Dolphins HBO 'Hard Knocks' 2023: Best Fan Tweets, Memes from Episode 2

"It's a more difficult chore."

"It is a completely different challenge."

"F-----g sleep."

Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel made it perfectly clear that his team's Week 12 game against the New York Jets would be anything but ordinary. After all, it was the NFL's first-ever game on Black Friday, which meant a short week of preparation.

The attempt to balance rest and durability with maintaining an edge for an important game in the team's pursuit of the AFC's No. 1 seed was a main theme in Tuesday's episode of HBO's Hard Knocks: In Season with the Miami Dolphins.

The behind-the-scenes looks and interviews in the first episode largely focused on offense with Tyreek Hill and Tua Tagovailoa receiving plenty of camera time, but the second episode was about the defensive side. That meant Jalen Ramsey battling Jaylen Waddle in practice, Christian Wilkins joking around and playing rock, paper, scissors when he was mic'd up, and Jaelan Phillips showing his teammates pictures of his cat.

It wasn't all about football, as the Dolphins also gave back to the community on Thanksgiving. That community of Miami fans responded by showing up in droves at New York's MetLife Stadium to watch a 34-13 victory.

In a credit to the overall talent on the roster, the Dolphins won even though Tagovailoa turned it over three times with two interceptions—one of which was returned for a touchdown—and a lost fumble.

Hill and Waddle both went over 100 receiving yards, Raheem Mostert scored two touchdowns, and the defense picked off Tim Boyle twice. Jevon Holland returned one for a touchdown for a unit that controlled the game and allowed just one late touchdown to Garrett Wilson.

It wasn't all good news, though, as Phillips, who was one of the stars of Tuesday's episode, tore his Achilles in the win.

His teammates and coaches rallied around him in an emotional scene that overshadowed some of the good feelings that came out of the win.

It was certainly a blow for the Dolphins, but they are still 8-3 and tied with the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars in the race for the AFC's No. 1 seed.

Next up is a game against the Washington Commanders, which will surely be a focal point of the third episode.