Miami Dolphins' Hardships Laid Bare in Hard Knocks Episode 8

The Dolphins' 21-14 loss to the Bills on Sunday Night Football was bad enough in a vacuum. Whether it be Week 3 or in a game of Madden NFL, that sort of loss — filled with fluke plays and sour luck — cuts deep. But to have it happen in the final week of the season to drop the AFC East title is too much to handle. It's as bad as it gets, really.

Oh, wait. No, it's not. HBO was there, and we got to relive it on Tuesday night's edition of Hard Knocks, which aired the NSFW Director's Cut, complete with all the up-close horror and gore.

Apart from the rough outing at Hard Rock Stadium, this week's episode featured personal tragedies and struggles of several team members, not the least of which was a fire that nearly destroyed wide receiver Tyreek Hill's South Florida mansion.

The misery was overflowing, but you can't reach the top before hitting rock bottom.

So let's get on with it.

A reminder of Mike McDaniel's purpose and potential ⌚#HardKnocks | @MiamiDolphins pic.twitter.com/ef83qQwuC9

— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) January 10, 2024

Hard Knocks' Saddest Saga

Sunday didn't mark the actual end of the Dolphins season. It just felt that way. But if you thought the Dolphins' play on the field was sad enough, Hard Knocks had another thing coming. Viewers may have had the distinct sensation that the show was driving the knife deeper into an already wounded Dolphins fanbase.

The eighth episode covered a gauntlet of melancholy, including Mike McDaniel's history with alcohol abuse and linebacker Jerome Baker's comeback from injury, only to be hurt again in the game, this time putting him out for the remainder of the season.

Fans saw that the number 865 had a special significance for McDaniel: that's how many days he spent away from working in the NFL after his overzealous partying cost him his previous job in the league.

As expected, the episode dialed in on a January 3 fire that scorched Tyreek Hill's mansion. Hill left the Dolphins practice facility upon learning of the blaze and rushed back to his home to find a chaotic scene with emergency responders swarming around his charred estate. He told his teammates, "The whole upstairs is burnt."

The show also highlighted the tragedy suffered by team security chief Drew Brooks, whose young son was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2012. Brooks recounted some of his darkest memories and explained that his work helped keep him going through the struggle.

"Just to have three hours a week with the team, to get that escape got me through a lot of days and still does," Brooks said.

A reminder of Mike McDaniel's purpose and potential ⌚#HardKnocks | @MiamiDolphins pic.twitter.com/ef83qQwuC9

— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) January 10, 2024

Back on the field, the Dolphins' loss to the Bills, which spoiled Miami's dreams of home-field advantage in the playoffs, took center stage in the episode, and Tua Tagovailoa's end-of-game interception was caught in ultra-high definition.

All of that happened in less than an hour of television.

The episode's ending was fitting — Baker hugging his mom after finding out his season is over because of a dislocated wrist, then waddling away in the biggest, reddest shoes you'll ever see.

Next Week: The End or the Beginning

The Dolphins are guaranteed one more episode of Hard Knocks.

Lose, and it's over. Win, and they could begin a run that might make for the best four episodes of sports television ever produced. It would be a journey from AFC East favorite to beat-up underdog to winning four road games in a row, including a Super Bowl in Las Vegas.

The Dolphins have a shot to write a new chapter in the team's dormant championship history next weekend in Kansas City, where the playoff battle is guaranteed to take place in freezing weather. Call in the patron saint of Dolphins' past — We need a miracle.