LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Kevin Byard II didn’t like how Dee Eskridge blocked him during one of the final red zone snaps for the Miami Dolphins’ first-team offense so the Chicago Bears’ starting safety grabbed the receiver’s facemask and tried to snatch his helmet off.

Fists began flying instantly.

“I made sure I had him and let him know that he’s a little boy,” Byard said.

Shoves were exchanged, and the field was charged by both sides, especially after Dolphins center Aaron Brewer and an unidentified Bears defensive lineman exchanged punches of their own.

Next thing we know Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel’s running into the middle of the 30-plus player skirmish unsuccessfully attempting to separate the mob.

Retired former Dolphins offensive lineman Terron Armstead, who was in attendance, walks on the field to carry Brewer off, and Tyreek Hill, who sat out Friday’s practice because of an oblique injury, picks up Eskridge as if he’s a toddler, putting him over shoulder to walk him through the back of the end zone.

“Oh no!” Dolphins safety Minkah Fitzpatrick said when asked about McDaniel getting in the middle of the melee. “That’s very dangerous. We need our head coach. We don’t want him to be hurt.”

McDaniel clearly survived.

“It happens,” McDaniel said after Friday’s spirited practice. “You guys usually don’t see it.”

The melee was heated, but that moment personified what we saw for two hours from the Dolphins and Bears during Friday’s joint practice as two NFL franchises were fighting to create a new identity, literally and figuratively.

The Dolphins want to become tougher. The Bears showed them there’s still work to be done.

“This is an NFL camp practice. Everybody has a chip on their shoulder. You got guys fighting for roster spots, guys trying to feed their families. It’s going to be aggressive. It’s going to be passionate,” Fitzpatrick said. “Obviously you don’t want to see anybody hurt, but it gets chippy and feisty. At the end of the day you’re asking a whole grown men to be violent, but not get passionate about it. I think that’s a tough ask.”

But it was certainly a good exercise for both franchises, which is why teams hold these joint practices, because they are a phenomenal way for coaches to gage where their teams are at.

The Dolphins defense, which was led by inside linebacker Jordyn Brooks, who pulled down the defense’s lone interception, and just so happened to throw a punch at one of his own teammates during a heated sideline moment, held its own against the Bears.

Especially in the final red-zone period, where Chicago was kept out of the end zone in all three tries. The final play of two-hour practice was rookie defensive tackle Zeek Biggers producing a would-be sack of Chicago quarterback Tyson Bagent on a third-down play.

The defense’s performance was a positive.

But on the flip side Miami’s offense got pushed around most of Friday’s practice, delivering a worst performance of training camp’s first three weeks.

Tua Tagovailoa, who had only thrown one interception all camp, was picked off three times, and the last interception was during the final red-zone period when Bears linebacker Tremaine Edmunds pulled down a pass he would have returned for a pick-six.

Jaylen Waddle and De’Von Achane both got laid out by Bears defenders, which gave both of Miami’s top playmakers physical hits that took them to the ground in a practice that wasn’t supposed to include tackling.

Chicago’s defense was ultra physical, and it’s clear that the Dolphins offense clammed up.

Receivers and tight ends were consistently rerouted.

Miami’s offensive line committed at least six penalties, and four of them were false starts.

Tailback Alexander Mattison committed two fumbles, and Zach Wilson committed a turnover on a quarterback-to-center exchange.

“In those moments it didn’t feel like I put the ball away,” Mattison said, explaining his turnovers. “I have to hone in on the fundamentals.”

He’s far from being alone.

Overall, the Dolphins would have committed six turnovers against the Bears if it was live action.

No team can survive that in a game that matters.

Outside of Miami’s ability to run the ball with some efficiency, especially behind the left side of the offensive line, it was clear that the Dolphins offense needs to dial up its focus and intensity.

“It’s one of those things where you have to take adversity and look at it as an opportunity to grow,” Mattison said. “Egos get in there and you get into fight or flight mode in those situations. Staying together as a team, trying to focus up and lock in to make sure we get the best rep is something we have to continue to focus on.”

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