If the Miami Dolphins thought Cam Newton and Josh Allen were formidable foes, they will be in for a real challenge on Sunday.
Guess who’s coming to town.
A Super Bowl champion (and he’s lost one, too).
A seven-time Pro Bowl quarterback.
The NFL’s passer rating leader in 2015 and touchdowns leader in 2017. And how ironic: He also leads the league in both categories through three games of the 2020 NFL season.
Seattle Seahawks star Russell Wilson will grace the field at Hard Rock Stadium as the Dolphins’ Week 4 matchup on Sunday, and Miami (1-2) knows its in for an immense test following their first win in the second year of their rebuild.
“This is a spectacular player,” Dolphins coach Brian Flores said of Wilson, who leads the league with a 139.0 passer rating with 14 touchdowns for Seattle (3-0).
The Dolphins hope quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, their top pick who is sitting behind 16-year veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick three games into being an NFL rookie, can mature and turn into an accomplished player of Wilson’s caliber.
More importantly, the Dolphins’ long-term vision sees Tagovailoa and Flores finding success together like Wilson and Pete Carroll have achieved for the past eight seasons in Seattle.
Wilson led the Seahawks to Super Bowl appearances during his second and third seasons after being drafted in 2012.
He became a Super Bowl champion in XLVIII in a blowout over the Denver Broncos at MetLife Stadium in 2013. He also threw the interception at the goal line in Super Bowl XLIX in Arizona, when Flores was safeties coach for the New England Patriots in 2014.
Wilson became a second-team All-Pro last season, which saw him also make his seventh Pro Bowl (2012–2015, 2017–2019).
And he’s a player who helps the Seahawks believe they are in contention for a Super Bowl every season. After all, they’ve reached the playoffs every season since he was drafted except one.
That must be an incredible luxury for a coach and a franchise.
“We’ve just grown together,” Carroll said of Wilson, as the two have an 89-41-1 record together with 33 total game-winning drives, including four in the playoffs.
“He’s never, ever wavered one step ever. He’s missed one play, I think, in his career. He’s been amazingly consistent. His mentality and my mentality in particular, we totally see eye to eye.
“Given the situation where we have to do something at the end of the game and all that, there’s no question in his mind, first of all, and in my mind, that he’s going to find a way to give us a chance to win. He’s been as good as anybody in the history of the game doing that kinda stuff.
“So, what it’s been like? It’s been a freakin’ joy. It’s been a blast.”
Wilson was not a coveted draft pick like Tagovailoa was, despite the hip injury he sustained at Alabama, as apprehensions of Wilson’ 5-foot-11 stature led him to being a third-round pick.
Carroll believes some of that doubt has also lingered into the odd fact that Wilson has yet to receive an MVP vote, although his stellar play could warrant a few this season.
Tagovailoa, the No. 5 pick in the 2020 NFL draft, has the talent and work ethic to strive for many of Wilson’s on-field achievements.
Being rookie of the year like Wilson would be a nice touch, too, but Tagovailoa has not seen the field for a down yet in three games.
But the expectations to blossom into a star quarterback will be much higher.
Tagovailoa has experienced similar championship success as Wilson at Alabama, coming off the bench as a freshman to lead an overtime win over Georgia in 2017, and getting blown out by Clemson in 2018.
“He’s been such a great college quarterback. He’s going to be great in the NFL, too. He’s going to be a star in the NFL. I really believe that,” Wilson said after Tagovailoa suffered his hip injury last November.
“He’s got the right composure, the demeanor, great faith, just great talent. A lot of great things about him, and he’s a winner. End of the day, he’s a winner. He knows how to win. He’s been in an NFL-type offense.
“So, you know he’ll get a chance. … Great things are in store,” Wilson added.
The Seahawks have their quarterback.
The Dolphins may have theirs, too, although Tagovailoa is waiting in the wings.
Sunday’s game could show how valuable having one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL could be to Miami’s success in their franchise overhaul.
“I think the biggest thing about him is he’s consistently won every single year. He finds different ways to do it. But the last few have especially been very impressive,” Fitzpatrick said of Wilson.
“I think when he first got there, it was all about the Legion of Boom and Beast Mode and all of that, and he’s really embraced the culture and the competitiveness and the things that their coach preaches. He’s had an incredible career so far and he just gets better every year.”
Added Flores, whose defense is tasked with slowing Wilson down:
“He’s one of the best players in the league — if not the best — so this will be an extremely challenging game for us,” Flores said.
