The ball bounced off of Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jarvis Landry's outstretched hand and fluttered up into the mile-high air. Denver Broncos safety T.J. Ward leapt up and snatched it.As Ward ran 37 yards in the other direction, time ran out on the Dolphins' plucky upset attempt. Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning quickly threw his fourth touchdown pass of the evening, putting the Broncos up 11 points with just over three minutes left. The Dolphins' fairy tale upset, which started off with a 14-3 lead, was over.Quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who'd played some of the best football of his young career, had earned a hearty pat on the backbut the narrative denied him a magical road win over the mighty Denver Broncos.That's when Tannehill went off script.He put together a savvy nine-play, 84-yard touchdown drive that took just 1:39 off the clock. Incredibly, Dolphins offensive coordinator Bill Lazor truly put the game in Tannehill's hands; he dropped back to pass on all nine plays (and a 10th which was wiped out by defensive pass interference). Only two of those passes hit the ground; he didn't miss on the two-point conversion attempt either.All that stood between the Dolphins and a legitimate chance at a comeback win was C.J. Anderson.The diminutive tailback had blown through the fierce Dolphins front seven 27 times that night for 167 yards and a touchdown. When the Dolphins' onside kick attempt bounced and gamboled his way, he made no mistake.Possession safely in hand, Anderson took two handoffs 28 combined yards into Dolphins territory and into kneel-down range. Only when the clock struck zero did the Dolphins' victory carriage turn into a pumpkin.Manning, for his part, ended up with a very Peytonesque stat line. As Chase Stuart of FootballPerspective.com pointed out, that doesn't tell the whole story:After gleefully stomping the rest of the NFL for the first half of the season, the Broncos were in serious danger of losing three out of four in a row.Coming into the Broncos game, per Pro-Football-Reference.com, the Dolphins had the No. 4 scoring defense in the NFL, ranked third in passer efficiency rating allowed and were tied for sixth in sacks.True to form, the Dolphins defense held Peyton in check for much of the game, and Tannehill had the Broncos beat.Then Anderson, the Broncos' breakout back, took over the game (as tends to happen this time of year). At the end of the third quarter, the Broncos faced a crucial 4th-and-2, still down 28-17. If they failed to convert, Miami could put them away.Offensive coordinator Adam Gase didn't call Manning's number, but Anderson'sand Anderson didn't just get two yards; he got 20:The run resuscitated a scoring drive the Broncos desperately needed to finish, and finish they did. A touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas and two-point conversion to Emmanuel Sanders was followed up with Anderson's score on the next possession.That's when the ball took its fateful bounce into T.J. Ward's arms. Tannehill, per Andrew Abramson of thePalm Beach Post, said he thought Landry's arm had been pulled. It was a "close call," Tannehill said, that the Dolphins didn't get.Whether the no-call was lucky or good, Ward deserves all the credit for making the playand Manning the credit for capitalizing.Instead of dropping to 7-4 (and out of the No. 2 seed in the AFC), the Broncos improved to 8-3. Instead of the Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Broncos in Arrowhead Stadium in Week 13 with a chance to take the AFC West lead, the Broncos have a one-game advantage and a very soft December schedule.Most importantly, the Broncos shook out of the funk they'd been in since the New England Patriots laid a43-21 beating on themand beat a quality AFC contender in the process.Quality AFC contender'Oh yes. This performance proved the Dolphins can play with any team anywhere.Tannehill's tools were never in question. He'd always had the size, arm and athleticism to be a dangerous pro quarterback. Without an extensive college career, though, his field-reading and decision-making needed a lot of developmentand at the start of his third season in Miami, he didn't seem to be developing.As Bleacher Report featured columnist Alessandro Miglio pointed outvia quotes from the Palm Beach Post, nine weeks ago head coach Joe Philbin implied Tannehill had nearly lost his grip on the starting job.Since then, Tannehill's recorded the sixth-best NFL passer efficiency rating in the NFL,per Pro-Football-Reference.combeforehe went 26-of-36 for 228 yards and three touchdowns (and ran for another) against the star-studded Denver Broncos defense.With Tannehill playing at this level, the character of the entire team is different.Defenses keying on running back Lamar Miller pay in the play-action and read-option game. Mike Wallace isn't dominant or consistent enough to make the game easy on Tannehill, but Wallace is a matchup nightmare when Tannehill's putting it on him. The offense jumping out to a quick lead lets the nasty front seven tee off on the pass rush and gives the talented secondary a chance to gamble and make plays.The Dolphins now fall to 6-5, though, three games behind the Patriots. Two of their five remaining games, however, come against the 2-8 New York Jets; a third is against the 4-7 Minnesota Vikings. Should they handle those games (as they should), the Dolphins would only have to beat either the Patriots or Baltimore Ravens to get to 10 wins.Even then, they may still need help to get into the postseason. Considering the way they're playingand they already beat the Patriots this seasonrunning the table isn't out of the question.Once they're in, however they get in, Ryan Tannehill and the Dolphins will be ready to take on anyone.TySchalteris a National NFL Lead Writer for Bleacher Report, and member of the Pro Football Writers of America. All stats were obtained viaPro-Football-Reference.comexcept where otherwise noted.
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