Matt Ryan and Julio Jones put on a performance the Green Bay offense simply couldn't keep up with. As a result, Atlanta is heading to Super Bowl LI in Houston.
Following an MVP-caliber regular season, Ryan entered the NFC Championship with a chance to build his legacy and cement himself as one of football's best quarterbacks. To say he accomplished those feats would be an understatement.
By completing 27 of 38 passes for 392 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions, Ryan shredded Green Bay's defense from start to finish – and by doing so, punched a ticket to his first Super Bowl appearance.
According to Pro Football Reference, the veteran QB now has more 350-yard, 3-TD conference championship outings than Peyton Manning and Tom Brady combined. What's more, his 139.4 QB rating is the 19th-highest ever in an NFL playoff game (min. 15 attempts), and his his 392 passing yards are the 20-most tallied in a postseason contest.
He also recorded more passing yards in the first three quarters than all but four quarterbacks in NFC Championship Game history.
46 percent of Ryan's passing yards and two of his TDs went to Julio Jones, who, despite a nagging foot injury, put up one of the best days of his career. The superstar wideout finished with 180 receiving yards – the 17th most ever in an NFL playoff game, per PFR — on nine receptions.
