Lost in Dolphins’ loss: Ryan Tannehill was ‘awesome’ in second half

The Dolphins nearly made history Sunday.

The biggest comeback in franchise history is 24 points (against the Patriots in 1974). They trailed New England by 28 in the third quarter, yet had a shot to tie the game on the final play before falling just short.

Ryan Tannehill led the rally. In the second half, Tannehill was, as Jordan Cameron put it, “awesome.”

The proof? Tannehill had 273 of his 389 passing yards, plus both of his touchdown passes, after intermission.

“The guys were giving me time to get through my reads,” Tannehill said. “The receivers were getting open and we were making a few plays. That’s what we needed. ... You obviously don’t want to be [down 31-3], but I saw a lot of toughness, a lot of resilience from our guys [they] were hanging in there and just chipping away one play at a time and we got ourselves back in it for a shot at the end.”

Tannehill completed 13 of 14 attempts for 176 yards in the third quarter. Both Jarvis Landry and DeVante Parker eclipsed 100 yards receiving on the day.

And Tannehill’s fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Jordan Cameron was ridiculous. He had a window of about a foot between two converging defenders, yet Tannehill slipped it through.

“We just got the first down,” Tannehill said is what sparked the rally. “That’s the biggest key [when] we can get the first first down we can get rolling and we didn't really do that in the first half. We kept getting close and didn't get it or [got] going and had a turnover or got going and had an interception before half. So, it’s a matter of taking care of the football and getting that first, first down. Once we get going, we are pretty good at staying on the move and keeping the chains moving.

The Patriots’ offensive pace and efficiency wore down Miami’s defense in the first half. Tannehill’s monster second half flipped the script, and gave the Dolphins a chance at the end.

“We get a lot of practice at a no-huddle offense,” Tannehill said. “It’s kind of what we are. We have the ability to go huddle or no-huddle and we kind of got the pressure on them. We kind of got them on their heels a little bit and we were moving the football, tiring out the pass rush and that’s when we saw us moving the ball.”

This story was originally published September 18, 2016 at 7:32 PM with the headline "Lost in Dolphins’ loss: Ryan Tannehill was ‘awesome’ in second half."