Former Atlanta Falcons and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Matt Ryan announced his retirement from the NFL on Monday after 15 seasons. Many had speculated that Ryan’s playing days were behind him after spending the 2023 season as an analyst for CBS, but he had been careful not to rule out a return until now. With Ryan’s career officially in the books, it’s time to look back on his time in the NFL and the legacy he leaves behind.
A Promising Start
Ryan was selected No. 3 overall in the 2008 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons and was a Week 1 starter for the team. Any concerns pertaining to Ryan’s readiness were put on the back burner after he threw for a 62-yard touchdown to Michael Jenkins. That play served as a harbinger for Ryan’s arrival. From that point on, he was the Falcons’ franchise quarterback, a label he held for over a decade. Ryan received his first piece of hardware following his rookie season, winning Offensive Rookie of the Year, edging out Chris Johnson and Ryan Clady for the honor.
In the following years, Ryan would make the jump from a promising youngster to a quality starter. By his third season, Ryan was in the Pro Bowl after throwing for 3,705 yards, 28 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. At the turn of the decade, the NFC hierarchy lacked clarity. In the AFC, Peyton Manning’s Indianapolis Colts, Tom Brady’s New England Patriots, and Ben Roethlisberger’s Pittsburgh Steelers were the big three, while everyone else was a mere afterthought. The NFC, however, had no stable powers and fluctuated year by year. Some thought this left an opening for Ryan and the Falcons to become one of the conference’s premier franchises.
Inches From Immortality
Unfortunately, the grandiose visions for Ryan and the Falcons were never realized. Atlanta quickly developed the reputation of postseason under-performers. It wasn’t until 2012, Ryan’s fifth season, that he won his first playoff game and then proceeded to miss the postseason the next three years. Many grew worried that Ryan and Co. had begun to plateau. He had spent eight years in the league and, despite the statistical output, had little to show for it outside his Rookie of the Year and a few Pro Bowls.
Fans kept waiting for a breakout season, and it finally came in 2016. Ryan didn’t just take the leap from good starter to elite; he catapulted all the way to the top of the ranks. Ryan saw career highs in passing yards, passing touchdowns, completion percentage, and yards per attempt. He took home league MVP and led the Falcons to an 11-5 season. For once, the Falcons’ regular season success translated to the playoffs, winning two games and representing the NFC in Super Bowl 51.
Early on, the Falcons looked like a team on a mission. Then offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan had his offense humming, and Atlanta got out to a 28-3 lead. While a 25-point comeback in the Super Bowl is hard to comprehend, it’s not even the largest comeback in postseason history. The Buffalo Bills hold that title, pulling off a 33-point comeback against the Houston Oilers in the 1993-1994 AFC Wild Card game. Watching the game back seven years later, it’s easy to pause and wonder what could’ve been. Ryan was set to become the first player to win the Super Bowl and MVP in the same season since Kurt Warner, win his franchise its first Super Bowl ever, and hand Brady possibly the most embarrassing loss of his career.
In a cruel twist of fate, the Falcons unraveled, seeing a 25-point lead vanish in the game’s final 17 minutes. It was the perfect storm of miscues, questionable play calling, and luck that resulted in one of the biggest collapses in sports history. The Patriots scored the game’s final 31 points, and Brady collected his fifth ring. What was supposed to be Ryan’s crowning moment turned into a disastrous event that he has never lived down.
A Forgettable Ending
Ryan was remarkable throughout Atlanta’s Super Bowl run. In three games, he threw for 1,014 yards, nine touchdowns, and no interceptions. This is the type of run that immortalizes players, but what unfolded in the final minutes of the Super Bowl ensured that no one would remember Ryan’s 2016 season for his MVP or postseason heroics.
In the aftermath of Super Bowl 51, some fans took solace in the fact that the Falcons were trending upward and could make it back to the big game. Atlanta made it back to the postseason in 2017 and went 1-1 before falling to the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. That would be the last time Ryan played in the playoffs.
Ryan continued to produce into his mid-30s but failed to recapture his 2016 magic. Ryan and the Falcons were stuck in the dreaded middle-of-the-pack. In Ryan’s final four years in Atlanta, the Falcons won seven games three times, keeping them stuck in a loop of mediocrity. After 2021, the Falcons and Ryan parted ways.
Ryan wound up in Indianapolis, where he hoped to take the Colts back to the playoffs. Ryan’s regression from 2021 and 2022 was perplexing. He went from a solid, calculated veteran to a mistake-prone and unreliable mess. It wasn’t just a decline in physical talent; Ryan’s poise and decision-making were worse than ever. In 12 games, Ryan threw for 14 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, and 15 fumbles. Ryan was benched for Sam Ehlinger and released from the Colts in the spring of 2023.
Matt Ryan Career Stats
Passing Yards: 62,792
Passing Touchdowns: 381
Interceptions: 183
Completion %: 65.6%
Passer Rating: 83.6
There aren’t many quarterbacks who suffered more from the greatness of their peers than Matt Ryan. Playing in the same era as Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and Aaron Rodgers made it difficult for Ryan to leave his mark. Still, he put together an impressive career that spanned 15 years and included an MVP run. Ryan’s legacy in the NFL is a complicated one. Outside one season, he never disproved the solid but unspectacular label. Perhaps his consistency would’ve been more appreciated accompanied by a Super Bowl ring. However, Lombardi Trophy or not, Ryan was a stable force in the constantly-changing NFL and deserves praise for his career’s work as one of the game’s top quarterbacks.
