In Sunday's victory against the New Orleans Saints, QB Matt Ryan set a franchise record in both passing touchdowns (156) and for most passing yards in a game (448). Take a look at other big moments in Ryan's career so far.
QB Matt Ryan's first game of his career came against the Detroit Lions in 2008 after he was drafted in the first round by the Atlanta Falcons. Ryan's first pass of his career was also his first touchdown, as he hit WR Michael Jenkins for a 62-yard touchdown. Ryan logged 161 yards in the game and ended with a passer rating of 137. The Falcons went 11-5 during Ryan's first season leading the team.
Before Sunday's game, Ryan previously held the second spot in franchise history for most grossed pass yards during a game. In last season's loss against the New England Patriots, Ryan passed for 421 yards going 34-for-51 in pass attempts. After this week, Ryan now holds the top spot logging 448 yards.
Ryan's highest completion percentage during a game was .857 during a game in 2010 against the Green Bay Packers. Ryan passed for 197 yards and led the team to a 20-17 victory.
During a game against the San Francisco 49ers during the 2013 season, Ryan broke the record for most passes completed during a single game with 37.
Before the game against the 49ers, Ryan already tied the second spot in franchise history in most passes completed in a single game with 36 after a game against the New York Jets earlier in the 2013 season.
Ryan earned his 50th career win in a game against the Eagles in the 2012 season. The Falcons defeated the Eagles 30-17 with Ryan throwing for 262 yards and three touchdowns.
Ryan's first playoff win of his career came in 2012 during an NFC Division playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks. Ryan threw for 250 yards and three touchdowns during the 30-28 win.
The 100th touchdown of Ryan's career came in 2012 during a game against the Denver Broncos. The Falcons came out victorious with a 21-17 score.
Ryan had his first Pro Bowl selection after the 2010 season in which he threw for 3,705 yards and 28 touchdowns. The Falcons finished the 2010 season 13-3 and made it to the playoffs.
The 2014 season-opener against the Saints was definitely a memorable victory. Ryan broke the franchise record for passing touchdowns (156) with touchdown passes to WR Roddy White, TE Levine Toilolo and RB Antone Smith. Ryan also logged 448 yards passing breaking the franchise record for most passing yards in a single game and also extended his franchise record for overall passing yards with 23,920 total.
One day after Falcons QB Matt Ryan appeared on an episode of NFL Rush Zone, an animated television series, where he reminded the Guardians that good luck is less about a pair of socks and more about skill and preparation meeting opportunity, he went on to prove it in a 37-34 OT victory against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
Needing one-passing score to tie former Falcons QB Steve Bartkowski for the franchise record for most career-passing TDs (154), Ryan did that in the second quarter, finding WR Roddy White for a 2-yard TD. One quarter later, Ryan found Falcons TE Levine Toilolo for a 1-yard TD pass, seizing the franchise record with 155 career-passing scores.
While Ryan said it's a great honor to break Bartkowski's record, having respect for what he's done for the Falcons organization, he wasn't done lighting up the scoreboard, later breaking another franchise record. He connected on his third and final TD pass of the day (franchise-leading 156th-career passing TD), a 54-yard score to RB Antone Smith in the third quarter. When all was said and done on Sunday, Matty Ice finished with the following stats: 31 of 43 for 448 yards (single-game franchise record), with three TDs, good for a 128.8 passer rating.
One day after the win, Falcons head coach Mike Smith spoke more about Ryan's big day.
"Obviously, the numbers speak for themselves, setting an Atlanta Falcon record for the number of yards," Smith said. "I thought he was on point, distributed the ball, was able to make plays, after the play broke down, the integrity of the play, and he got it into our playmakers' hands."
Smith noted on Sunday that when his team generates nearly 570 yards of total offense and 448 of those yards are through the air, "you know your QB is playing well". It was the 17th time in Ryan's brilliant seven-year career that he's thrown three TDs in a game; the Falcons are 19-1, when he throws at least three scores. Never one to take individual credit for his success, Ryan was quick to praise his coaches and teammates, emphasizing the total team win.
"Passing-wise, we did a great job," Ryan said, after the win. "Obviously, we got some weapons on the outside and that creates some good matchups for us. Credit to (Falcons OC) Dirk (Koetter) and (Falcons OL coach) Mike Tice and our offensive line that did a really good job."
