Inconsistent Ryan Tannehill Continues to Hold Back Miami Dolphins Offense

The Miami Dolphins hosted the New York Giants for a Monday Night Football matchup that promised to have major implications on the AFC playoff picture.

Miami came into Monday night's contest needing a win to keep pace with the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers, but it failed to convert on its opportunity, falling to the Giants by a final score of 31-24.

The Dolphins had their chances—the offense took the field twice in the fourth quarter with a chance to even things up at 31—but were unable to convert those chances into scores, thanks in large part to the inconsistencies displayed by their fourth-year-quarterback—Ryan Tannehill.

Tannehill's overall stat line—25-of-41, 236 yards, 1 TD—was certainly serviceable, but his inability to cash in when it matters most held the Dolphins back in a big way. Two drives in particular stand out Monday night as evidence of these inconsistencies.

Midway through the second quarter, the Texas A&M product led the team on a drive that took it into Giants territory. The drive eventually stalled out at the New York 46-yard line and ended in a punt.

The second drive started with just over 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Dolphins trailing by seven. Again, Tannehill got the 'Phins into Giants territory, only for the drive to stall out at the Giants 41.

Consider the lead-up to those drives ending and how Tannehill factored into its eventual demise.

Down & To Go (Drive 1)	Play Result (Drive 1)	Down & To Go (Drive 2)	Play Result (Drive 2)
1st-and-10 at MIA 47	Incomplete Pass	1st-and-10 at NYG 31	Run for No Gain
2nd-and-10 at MIA 47	Incomplete Pass	2nd-and-10 at NYG 31	Incomplete Pass
3rd-and-10 at MIA 47	Pass for 7 Yard Gain	3rd-and-10 at NYG 31	Incomplete Pass + Holding Penalty
4th-and-3 at NYG 46	Punt	3rd-and-20 at NYG 41	Incomplete Pass
--	--	4th-and-20 at NYG 41	Punt

Tannehill did a solid job of helping get the Dolphins into Giants territory—he went a combined 6-of-7 for 52 yards on the plays prior to the ones listed above—but couldn't close the deal.

The fourth-year signal-caller didn't just have problems on those drives, though; all told, he ended five of the team's 12 drives with incomplete passes.

To be clear, Tannehill wasn't bad Monday night. He didn't turn the ball over, he converted on 61 percent of his 41 pass attempts and he threw a touchdown in there while taking just one sack.

However, he also proved totally incapable of getting over the hump and appears to be suffering from a lack of consistency not just in individual games, but also in his 2015 season as a whole.

Consider Tannehill's performance in each of his last five games as evidence of this.

Week	Opponent	Game Result	CMP-ATT	CMP%	YDS	TD	INT	Rate
10	@Eagles	W	21-36	58.3	217	2	0	94.3
11	vs. Dallas	L	13-24	54.2	188	2	1	90.3
12	@Jets	L	33-58	56.9	351	3	1	84.8
13	vs. Baltimore	W	9-19	47.4	86	1	0	78.0
14	vs. Giants	L	25-41	61.0	236	1	0	85.0

Tannehill has one game of 300 yards passing, two games with just over 200 yards passing, another with less than 200 yards passing and one below 100 yards passing. In short, he's all over the board.

In those games, the Dolphins have gone a combined 2-3 and have since fallen three games back of the rival New York Jets for the sixth and final playoff spot in the AFC.

Tannehill credited the loss to a lack of playmaking on offense, according to ESPN's James Walker:

"

#Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill says the team didn't make enough plays in the loss. pic.twitter.com/225xsZNVuS

— James Walker (@JamesWalkerNFL) December 15, 2015"

In reality, it was Tannehill who couldn't make plays against a defense that, for all intents and purposes, is one of the NFL's worst units.

The Giants came into Monday night's matchup ranking 29th in the NFL in total defense, last in passing yards allowed per game and 20th in points allowed per game, per ESPN.com. The Giants get torched routinely through the air, but Tannehill's performance was rather ho-hum.

With the inconsistencies the Texas native displayed Monday night, of late and in 2015 as a whole, it's no wonder the Dolphins are in line to finish their seventh straight season with a record of .500 or worse.

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