Ryan Tannehill, Dolphins drum Raiders in London
After Miami Dolphins coach Joe Philbin avoided publicly declaring him the team's starting quarterback, Ryan Tannehill left London with a victory.
"It was huge, not only for me but for the team as well," Tannehill said Sunday after throwing for 278 yards and two touchdowns in a 38-14 win over the Oakland Raiders at Wembley Stadium.
"This kind of shows the character we have on the team, being able to overcome everything that was going and come out, travel a long trip and play well."
Tannehill has started every game with Miami since arriving as a rookie first-round draft pick from Texas A&M in 2012.
Last week, Philbin declined to publicly endorse him as the starter in London. In his first three starts this season, Tannehill had thrown for four touchdowns with two interceptions and a 74.1 passer rating.
Sunday, Tannehill hit 23 of 31 passes. His lone interception was on a ball tipped by a Miami receiver. He had five carries for 35 yards. He won Philbin's praise for a "very good" performance.
"I thought he had good rhythm and good tempo and good command. He was very decisive out there. I thought he threw the ball very accurately," Philbin said. " ... He made some plays with his feet well. He made good decisions in the run game, whether to give, whether to keep, whether to throw the bubble screens, etc."
Tannehill said after the team arrived in London on Friday that he had put the matter behind him. He said he appreciated that Philbin and his assistant coaches gave up their first-class seats to him and other players during the flight.
When the teams took the field Sunday, Tannehill was able to take advantage of a depleted Oakland defense.
The Raiders (0-4) scored on their opening drive but struggled after that. And starting quarterback Derek Carr was injured in the third quarter, replaced by third-stringer Matt McGloin.
Oakland began the game without linebackers Nick Roach and Sio Moore, who were both inactive. Kaluka Maiava, who started in place of Moore, was then injured on the first Dolphins series, allowing Tannehill and his receivers to take even more advantage of the short pass.
Tannehill threw a 13-yard touchdown to Mike Wallace and an 18-yarder to Dion Sims. Lamar Miller rushed for two more TDs, and cornerback Cortland Finnegan ran back a fumble 50 yards for another.
The Dolphins opened the season with a win over the New England Patriots, but back-to-back 19-point losses to Buffalo and Kansas City put Tannehill's starting job at stake.
Philbin was repeatedly asked who his starter would be against the Raiders in London, but he declined to utter the name "Tannehill."
If the controversy had any effect on Tannehill and the Dolphins, it was a positive one. But it was Raiders who jumped out to a quick lead.
Carr completed a 30-yard pass to James Jones on the first play from scrimmage and soon after took a 7-0 lead on a 3-yard catch by Brian Leonhardt.
The Dolphins went ahead for good early in the second quarter, with Tannehill completing six passes in a seven-play drive that culminated with Wallace's TD.
Miller then scored the first of his touchdowns to make it 17-7, running in from 8 yards out, and Tannehill was soon at it again with an 18-yard TD pass to Sims for a 24-7 halftime lead.
The Raiders have lost 10 straight dating to last season, putting the pressure on coach Dennis Allen.
"Obviously, we did not play well," Allen said. "We turned the ball over; we did not stop them on defense. We gave up too many explosive plays."
The Dolphins are now 1-1 at Wembley Stadium, the home of England's national soccer team. Miami lost the first regular-season NFL game played there in 2007, falling to the New York Giants 13-10.
Contributing: The Associated Press