Sunday’s win over the Arizona Cardinals could wind up being disastrous for the Miami Dolphins’ playoff hopes, thanks to an injury to starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
While the Dolphins were able to edge the Cardinals 26-23 in a downpour thanks to a last-second field goal from Andrew Franks, they had to use backup quarterback Matt Moore down the stretch after Tannehill got hurt and was helped off. Now, 940 AM WINZ host Andy Slater is reporting that Tannehill has a torn ACL and is out for the season:
SLATER SCOOP: Ryan Tannehill has an ACL injury, source says. He is out for the season. #Dolphins
— Andy Slater (@AndySlater) December 11, 2016
There have since been further reports along those lines from national NFL reporters:
Dolphins fear QB Ryan Tannehill tore his ACL.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 11, 2016
The #Dolphins believe QB Ryan Tannehill tore his ACL, per @CourtneyFallon_ & me. He'll have an MRI to determine if there is other damage.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 11, 2016
Miami head coach Adam Gase told reporters after the game “We don’t know anything official yet, but it doesn’t look good,” so it certainly seems like these reports are accurate. That could be problematic for Miami’s playoff hopes. Tannehill hasn’t always been great, and he did throw one of the ugliest passes ever earlier on Sunday, but he’s actually been decent this year, setting a career-high with a 66.7 per cent completion mark heading into this game. The Dolphins’ chances also seem worse off with Moore; yes, he’s found some success in the past and he led an important game-winning drive since Sunday, but he’s 32 and hasn’t played regularly since 2012.
Things are already tough for Miami when it comes to the playoff picture. They’re 8-5 after this win, but they’re highly unlikely to catch the 10-2 Patriots in the AFC East, and they’re in a difficult battle for wild-card slots. Those slots are currently held by the 10-2 Raiders and the 8-5 Broncos, and the 7-5 Ravens and 7-6 Titans are also in the mix. The Dolphins can’t be entirely written off yet, but their chances of pushing for the playoffs seem much worse if they’re going to have to rely on Moore rather than Tannehill.
