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Heartbreaks, triumphs and UFOs: The best moments from 'Hard Knocks' season finale

Updated Sep. 7, 2023 4:14 p.m. ET

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It's a wrap for the latest season of HBO's "Hard Knocks", which featured the New York Jets' new-look compilation of star players on its latest season.

Any mash-up between Aaron Rodgers and film cameras is bound to be explosive, and this season did not lack for firepower. Rodgers' spats with opponents, rants towards his own teammates, rookie initiations and celebrity guest appearances were just a few of the elements present during the show. And the finale closed things out in a big way. These are the best moments from the last episode of "Hard Knocks."

The Unidentified Object

We're not sure Aaron Rodgers' eyes can be trusted after he spent days in complete darkness during the offseason, but let him tell it, he saw a UFO in the sky one night after dinner with a teammate.

"I was making my way to bed, I had like a 5 a.m. wake-up. … I heard this alarm in the distance going off. It just didn't seem like normal, and I heard some rustling downstairs, so I got up, walk downstairs. It's a beautiful night.

"… And up in the clouds, we heard this sound and we saw this tremendously large object moving through the sky. And it was like a scene out of ‘Independence Day’ when the ships are coming into the atmosphere and they're creating this, kind of, explosion type fire in the sky."

All the feels

Nothing compares to the joy of a dream realized, and it's easy to feel good for those who see theirs play out. The moment rookie WR Xavier Gipson found out he'd made the 53-man roster was a beautiful moment for viewers to witness. 

Keeping it in house

If you're a longtime "Hard Knocks" fan, you've likely gotten used to seeing the opposite of exchanges like the one above. Making cuts is an unpleasant, yet necessary part of every NFL team's preseason. But Jets GM Joe Douglas explained why he didn't want those conversations included in the profile of his team. Here's what he told former NFL defensive end Chris Long.

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National Football League

New York Jets

Aaron Rodgers

Xavier Gipson