Remember when Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill was just a fluke? Remember when he was just that guy who hands the ball off to Derrick Henry? Remember when experts told us that he would regress mightily in 2020?
Well, Pepperidge Farm remembers.
Tannehill is not only proving all of that horribly wrong this season, he’s also making the case that he should be firmly in the conversation for the league’s Most Valuable Player award.
Tannehill has been sensational through five games, completing 69.9 percent of his passes for 1,370 yards and 13 touchdowns to just two interceptions.
If you extrapolate Tannehill’s current numbers over 16 games, he would finish with 4,384 yards and 42 touchdowns to just six picks. Those are MVP-caliber numbers, folks.
But this isn’t just about the numbers with Tannehill; he has also been clutch.
Tannehill has orchestrated four game-winning drives in the first five games, which hasn’t been done since St. Louis Cardinals signal-caller Charley Johnson did so in 1966 (per Elias, via ESPN’s Turron Davenport).
Don’t get me wrong, Henry has been great, but this team is where it is right now mostly because of Tannehill.
Courtney Cronin of ESPN recently unveiled her top candidates for the MVP award thus far, and Tannehill unsurprisingly made the list, coming in at No. 4. Here’s what Cronin had to say about him:
“Many expected Tannehill to decline after his career-best season in 2019. So much for that. Since replacing Marcus Mariota as the starter in Tennessee, Tannehill has led the Titans to an 11-3 record while throwing for 3,062 yards and compiling a 31-6 TD-INT ratio.
“The Titans rank fourth in offensive efficiency this season, and though a lot of their wins have come on the back of Derrick Henry, don’t overlook the type of performances Tannehill has strung together. That includes going 30-for-41 for 364 yards and four touchdowns in a wild win over Houston to get his team to 5-0.”
Henry was also mentioned in the “just missed” section and deserves to be in the conversation, also, as he’s on his way to another rushing crown with 588 yards through five games, the most in the NFL. Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson was the last back to repeat as rushing champion (2006-07).
Unfortunately, it’s always harder for running backs to win the award over quarterbacks, but Henry’s case will be as good as any to break that trend.
No matter what, the Titans have two legit MVP candidates, and that’s quite impressive in and of itself.
Cronin had three signal-callers ahead of Tannehill on the list: the Seattle Seahawks’ Russell Wilson, the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and the Green Bay Packers’ Aaron Rodgers — that’s ELITE company.
Thanks to his hot start and continued success, Tannehill has forced outsiders to drop the talk about regression and being a fluke, and instead has forced them to start talking about him as one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.
