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Today is Friday, Sept. 13, the 257th day of 2024. There are 109 days left in the year.

On Sept. 13, 2008, crews rescued people from their homes in an all-out search for thousands of Texans who had stayed behind overnight to face Hurricane Ike.

In 1788, the Congress of the Confederation authorized the first national election and declared New York City the temporary national capital.

In 1948, Republican Margaret Chase Smith of Maine was elected to the U.S. Senate; she became the first woman to serve in both houses of Congress.

In 1971, a four-day inmate rebellion at the Attica Correctional Facility in western New York ended as police and guards stormed the prison; the ordeal and final assault claimed the lives of 32 inmates and 11 hostages.

In 1997, a funeral was held in Calcutta, India, for Nobel peace laureate Mother Teresa.

In 1993, at the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat shook hands after signing an accord granting limited Palestinian autonomy.

In 2010, Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic to win his first U.S. Open title and complete a career Grand Slam.

In 2021, school resumed for New York City public school students in the nation’s largest experiment of in-person learning during the coronavirus pandemic.

• Actor Barbara Bain is 93.
• Nobel Peace Prize laureate Óscar Arias is 84.
• Rock singer David Clayton-Thomas (Blood, Sweat & Tears) is 83.
• Actor Jacqueline Bisset is 80.
• Singer Peter Cetera is 80.
• Actor Jean Smart is 73.
• Record producer Don Was is 72.
• Chef Alain Ducasse is 68.
• Rock singer-musician Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) is 63.
• Olympic gold medal sprinter Michael Johnson is 57.
• Filmmaker Tyler Perry is 55.
• Fashion designer Stella McCartney is 53.
• Former tennis player Goran Ivanisevic (ee-van-EE’-seh-vihch) is 53.
• Country musician Joe Don Rooney (Rascal Flatts) is 49.
• Singer-songwriter Fiona Apple is 47.
• Actor Ben Savage is 44.
• Soccer player Thomas Müller is 35.
• Rock singer Niall Horan (One Direction) is 31.
• Actor Lili Reinhart (TV: “Riverdale”) is 28.

MIAMI GARDENS — The night the Miami Dolphins pretended could never happen ended with Damar Hamlin relating he saw Tua Tagovailoa move his limbs on the field and so wasn’t overly concerned. The Buffalo safety then said he’d pray for the Miami Dolphins quarterback.

“No one likes to witness that,’’ said Hamlin, who knows all about the dangers of football, nearly dying himself on a field two years ago. “He’s my brother. We’re playing. You don’t want the worst of the worst to happen.”

As stood at his locker late Thursday night, all solemn and sincere, there was an Old Testament quality to his words, like the prophet Jeremiah lamenting the evil, decay and disaster he saw around him. Except Hamlin was on the winning side, as usual in this meeting, and all around him were smiles.

“Great night,’’ he said.

It was the Dolphins lamenting the decay, disaster and infernal decision-making that put them in this spot. Again. Or at least the spot as those of us watching, lo these many Old-Testamnt years.

It wasn’t just the Dolphins team that got ripped by Buffalo, 31-10. It was the full Dolphins organization that looks shredded. Do we need to go chapter and verse?

There were roster details like the lack of a third receiver – remember, they signed Odell Beckham Jr. to a one-year contract knowing he’d be hurt at season’s start – played directly into Tua’s first two interceptions. The third receiver in each question, Grant Dubos and Robbie Chosen, came into camp in late August and ran the kind of pattern that showed a communication issue with Tagovailoa.

Their left tackle, Terron Armstead, who they held out of practice all summer for fear of injury, was injured. Again.

Buffalo ran at will, once for a 49-yard touchdown, over what you can call the Christian Wilkins Hole for the middle of the Dolphins defense. He’s gone. And couldn’t be replaced.

Then there was Tua’s injury, as painful as it was to watch again. The splayed fingers? The medics around him? The players taking knees on the field? It was the kind of sad scene that’s hung over this organization like Banquo’s Ghost for the past couple of years even if they pretended it didn’t exst.

The good news is Tagovailoa walked off the field, wobbly as he was. Coach Mike McDaniel kissed him on the forehead in a wonderful touch of humanity. The human condition matters. Always.

It’s the colder, more corporate condition you have to consider in the sober light of a violent game and fragile body. This was a night the foundation of the Dolphins plan collapsed, the nuts and bolts broke, coiled springs shot in all directions and the question became afterward if Humpty Dumpty can be put together again.

Everyone got new contracts with the Dolphins, starting with Tagovailoa. Good or him. Who isn’t for players making more money?

But was anyone watching out for the larger organization’s future in this? Wasn’t anyone – like General Manager Chris Grier – concerned another concussion on top of his need-a-next-step game meant there’s no rush to sign him to a four-year, $212 million contract?

This isn’t some second guess. This was the first guess for months leading up to the contract. But here they are, still losing to Buffalo, still wondering if Tagovialoa can stay healthy, much less if he can become a top quarterback.

Forget his first interceptions. You can explain those as third-receiver problems. But that third interception was as bad an NFL pass as you’ll see. An attempt to throw out of bounds under pressure even reach out of bounds. It was instead intercepted and returned 49 easy yards for a game-sealing touchdown.

And then he suffered the concussion when he ran head-first into Hamlin’s shoulder. And where does it go now?

If this debacle against Buffalo is indicative of where the Dolphins are in Week Two, it’s going to be the longest of seasons. We’re not there yet. But you can see it from here if they don’t tighten their screws.

Meanwhile, they’re in the hole against AFC East king Buffalo. It’s 12-2 against the Dolphins of late. It cracked the code to hold Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle to 67 yards combined receiving Thursday. It’s held this praised Dolphins offense to 20, 14 and 10 points in their last three meetings. It had a minimalist game from quarterback Josh Allen. It still dominated.

Tagovailoa went around the locker room talking to players, McDaniel related. That’s the lone good news of this night.

“A gut check for this team early in the season,’’ McDaniel said.

It’s beyond that. It’s a check of this organization. Buffalo found this organization’s problems – a third receiver, a weakened defense, age-and-injury concerns and, yes, the quarterback. Thursday was a defining game considering how much Dolphins’ hope was put into it.

The question of the Dolphins season is if that definition can be changed.