Getty Matt Ryan #2 of the Atlanta Falcons.
Atlanta Falcons‘ veteran quarterback Matt Ryan told Heavy earlier this month that he still “feels good” and that he believes he can keep up with the 20-year-olds.
Ryan, 36, entered his 14th season with the Falcons this year. According to his stats heading into Week 8, he still has plenty of juice left him and it isn’t going unnoticed.
The Falcons take on divisional rival the Carolina Panthers this Sunday and Carolina’s defensive coordinator, Phil Snow, has been impressed with this offense––giving Ryan much of the credit.
“Their protection is good, but it’s Ryan,” Snow said Thursday, Oct. 28, via the Charlotte Observer. “He’s getting rid of the football and his movement in the pocket this year. I mean, it looks like he’s 25 again. It’s amazing. He’s been doing a really good job making great decisions with the football. So I think he is making this whole thing really come together.”
Atlanta kicked off their season 0-2, but has managed to turn things around since then. Ryan has thrown for 1,204 yards, 12 touchdowns to just 4 interceptions and currently has a 96.8 passer. The Falcons offense has also stepped up their game after allowing 3 sacks in Week 1. They have only allowed Ryan to hit the ground 9 times which ranks them third across the league.
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Ryan Also Earns Strong Endorsement From Head Coach Arthur Smith
In his most recent 30-28 victory over the Miami Dolphins, Ryan checked off his 40th game-winning drive and ended up tieing with John Elway for the seventh-most in NFL history. He finished the day passing for 336 yards, 3 touchdowns with one interception.
After the game, Falcons head coach Arthur Smith was asked about his thought on Ryan’s late fumble.
“So, you got to have the right mindset and you got to have some courage, especially at the quarterback position and he does,” said Smith in the post-game presser. “He’s a special player. I personally think he’s criminally underrated if you look at his career here in the National Football League.”
Since the Falcons’ rocky start in Week 1 and 2, Ryan has really upped his game as you can see below:
Don’t look now, but Matt Ryan is on FIRE for the @AtlantaFalcons.
First 2 Games Since
W-L 0-2 3-1
Pass YPG 232.0 301.0
TD/INT 2-3 10-1
Yds/att 5.7 7.4
Ryan Wasn’t Wrong
Ryan told Heavy after the team’s 34-30 loss to Washington in Week 4 that things can only go up from here. And he wasn’t wrong as the Falcons have continued to improve week-to-week on the stats sheet.
“I think we’re close,” Ryan told Heavy. “I get it. You want wins. We want wins, but I think we’re trending in the right direction. We’re getting better. And I really believe that if we continue to work the way that we have and we continue to push ourselves to grow and improve, the wins are going to come.
“We need the support for sure. When we get back here to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, we need it loud, we need it rowdy. We’re going to hopefully be getting on a roll at that point. So, stick with us. I really think there’s going to be good improvement.”
The Falcons take on a Carolina team that is coming off an ugly 25-13 upset loss to the New York Giants where their starting quarterback Sam Darnold ended up getting benched.
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