The road to the Super Bowl is oftentimes one of attrition, and the Miami Dolphins are experiencing that firsthand despite their resounding 34-13 win over the New York Jets on Friday night that gives them a two-game cushion in the AFC East standings. The Dolphins lost linebacker Jaelan Phillips to a non-contact leg injury late in the fourth quarter of their victory over the Jets, which, upon closer look, showed all the telltale signs of an Achilles tear.

The Dolphins linebacker had to be carted off the field, a disheartening sight, especially for a crowd that's all too familiar with the heartbreak that comes with witnessing someone fall prey to an Achilles injury. And it seems as though the injury Phillips sustained is as serious as many believe, with head coach Mike McDaniel even bracing himself for the worst possible outcome.

“It's his Achilles — doesn't look great, but we'll find out more tomorrow. Yeah, I don't want to get ahead of myself, but not fired up about it,” McDaniel said, via Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN.

These injuries are never a good thing for professional athletes, as it tends to derail the upward trajectory they're in. But for Jaelan Phillips, if worse comes to worst, the Dolphins head coach is simply taking a glass half-full approach to the long recovery that may await the young linebacker.

“If it's the worst-case scenario, it's also you get a chance to write your own story. He's the type of person and he has the right mindset where he'll be able to turn anything that's perceived as negative into eventual positive. But this is going to be tough,” McDaniel added.

What makes this an even more gut-wrenching loss for the Dolphins is that the team has bore witness to the work Phillips has put in, making this derailment via injury even tougher to stomach.

“I think that's one of the special things about this particular team is there's a lot of shared journeys, so everybody sees what he puts in on a daily basis. Everyone knows how bad he wants to take steps in his game and be absolutely great in this league, which he has and I'm very proud of him the whole season and it's very, very tough in the short term from my vantage point,” McDaniel expounded.

Prayers up for Jaelan Phillips.