Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has been named NFC Offensive Player of the Month for the month of September. Ryan completed 102 of 147 pass attempts (69.4 percent) for 1,162 yards with 11 touchdowns and two interceptions for an NFL-best 112.1 quarterback rating through the first month of the season.
Ryan led the Falcons to their first 4-0 start since 2004 and just their third 4-0 start in franchise history (1986, 2004 & 2012). Ryan led the Falcons on a game-winning drive with just 59 seconds remaining in Atlanta's Week 4 win over Carolina, marking the 17th time he's engineered a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime in his career. Ryan's 11 touchdown passes and 69.4 completion percentage both rank second in the NFL, while his 102 completions rank fifth. Ryan's 1,162 passing yards rank sixth in the League through four weeks. He is currently on pace for career highs in touchdowns, yards, completions and attempts.
The fifth year signal caller is the only quarterback in the League to post a quarterback rating above 100 in all four games this season. The Falcons are 27-0 when Ryan has a rating of 100-or-better (4-0 in 2012). Ryan became one of 14 active quarterbacks with more than 100 passing touchdowns after tossing a pair of scores in the Falcons Week 2 win over the Denver Broncos. He threw three touchdowns in three of the four games and has now thrown three-or-more touchdowns in 14 games, leading the Falcons to a 14-0 record when he accomplishes that feat. Dating back to last season, Ryan set a franchise record with 272 consecutive pass attempts without throwing an interception before having his streak snapped in Week 3 at San Diego.
This is the third time in his career that Ryan has earned player of the month honors. He won the award for the month of October during his rookie season in 2008 and again in November of 2010 during his first Pro Bowl campaign. Ryan is the only player in franchise history to earn player of the month honors three times.
