Miami Dolphins Week 4 Stock Report

How much stock can the Miami Dolphins put into the game tape of their 41-14 loss to the Buffalo Bills?

The Bills got off to a hot start and never looked back. Just look at the game's win probability chart from Pro-Football-Reference.com; roughly two minutes into the first quarter, the Dolphins had less than a 50 percent chance of winning, and it only got worse from there.

The offense's first-half drives ended in three straight punts, a pick, a punt and two more picks. Passes were dropped, open running lanes were missed (when there were any) and Ryan Tannehill held the ball too long (when he had a clean pocket) and made bad decisions. 

Nearly everyone left room for improvement. 

It's hard to find positives in such an embarrassing loss, but here are a handful of players who are on either end of the spectrum headed into Week 4. 

Stock Up: Rishard Matthews

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The Dolphins once again made a lot of high-profile additions to their offense this offseason, particularly at wide receiver. But it's been one of the holdovers and a former backup who has stepped into a bigger role and has made his case as one of the top wide receivers on the depth chart.

Rishard Matthews has been one of the most consistent players on the Dolphins, hauling in 16 catches for 262 yards and three touchdowns through three games. On Sunday, he posted his second straight six-catch performance and his second career two-touchdown performance.

The Dolphins did not expect big things from Matthews, as evidenced by their roster moves. They traded for Kenny Stills from the New Orleans Saints, drafted DeVante Parker in the first round and signed Greg Jennings as a veteran free agent. With those three, along with Jarvis Landry, there didn't appear to be any room left for Matthews.

With Parker's offseason foot surgery and Kenny Stills' hamstring injury and slow integration into the offense, there have been plenty of footballs thrown in Matthews' direction. He's made the most of them. 

Stock Down: Brice McCain and Jamar Taylor

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The Dolphins had one major question in their secondary headed into the 2015 season: Who would be the starting cornerback opposite Brent Grimes? Through Week 3, they are still asking that question, because so far, Brice McCain and Jamar Taylor have not been the answers. 

On Sunday, McCain allowed six receptions on 10 passes thrown his way for 100 yards, bringing his season totals to 14 receptions allowed on 22 targets for 232 yards. Taylor allowed three receptions on four targets for 49 yards and a touchdown, bringing his totals to 12 receptions, 16 targets, 129 yards and a touchdown. 

It would help if the Dolphins defensive line could generate a pass rush—thus far, it's logged just one sack this season. But until the front seven starts forcing the issue, the secondary has to hold up its end of the bargain and pick up a little of the slack as well. 

Stock Up: Jarvis Landry

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For nearly every positive for the Dolphins on Sunday, there is at least one negative. That's exactly the case with Jarvis Landry, whose strong performance was overshadowed by one bad play.

Landry dropped a pass that landed in the hands of the Bills defense, but aside from that one miscue, it was a good Sunday for the Dolphins' second-year wide receiver. Landry finished the game with eight receptions for 67 yards, marking the third straight game in which he totaled eight catches and making him the first receiver in Dolphins history to accomplish that feat. 

Landry isn't the biggest receiver on the field, and sometimes he's the smallest, but he's also one of the quickest and, typically speaking, one of the surest-handed. According to Pro Football Focus, his drop on Sunday was his first since Week 3 of the 2014 season. 

The Dolphins need everyone's best if they're going to turn the season around in time to make noise in the playoff race. One person who is already giving his best is Landry. 

Stock Down: Ryan Tannehill

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Every year is a new story in the NFL. In 2015, Ryan Tannehill has either been good enough to not lose the game for his team or bad enough to lose the game for his team. 

In truth, while Tannehill's numbers improved each of the first three years of his career (completion percentage, touchdown-interception ratio, passer rating), he hasn't been a game-changer at the quarterback position. He has thrown three interceptions in nearly as many games (five) as he's thrown three touchdowns (six). 

Tannehill hit three picks but fell one short of three touchdowns in the Dolphins' 41-14 rout at the hands of the Bills. All three of his picks were in the first half and contributed to a 27-0 halftime deficit.

Tannehill's job might be a bit easier if the Dolphins offensive line was protecting him in the pocket. It also might be easier if the defense wasn't giving up points in bunches in the first half (19 points per game in the first half, according to TeamRankings.com). That being said, the Dolphins had hoped that Tannehill could take the next step from being an above-average quarterback to a top-10 NFL passer.

Thus far, he's yet to do that. 

Stock Down: Offensive Line

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The struggles of the Dolphins offense can't all be pinned on Ryan Tannehill; some of the blame has to fall on the offensive line. The Dolphins front office has tried with all its might and resources to improve the trench play on offense, but it continues to be one of the Dolphins' weakest areas on the roster. 

Tannehill has been sacked just seven times this season, but he's facing some form of pressure 40.7 percent of the time he drops back to throw. That's tied for the fourth-highest percentage in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. 

Their lives would be a little easier, too, if the Dolphins would just balance out their play calls. If the coaches keep calling passes play after play, the defense can continue to pin its ears back and race to the quarterback. That puts the offensive linemen at a disadvantage from the get-go. 

This unit could find its stroke when left tackle Branden Albert returns to the field and allows Jason Fox to go back to the bench. Until that happens, though, the rest of the line will have to step up to give Tannehill a chance to find his open receivers. 

Unless otherwise noted, all advanced stats obtained via ProFootballFocus.com.