need it again if Tua is back, running that McDaniels offense.
"He's a whiz, man, so you have to you have to be on the details of your coverage structures, the run game, your leverages, the adjustments in the back end," Gannon said. "You have to be on the details. It stresses you out."
