Football statistician Ryan Michael has crunched the numbers on quarterback passing ratings and discovered Matt Ryan’s 2016 MVP season was the highest rated of all-time.
Michael blended the stats from the regular season and the playoffs to get a 119.9 passer rating for Ryan with Joe Montana coming in second at 119.4 in 1989.
Ryan led the Falcons to an 11-5 record in the regular season with a 69.9% completion rate, throwing for 4,984 yards, 38 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. He was even better in the playoffs with a 71.4% completion rate, 1,014 yards, nine touchdowns and zero interceptions in wins over Seattle and Green Bay before falling to the Patriots in the Super Bowl.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero said yesterday amidst Ryan trade talk that “Matt Ryan isn’t going anywhere.” While some Falcons fans are looking forward to a rebuild and fresh blood at quarterback, the thought of a record breaking Matr Ryan at the helm for a few more seasons should be an exciting one.
Part of the excitement of new coach Arthur Smith’s hire from the Tennessee Titans is that he’ll run a similar scheme to Ryan’s 2016 record breaking season. Ryan still threw for 9,000 yards and 52 touchdowns the past two years, but his interceptions rose to 25 in the two losing seasons as the Falcons running game disappeared.
Smith runs multiple tight end sets and play-action which should lower Ryan’s attempts but increase his efficiency and provide him more protection. Ryan was sacked 37 times in 2016, but those numbers grew to 48 and 41 in 2019 and 2020 respectively.
The Titans only gave up 25 sacks in 2020 after giving up a whopping 56 in 2019.
