The Seahawks (2-0) are back home for Week 3, preparing to host the Miami Dolphins (1-1) in a game that should provide the biggest test yet for Mike Macdonald's defense given the weapons Miami has on offense. To get you ready for this week's game, we reached out to miamidolphins.com writer Travis Wingfield with five questions about this week's opponent.

Big picture, what is the state of the team coming off a loss as well as a concerning injury to quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, not to mention what happened to Tyreek Hill prior to the opener? Seems like a lot of heavy stuff that could be weighing on players and coaches to start off a season.

Wingfield: If there's one thing I've learned from being in the NFL for as long as I have, it's that seasons are long. So, while the first five days of the season may have been extremely difficult, we have a long way to go. Despite all of that, the Dolphins are 1-1 with a loss to one of the better teams in the league.

The big question is obviously the health of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. While he's out, it will be third-year quarterback Skylar Thompson in his place. Like most teams, the Dolphins will need their run game and skill players on the perimeter – and they've got some pretty good ones – to step up.

Shifting more to the on-field ramifications from last week, what does backup QB Skylar Thompson bring to the offense, presuming he's the starter this week, and how much, if at all, does the offense need to change with Thompson under center?

Wingfield: Ideally, not much change at all. But that said, Tagovailoa is special in the way he gets the ball up and down, and that quick trigger is matched by his ability to parse out what the defense is doing. Thompson's only starts came as a rookie, and that part of the game was obviously a struggle.

The thinking behind keeping Thompson over veteran Mike White out of camp is that his third year in the system will provide some progression in his ability to communicate the offense. Even with Tagovailoa the first two games, the Dolphins ran a lot of quick game – you have to imagine that'll be the case with Thompson on Sunday.

The personnel is obviously different, but Mike McDaniel and the Dolphins are no strangers to facing a Mike Macdonald defense, having played Baltimore each of the past two seasons. What about Macdonald's defense challenged the Dolphins in Baltimore's win last season?

Wingfield: The Dolphins were able to get up and down the field in the first half, but when the scoreboard became lopsided, so did the Ravens' ability to get after the Miami offense. They ran the ball well off the perimeter, hit a big screen pass, scored a touchdown on third and long with an impressive throw from Tagovailoa, and had a second one go right off the hands of Tyreek Hill.

After the score got out of hand, the Ravens were able to pin their ears back and tee off as pass rushers. But back in 2022, the Dolphins scored 42 on that Baltimore defense.

Other than the more obvious big names, what player or players could you see being an X-factor for the Dolphins in this game?

Wingfield: We mentioned the running game, keep an eye on two of the Dolphins best blockers in tight end Julian Hill and fullback Alec Ingold. Both of those players are used all over the formation, they go everywhere on shifts and in motion, they help dictate the terms because of their versatility and nobody wants to see either of them coming downhill in the run game.

What matchup or matchups are you most looking forward to seeing play out on Sunday?

Wingfield: We spent all this time talking about the run game, so of course I'm going out to the perimeter. I think the Seahawks' best position matches up accordingly with the Dolphins best group - and that is of course Hill and Waddle vs. the likes of Devon Witherspoon, Riq Woolen and Tre Brown.

The way teams have best solved the Hill and Waddle issue is by playing two-high looks with variations of coverage underneath. It usually boils down to a teams' ability to reroute those guys and disrupt the timing, which I feel is part of the strength of those Seahawks corners.