Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has had himself a splendid season. He led his team to an 11-5 record and a first-round bye in the playoffs. Ryan also put up some absolutely ridiculous regular season numbers.
The 31-year-old quarterback completed 70 percent of his passes for 4,944 yards with 38 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. He also led the league in yards per attempt, yards per completion and quarterback rating.
Despite this, he hasn’t been bandied about as the NFL MVP as much as the likes of Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers
Former NFL MVP and Super Bowl winning quarterback Brett Favre thinks this should change.
“I think he (Ryan) does get overlooked,” Favre said, via Sirius XM NFL Radio (h/t ESPN). “Is he deserving? Absolutely. Only one guy can get it. That’s the reality. And there’s always going to be one, two, maybe three guys that you could make the argument. I think his production has been nothing short of amazing.”
The argument against Ryan is that he has elite-level talent around him in the form of running backs Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman as well as wide receiver Julio Jones.
Though, that might not hold a lot of ground. All three were members of the Falcons team that won eight games a season ago. Heck, Freeman and Coleman played on squads that won a combined 10 games during the 2013 and 2014 campaigns.
Sure Atlanta’s defense has improved a great deal this season. But this unit still ranked 28th against the pass and yielded the sixth-most points in the NFL.
The primary difference between 2016 and previous seasons is that Ryan is playing at an otherworldly level. At the very least, this should garner him some consideration for the league’s top award.