Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has been named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance in Atlanta's 31-18 win over the Detroit Lions in Week 16.
Ryan completed 25-of-32 pass attempts (78.1 percent) for 279 yards, four touchdown passes and a 142.6 passer rating, leading the Falcons to an NFL-best 13-2 record with their win over the Detroit Lions. Ryan's four touchdown passes tied his career high while his 142.6 QB rating tied the second best of his career. He also tied QB Steve Bartkowski's club record for touchdown passes in a single season with 31. Dating back to the Atlanta's Week 15 win over the New York Giants, Ryan set a franchise record by completing 22 consecutive pass attempts, including his first 12 passes in Saturday night's game. Ryan's streak of 22 straight completions is tied for the third longest in NFL history. In the win, Ryan also improved his franchise records for passing yards and completions in a single season.
In his career, the Falcons are 32-1 (.970) when his quarterback rating is 100-or-better, including a 9-1 mark in 2012. Ryan's four touchdown passes were a season high and Saturday marked the 39th multi-touchdown game of his career. Ryan has led the Falcons to a 17-1 record when he throws three-plus touchdowns, including a 6-1 mark in 2012. Only QB Daryle Lamonica (19-0) owns a better record in games with three-or-more touchdown passes.
This season, Ryan has completed 394 of 571 pass attempts (69.0 percent) for 4,481 yards with 31 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, and a 100.2 passer rating. His completions, yards, touchdowns, and passer rating are all career bests. Ryan ranks second in the NFL in completion percentage, third in completions, and fifth in passing yards, touchdowns, and passer rating. The fifth-year signal caller has led the Falcons the number one seed in the NFC playoffs and was named to the Pro Bowl for the second time in his career.
This is the third time in his career that Ryan has earned player of the week honors. He was named player of the week in Week 9 of the 2008 season, and Week 14 of the 2011 season.
