NFL Week 17: Ryan Tannehill coming off one of the worst passing games in NFL history

In the heat of the “race” for the 6th playoff spot in the AFC, the Miami Dolphins laid an egg against the Buffalo Bills in week 16. They lost 19-0, an effort that was not helped by the utterly terrible play of quarterback Ryan Tannehill.

The statistics speak for themselves: 10-for-27 for only 82 yards. Not surprisingly, he was last in the entire NFL in ESPN’s Total Quarterback Rating (QBR) with a 3.2 (out of 100!). O wait…Matt Cassel of the Minnesota Vikings was actually, somehow worse with a 2.3 QBR (out of 100!).

Still, it is the passing ineptitude that stands out about Tannehill’s struggles, as Chase Stuart puts in perspective on FootballPerspective.com:

"He completed just 10 of 27 passes for only 82 yards in a 19-0 loss to the Bills. A 37% completion rate and a 3.0 yards per attempt average are ugly numbers in their own right, but Tannehill was also sacked seven times for 46 yards. That means on 34 dropbacks, he produced…. 36 yards……Let’s provide some context. This season, the average pass play (including sacks) has produced 6.217 net yards, which means you would expect 34 dropbacks to produce 211.4 yards. That means Tannehill’s performance produced 175.4 net yards under average. Among quarterbacks with at least 15 pass attempts in a game, that’s the 25th worst performance since 1960, and the 7th worst performance since 2000."

This after a stretch of games in which Tannehill played well. At 8-7 the Dolphins need him to bounce back quickly for this week’s game against the New York Jets, because they actually still have the inside track on that final wildcard spot. With the Jets being so stout against the run, a lot of the burden will fall on Tannehill to put some points on the board.

The Dolphins and Jets kick off during the early slot of games Sunday at 1:00 P.M. eastern time.