Dominant defense steals the show, but fourth quarter drive deserves the spotlight

Yes, the day belonged to the Miami defense.

With every Dimitri Patterson interception, every Cam Wake sack, every failed third down conversion, you knew this defense was something special.

Just ask Brandon Weeden, the beaten and battered Cleveland QB who threw three INT's yesterday, and took twice as many sacks.

"That’s a good front,” Weeden told reporters after the game. "They get after the passer. They create havoc."

"Things didn't go great today."

Indeed, this Miami Dolphins defense certainly stole the show yesterday.

But the spotlight?  In my humble opinion, that should shine big and bright on the biggest, most important offensive drive of the game.

Fourth quarter, 11:54 left to play, and a measly 13-10 lead on the road.  Enter Ryan Tannehill and the Miami Dolphins offense at their own 15 yard line.  A three and out, and Cleveland gets the ball back near midfield, needing only a FG to tie with a little under ten minutes left.

We've all seen this movie before.  We saw it last year, we've seen it every year, more times than not, since Dan Marino, for lack of a better phrase, left the building.  Three and out, punt, and an eventual Cleveland win.  It's a Hollywood script that's had more sequels in South Beach than CSI: Miami.

But not yesterday.

24 yard pass to Brandon Gibson.

16 more to Brian Hartline.

Gibson again for 14 yards.

7 more to Hartline.

6 more to Gibson.

One more time to Hartline for 11 yards.

And Daniel Thomas with the final blow- a two yard leap into the end zone.

Ten plays, 85 yards, a double digit lead with five minutes to play, and an empty stadium.

On a day where the running game was nonexistent, the pass protection was horrendous (at least in the first half), and the star $60 million dollar WR was nothing more than a decoy, Ryan Tannehill put the franchise on his back, and won the game.

6-7, 78 yards, and a fourth quarter, game sealing, TD drive.

The sophomore QB did what he failed so many times to do a season ago:  Win a game in the fourth quarter.  He couldn't do it against the Jets, or Arizona, or Indianapolis, or Buffalo, or the Patriots.  With the game hanging in the balance, where a FG simply wouldn't be enough, Ryan Tannehill took over deep inside his own territory, and took over.

Yes, the kid still has his flaws.  Yes, Mike Wallace needs to be more than a decoy.  But with every pass, and every first down, Tannehill erased all those missed opportunities of a year ago.

That's something Brandon Weeden, as we saw, can't do.  That's something a lot of QB's in this league can't do.

The defense was the star of yesterday's season opening win in Cleveland, no doubt about it.

But it was Ryan Tannehill who put the team on his back in the final minutes.

And it's Ryan Tannehill who deserves the spotlight because of it.