Who Made the Dolphins’ Defining Defensive Play in Preseason Opener?
It goes without saying that the Miami Dolphins kicked off their preseason slate in an unceremonious fashion on Friday. Miami lost to the Washington Commanders by 13 points in a particularly rough showing for the offense. The Dolphins went scoreless over the last three quarters after scoring one touchdown in the first and getting out to an early lead.
But for as badly as the final result was from the Dolphins’ side of the coin, their ability to prevent Washington from scoring was actually fine for much of the game. For three of the four quarters, they held their own on the defensive end, as all but three of Washington’s 20 points on the game came in the third frame alone.
The Dolphins’ defense came up with their first takeaway of the preseason as well in the first quarter of Friday’s game, and it came in the form of an interception from a veteran. Cornerback Marco Wilson, who signed with Miami as an unrestricted free agent back in March, picked off quarterback Sam Hartman in the first quarter.
The 27-year-old kicked off his Dolphins career in style and is looking to bounce back in a weak Miami secondary this season after struggling in 2025. He logged just four games played with the Cincinnati Bengals and finished with three solo tackles in that span.
For those unfamiliar with Wilson, he’s a sixth-year man out of the University of Florida and was a fourth-round selection by the Arizona Cardinals back in the 2021 NFL Draft. Since entering the league, he’s played for three teams — the Cardinals, New England Patriots and Bengals — and put together his best season to date with Arizona in 2022.
He started 13 games that season and also came up with a career-high three interceptions and 10 passes defended. The Dolphins would be thrilled to get anywhere near that kind of production from Wilson, and here’s hoping he can turn his career around in Miami.
