It seemed to be the year for Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons in 2016. They’d had a couple of down seasons prior, but they went 11-5 on the back of Ryan’s NFL MVP performance, which featured the seventh-best passer rating (117.1) of all time. They won their last four regular-season games by an average of 19.8 points and followed that up with 16-point and 23-point wins in their first two playoff games. And, for much of the first three quarters of Super Bowl 51, they continued cruising.
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The Falcons infamously went up 28-3 against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in the big game, only to falter like no team has ever faltered before or since. They eventually lost the game 34-28 in overtime, and they never got back to the same place again. They won a playoff game in 2017, but that was followed by four straight losing seasons in Ryan’s final four years in the Big Peach.
During Ryan’s final year in the NFL—a disappointing 4-7-1 campaign with the Indianapolis Colts—he was asked how long he had gone without someone bringing up the 28-3 choke job. Surprisingly, Ryan took it in good spirits, chuckling as he gave a two-part answer.
“I’ll give the in-season answer, it’s once a week, because it’s every stadium I go into, some unoriginal clown comes up and goes with the 28-3 line. So, it’s every week in-season… I like fans that have creative, good digs at ya, but when it’s unoriginal stuff like 28-3, you’re like ‘yeah, whatever.'”
HEARTBREAKING: #Falcons QB Matt Ryan says he still deals with fans harassing him about the 28-3 Super Bowl loss.
“Some unoriginal clown comes up and goes with the 28 to 3 line, every week”
One of the greatest ever and this is what he’s remembered for. pic.twitter.com/KV12Vdkd6a
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) March 1, 2025
In the second part of his answer, Ryan revealed that while the offseason could be a haven from the Super Bowl chirps and banter, it all depended on where he was. Ryan went to college at Boston College, where he met his wife, Sarah, who is also from the New England area. That means he still hears “plenty” about the loss whenever he heads up to visit the in-laws.
“But during the offseason it just depends if I’m back in New England or not. If I’m up in New England where I went to school, where my wife’s from, then we’ll hear plenty about it.”
Fans can mock Ryan for that loss all they want, but it really wasn’t his fault. He drove the Black and Red down to the Patriots’ 22-yard line with under five minutes to go.
After one run attempt, offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan called three straight pass plays, leading to a 12-yard sack and a 10-yard holding penalty that pushed them out of field goal range, keeping the score at 28-20. New England also only had to burn one timeout during that sequence.
Fans were still chirping him about the ol’ 28-3 back in 2022, and as expected, they continue to do so today. However, some are starting to come around to the idea that maybe Ryan received too much of the blame for that loss and that his legacy was unfairly tarnished.
That game single-handedly tarnished to his career
— Philly sports complex (@philly_complex) March 1, 2025
It also wasn’t even really his fault that they lost ♂️
— Gloops (@gwompystompy) March 1, 2025
It was the greatest collapse in super bowl history. No one should ever forget it.
— 925Beerking (@925Beerking) March 1, 2025
Not one of the greatest ever. He’ll forever be remembered for 28-3. That’s it. No one is going to remember his career
— Shawn Estrada (@CantCheck21) March 1, 2025
It’s sad to think that if the Falcons had held on in the big game, Matt Ryan’s 2016 campaign would likely be remembered as one of the greatest single seasons by a QB in NFL history.
Nearly 5,000 yards, almost 40 TDs, a dominant playoff run, NFL MVP, and NFL OPOY—then capping it off with a Super Bowl MVP performance in a win against Tom Brady? Ryan might have secured a spot in Canton on the strength of that season alone.
