‘Three picks in a joint practice?’ That’s the question hanging over Miami’s week after a chippy morning at Halas Hall. Tua Tagovailoa threw for 3 INTs. And the Bears’ defense dictated tempo early. The scene had layers: Tyreek Hill in shells on the sideline with an oblique issue. Jaylen Waddle had a rough time. And Miami’s corners getting whipped in early 1-on-1s before settling in later periods. The drumbeat felt familiar. When protection leaked and timing frayed, turnover-worthy plays followed, and in a red-zone script, they became turnovers.

Context matters before conclusions do. The Dolphins were short a fully active WR1. The Bears closed space with length at safety. And Miami’s offense started sluggish while Chicago’s wideouts stacked wins against press down the boundary in isolated reps. Then came the pendulum swings typical of joint work: a Jordyn Brooks pick off Caleb Williams, special-teams juice with a blocked punt, and spurts of edge pressure that muddied reads on both fields. Inside that volatility sat the real tension: QB1 forcing windows against disciplined zone vision, while a former top draft pick quietly kept the operation on schedule in compressed grass.

After Tua Tagovailoa’s third interception, Tremaine Edmunds’ red-zone grab following earlier picks by Jaquan Brisker and Kevin Byard, Miami’s sideline sagged. Then Zach Wilson stepped in, capping his own red-zone drive with a touchdown dart to Andrew Armstrong, igniting a celebration that spilled past the goal line. As Omar Kelly noted on X, it was the kind of emotional jolt that can flip a practice’s energy. Kelly reported on X: “Zach Wilson throws a red 9’e touchdown pass to Andrew Armstrong. Dolphins team celebrates big.”

The score didn’t shuffle the depth chart, but it shifted the tone. Players rally around points, and Wilson’s timely strike provided the clean counterpunch Miami’s offense needed after Chicago’s defense dominated early. In a day short on offensive wins, that moment stood out.

Tagovailoa’s early 1-on-1 rhythm (over-the-shoulder to Dee Eskridge, quick-out completion) hinted at timing intact, but team periods told the truth: late balls into leveraged zones let Brisker and Byard drive downhill, and Edmunds closed the book inside the 20 where windows shrink and linebackers win with eyes. Despite major troubles arising, Zach stood up.

The locker room read it in real time. Wilson’s series wasn’t perfect. A miscue on a handoff with Alexander Mattison and a bang play over the middle that left Erik Ezukanma rocked. But when the field compressed, he played on time, ripped the concept, and found Armstrong for six. Sandwich the moment: setup, Bears’ defense winning leverage; quote via observation, “Andrew Armstrong caught a red zone touchdown from Zach Wilson.”

Zoom out, not away. Miami’s staff has preached accountability, and the Friday tape backs it up: sacks allowed in consecutive team reps, a red-zone penalty on the offense, and multiple forced balls into traffic. The defense answered with pressure flashes (Zeek Biggers closing practice with a sack, Bradley Chubb affecting in the red area), while special teams nudged roster battles with a punt block from Cameron Goode. These are the margins where roster roles harden.

Zach Wilson shows the one trait every QB2 must have when the lights get real

This is not a quarterback controversy. It’s a competency check under duress. And Wilson’s red-zone management is exactly the trait a QB2 must carry into live reps if QB1 stalls or health becomes a storyline again. He threw the touchdown that ended with a jubilant huddle… That’s not nothing in August when a room is calibrating its own belief structure. Meanwhile, external chatter amplified after Joe Schad’s notes on the three interceptions, with opinion columns using that data point to reopen the floor on Miami’s long-term QB calculus.

The staff’s tape will grade cleaner than the timeline. Tagovailoa did stack completions in routes-on-air and early 1-on-1s, and the offense found some run-game footing on the edge with wide-zone looks. But Chicago’s safeties won the vision battle and the linebackers shut the last window in the low red. That’s scouting report material for every defense on the schedule. Carry with depth. Bait the high-low. And trigger when the eyes tell the story. Miami’s counter has to be formation answers and pace, quick to the flat, slide the launch point, and lean on motion to stress landmark discipline. But above all, cap space or not, protect the football in scoring zones.

Players heard the message without a meeting. The post-touchdown celebration wasn’t performative. It was a pressure valve after a practice that tilted Bears early and demanded a response from somebody in teal. Wilson gave it, Armstrong cashed it, and the defense punctuated the period with a final sack. A neat bow to a day that started rocky and finished with at least one clean situational win.

The next test comes with live snaps in preseason. It starts against Chicago. Where he’ll have the chance to turn camp flashes into sustained drives. Coaches and teammates know his margin for error is slim. But they also see the tools that made him a high draft pick. In Miami’s view, if they can sharpen his decision-making and consistency, Wilson’s arm can keep the offense afloat if called on — and that’s exactly why he’s still QB2 heading into August.