Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill sets one completion record, ties another

Raise your hand if you figured Ryan Tannehill for the most accurate passer in NFL history.

The Miami Dolphins quarterback broke the NFL record by connecting on his first 18 passes against the Houston Texans on Sunday, extending his consecutive completions streak to 25 and breaking the 11-year-old NFL record of 24 set by — who else but — former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.

Tannehill completed his final seven passes in a 38-10 win over the Tennessee Titans last week, and then started perfect against the Texans on Sunday. The record-breaking completion came on an 11-yard pass to Jordan Cameron in the fourth quarter. He finally threw an incompletion three plays later — his final attempt of the afternoon in a 44-26 victory against Houston. The streak of 25 consecutive passes featured six touchdown tosses — two against Tennessee and four on Miami’s first five drives against the Texans.

According to Pro Football Reference, Tannehill’s performance on Sunday — 18-of-19 passing for 282 yards and four scores — also ties former San Francisco 49ers QB Alex Smith’s three-year-old NFL record for best completion percentage (94.7 percent) when attempting more than 14 passes in a single game.

It’s a shocking turnaround for Tannehill, who had completed fewer than 50 percent of his passes (45-of-93) and thrown five interceptions during a pair of losses in Weeks 3 and 4. Since Dan Campbell took over head coaching duties for the fired Joe Philbin two weeks ago, Tannehill is 40-of-48 for 548 yards and six TDs against two picks, including his perfect passer rating on Sunday.

More importantly, the Dolphins won both games and improved their record to 3-3, surpassing the Buffalo Bills (3-4) and climbing to within a game of the New York Jets (4-2) behind the New England Patirots (6-0) in the AFC East. Considering the parity behind the AFC’s three unbeaten teams (Patriots, Denver Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals), Miami somewhat shockingly is in position to contend for a playoff spot.

Bold prediction: If Tannehill completes 95 percent of his passes moving forward, the Dolphins will be OK.

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Ben Rohrbach is a contributor for Ball Don’t Lie and Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach