Miami Dolphins key player of the week: Ryan Tannehill

Miami takes on the New York Jets on Sunday. To win in New York, Miami will need Ryan Tannehill to play an amazing game, making him my player of the week.

The Miami Dolphins and Ryan Tannehill will take on the New York Jets this weekend in New York. To move to 2-0, Miami will need to play a great game of football and will have to play smart against what looks like a much improved New York Jets defense.

The Jets defense was almost perfect against the Lions on Monday Night Football. They intercepted Matthew Stafford 4 times and had two sacks on the night. Most importantly, they played great coverage and forced Stafford to throw into tight windows, leading to the interceptions.

Miami needs Ryan Tannehill to be more effective in the passing game this week than Stafford did on Monday. Because of his importance to this game, he is my week 2 player of the week.

Tannehill made his first start in almost 2 years last Sunday and put together a good game. He threw for 2 scores and 230 yards but also threw 2 interceptions. The picks looked like they were a combination of miscommunication and poor pass placement.

Those things are forgivable in the first game of the season. They won’t be in the second.

If Miami wants a chance to win up in New York, Tannehill will have to make sure that he does not turn the ball over. The Jets defense is opportunistic and will relish the opportunity to turn an interception into points.

Miami’s offensive line gave Tannehill much-needed time in the pocket. He looked comfortable, poised and commanding when he dropped back to pass. If Tannehill can continue to get protection like that, he will play a great game against the Jets.

While Tannehill played well, there were still some issues with the offense holistically against the Titans.

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Tannehill will need to make sure that they sustain drives and put points on the board. Miami’s red zone offense was ineffective against Tennessee, only going 1 for 5 within the 20 yard line. Some of that falls on play calling and quality defense, but one of Tannehill’s interceptions was in the red zone. He needs to be better.

Miami also struggled on third down, converting twice on 10 attempts. They also did not convert their only 4th down attempt. Tannehill will need to do a better job of keeping the chains moving.

Similarly to the red zone, some of this is on coaching but Tannehill is the leader of the offense and needs to make sure that his men are in position to make the plays the need to make to keep possession of the ball.

The more the offense is on the field, the more rest for the defense and the more pressure they can put on rookie Sam Darnold. That falls squarely on Tannehill’s shoulders.

Tannehill played well on Sunday and I believe that he will continue to play well ironing out some of the kinks to be more effective on Sunday. I see him building off of a strong game and really putting the Dolphins in position to succeed against the Jets.

Tannehill holds a 4-5 record against the Jets but, if he plays well, Miami will be able to leave New York with an important divisional win.

Let me know your choice for player of the week in the comments below.