This week, everything around the Miami Dolphins will be put to the test. In the aftermath of the terrible, blowout home defeat to the Tennessee Titans on Monday Night Football, the team’s will to quickly bounce back from its worst loss and most difficulty of the season will be evaluated. But this loss will put more to the test than just the team. It will gauge Dolphins supporters’ level of faith. Has everything suddenly changed? Is the heavens opening up? Or has a 9-4 NFL season still created enough confidence to endure the startling reality of a lead of 14 points with less than three minutes remaining that somehow transpired into a devastating defeat?

It was described by coach Mike McDaniel as “a hard, hard lesson.” At the moment, it feels awful. However, these kinds of setbacks may be inspiring. Guys are going to step up because we have to. The Titans’ last trip to Hard Rock Stadium to take on the Dolphins was during Week 1 of the 2018 campaign. The match nearly continued into Week 2. Two lengthy delays caused by lightning made it take seven hours and eight minutes to finish. It was almost as weird as what had recently occurred on Monday night. The 4-8 Ttans have no business dropping this game to Miami. Then, it had no right to prevail in this match. Then, thanks to Titans mistakes, the Fins scored two straight touchdowns to grab a late 27-13 lead. It implied that they had nothing to lose. Correct? Then came the fall. They ended up losing 28–27 for whatever reason. There have been a growing number of reasons to accept and value this Dolphins season as historically unique. On Monday evening, such had not been the case.

As time ran out, a disgruntled home crowd sent out scattered boos. Briefly and not too much, but audible. This is not the moment to go overboard or pretend that the 9–4 season is wrecked. Tua Tagovailoa, the quarterback, remarked, “We’re human.” “It’s a little disappointing that we demonstrated such offensive prowess.” The Dolphins were ultimately overtaken by the law of averages, as well as the law of below averages. The Fins entered the game as two-touchdown favorites to maintain their domination over Tennessee, coming in at 9-3 on the strength of a perfect 8-0 record versus opposition with a losing record.

Still, they were long overdue for a slip-up. Correct? and looked like it for a large portion of this match as the Fins offense, which had battled all game long to average 38.8 points in five home victories. Apparently, there’s nothing to worry about. For a little period, however. because special teams and defense took control. Although it appeared the Dolphins would win this game, their typically potent offensive was unable to do it. Miami won a 13–13 game that broke open in the fourth quarter like a party piñata. It occurred when, with 5:34 remaining, a little-known Dolphin by the name of Elijah Campbell recovered a botched Titans punt return at the Tennessee 7, setting up Raheem Mostert’s 3-yard scoring run.

And then, with 4:34 remaining, Bradley Chubb of Miami recovered another Titans fumble at the Titans 12, setting up another brief Mostert touchdown. That made it 27-13, and at that point, it didn’t really matter who managed to win on Monday—the side with the better record or the team with the worse record. Either would suit the Dolphins. It appeared that Miami would strike it fortunate and steal a game that it should have lost. Sometimes, good teams act like that. Then there was the enormous collapse.

Unbelievably, the Dolphins defense gave up touchdown drives of 75 and 64 yards in the last three minutes and lost 28–27. Had they finished 10-3, they would have shared the NFL’s best record. Rather, they are sifting through the debris from 9 to 4. It is around twenty-five years old. This franchise hasn’t felt like this sort of holiday gift in South Florida in such a long time. The last time the Dolphins accomplished 10 victories earlier in the season than they were able to before their collapse on Monday night was 23 years ago. The Fins made their first MNF participation since around this time in 2017, making it their 87th all-time. This is a cause to be grateful for where the team is at 9-4 right now.

Miami was learning six years ago, during a 6–10 season, that Adam Gase was not the appropriate head coach and would not be around for very long. With an elderly veteran quarterback in his final season, the quarterback was a band-aid solution. The brand was veering off course and in need of guidance. It is now daydreaming about the Super Bowl. The disappointing setback on Monday did not dash such hopes. made it more difficult to accept that dream was still possible. With Miami 5-0 at home and averaging 38.8 points, the home squad experienced a nervous first half—a rare occurrence this season. Even worse, the Fins’ potent offense failed to score any points as Tennessee led 10–7 at the half. That was all there was to Miami’s 5-yard interception return by defensive tackle Zach Sieler. The Titans responded with a late field goal set up by DeAndre Hopkins’ 45-yard reception over Xavien Howard and a 1-yard touchdown run by Derrick Henry to finish an 86-yard drive.

Miami got a field goal deflected in the careless first half, and Tua Tagovailoa fumbled inside the opponent’s 5-yard line. Miami twice faced first-and-goal chances in the second half, but had in settling for short field goals as their offensive woes persisted. That was prior to Tennessee appearing to have given the game away to Miami with a slew of late blunders. And that was prior to the Dolphins immediately returning it. Tyreek Hill, the standout player for Miami, had an ankle injury that kept him out of the game for 1 and a half till late in the third. He managed just four mortal receptions for sixty-one yards. Make no excuses.

Many things went horribly wrong. Miami has a terrible red-zone offense. Its line surrendered five sacks. Not a single touchdown was scored by the offense on its own. It was a poor pass defense. And that’s exactly what the late collapse was. According to McDanel, “there are some irate people on the other end of the ball.” However, this was as close to a total team defeat as possible. “As a team, man, we can never take any team lightly,” remarked Hill. Hill knew he was much needed, so he returned and played wounded. It was awful. It aches. My heart rate increased,” he remarked. However, I had to go over there, provide some vitality, and be that spark. The Dolphins had the best current home winning streak in the NFL, 17-2, going into Monday.

Next Sunday, Miami will visit the New York Jets. After that, the grueling regular-season schedule concludes with games against Dallas, Baltimore, and Buffalo. In the AFC East, the Dolphins still have a two-game advantage over Buffalo. However, Monday night made the rest of the season a little more interesting—and not in a good way. We now know the true quality of the Dolphins. and the degree to which their supporters hold their beliefs.