Bob Leverone/Associated Press

Don't go booking your flights to San Francisco for Super Bowl 50 just yet, but there's plenty of reason for Miami Dolphins fans to be excited about what they've seen from Ryan Tannehill through two weeks of preseason.

The fourth-year quarterback is showing all the necessary signs of making progress and growth in his second year as the triggerman of offensive coordinator Bill Lazor's system. Last week against the Chicago Bears was a breeze, but in the Dolphins' 31-30 preseason loss to the Carolina Panthers, Tannehill dealt with some immense pressure and was still able to deliver accurate passes.

Tannehill was under pressure right from the start, when he was strip-sacked on only the fourth offensive play of the game, after tight end Dion Sims was beaten badly. The Dolphins recovered their own fumble, though, and things went uphill in a hurry.

They punted to end that drive—hey, it's a lot better than a fumble—but the next drive went 49 yards in seven plays, and the drive after was 63 yards and 10 plays. Both drives ended in touchdowns.

On the night, Tannehill was 12-of-15 passing for 102 yards and a touchdown with a 117.2 passer rating.

To this point in the preseason, Tannehill's efficiency has been off the charts.

Of course, the one word most people will want to hear about Tannehill is "deep," as in whether or not he was effective on deep passes. Tannehill tried two deep shots and did not hit either one; one of his missed attempts was a badly overthrown shot for Kenny Stills, but the other was dropped by tight end Jordan Cameron, so Tannehill can be absolved somewhat.

That being said, when it comes to operating Lazor's West Coast-style offense, the explosive plays aren't as big of a deal as continued efficiency. That's exactly what Tannehill gave the Dolphins on Saturday night.

Those big plays could be easier to come by when the Dolphins get wide receiver DeVante Parker back from injury. Parker and Stills are the only true deep threats at the Dolphins' disposal at the moment, so it's easier to see why he has struggled in that area to this point in the preseason.

Besides, the Dolphins didn't need those explosive plays to move the ball Saturday.

Sometimes, too much stock is put into threading a needle and hitting a receiver on a tough-to-complete pass, but not enough credit is given when a quarterback completes a short pass that results in a gain of equal yardage. Tannehill found his running backs in the flat and on checkdowns, with a 36-yard gain by Lamar Miller that helped set up the Dolphins' first touchdown and an 11-yard touchdown catch by Damien Williams for the second touchdown of the night.

Over the next week, until the Dolphins take the field for their next preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons, you'll hear the phrase "it's only preseason" thrown around like Tannehill threw around footballs on Saturday night. But every good thing starts somewhere, and it looks like Tannehill and the Dolphins are headed for good things in 2015.