Who is this and what have you done with the real Ryan Tannehill?
In all seriousness, Tannehill has been a godsend for the Tennessee Titans this season, as he had led them to a 6-1 record in his seven starts since supplanting Marcus Mariota and has them smack dab in the middle of the AFC playoff picture.
It might be too little too late, as the Titans still need some help to get in the postseason, but the fact that Tannehill even has them in this position after they struggled so much early on is a miracle in and of itself.
It's also a testament to just how poorly Mariota was playing, but that's another story.
As for Tannehill, in nine appearances and seven starts, he has thrown for 1,993 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions while completing 73.4 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 118.5.
He has been particularly spectacular over the last four games, throwing nine touchdowns as opposed to just one pick in what has been a four-game Tennessee winning streak.
Not that Tannehill was ever really a terrible quarterback during his seven-year tenure with the Miami Dolphins, but he was always more Andy Dalton than he was, well, the 2019 version of Tannehill.
It's not like Tannehill is just effectively playing the role of game manager with short, low-risk throws, either. He actually leads the NFL in yards per completion and has thrown for over 300 yards in three of his seven starts.
Moreover, the 31-year-old is completing his passes at a ridiculously high rate, as he has completed 77 percent of his throws in each of the last three weeks.
Whether or not Tannehill has staying power for the future in Tennessee remains to be seen. We don't really know if this stretch if a fluke or not, because he never really did anything like this in his first seven NFL seasons (one of which he sat out due to an ACL injury).
But we are just evaluating what he is doing right now, and he has almost single-handedly vaulted the Titans into playoff contention when they looked flat as a pancake over their first six games when they started 2-4.
It's hard not to be really impressed with what Tannehill has done, as it's not like he has a ton of offensive talent to work with, either. Sure, there is workhorse running back Derrick Henry, but Tennessee's receivers are far from proven, and reliable tight end Delanie Walker is out for the season and has not even played during this recent run.
Imagine, then, what Tannehill would be doing with a better cast of weapons this season?
The Titans are one of the NFL's hottest teams at the moment, and while their schedule over the last three weeks is absolutely brutal (two matchups with the Houston Texans sandwiched around a home game against the New Orleans Saints), you can't ignore what Tannehill has done to get them to this point.
I'm giving Tannehill an A grade for his performance thus far in 2019. Sure, his track record isn't great, and I'm not necessarily buying that he will keep this up in 2020, but for now, he is playing terrific football and deserves to be recognized for it.
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