Here’s what you missed in the season finale of ‘Hard Knocks’ with the Dolphins
The ninth and final episode of HBO’s “Hard Knocks: In Season with the Miami Dolphins” premiered on Tuesday night, with a focus on the team’s preparation for its wild-card round game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Here are the highlights from the episode.
▪ The episode begins with a dramatic opening, showing the Dolphins arriving at Arrowhead Stadium for what was ultimately the coldest game in franchise history. Cameras capture players getting ready in the locker room and putting on all types of gear for the elements, before quickly going back in time to their preparation for the first-round game.
▪ Cameras inside the quarterback room capture Tua Tagovailoa’s instant reaction to the news of his college coach, Nick Saban, retiring from his position at Alabama. The episode also spotlights the relationship between Tagovailoa and Saban, as well as Tagovailoa’s connection with wide receiver Jaylen Waddle dating to college.
▪ As the players prep for not only the Chiefs but the arctic conditions in Kansas City, coach Mike McDaniel addresses the team, once again referring to as it an opportunity to embrace opportunity.
“You learn it’s a mindset. It’s all a mindset,” he tells the players in a team meeting.
▪ The episode shines a light on the addition of three veteran linebackers — Justin Houston, Bruce Irvin and Malik Reed — after injuries to multiple starters.
Linebacker Melvin Ingram, who also recently joined the team, jokes to outside linebackers coach Ryan Slowik: “You got a whole new room. We can teach you some [expletive].”
There is also a spotlight on Ingram, a former Chief who signed with the team a month ago and is now pushed into a starting role because of injuries.
▪ As the episode focuses on the game footage from Saturday night, the frustration of an offense that ranked second in scoring but can only muster seven points in the biggest game of the season is captured.
Waddle, speaking to wide receiver Tyreek Hill on the bench, says: “We too talented to be doing [that] ... If anything, the defense should be struggling. They got [multiple] new players.”
▪ In the immediate aftermath of the season-ending loss, the raw conversations between McDaniel and his players in the postgame locker room are shown.
“We didn’t deliver, so we’re going to figure out how to [expletive] do that, because there’s championship [expletive] all over this team.”
Defensive lineman Christian Wilkins tells his teammates: “Remember this feeling when you’re training in the offseason. Take this [expletive] with you, for real. Have the right mindset when you come back next year and be ready to kill everything.”
This story was originally published January 16, 2024 at 10:23 PM.
