On Saturday, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Matt Ryan was on the wrong side of history when his team blew a 33-point halftime lead to the Minnesota Vikings, the largest comeback in NFL history.
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Matt Ryan has now been on the losing end of two of the league’s top-five comebacks. He was the Atlanta Falcons quarterback during Super Bowl LI when his team surrendered a 28-3 lead to the New England Patriots. So he’s now on the losing side of the greatest comeback in Super Bowl and NFL history.
He now has to add this loss to his resume, along with the largest-ever come-from-behind victory in NFL history, all while dealing with empowered doubters. Before staging their historic comeback, the Vikings were trailing 33-0.
The Buffalo Bills’ 32-point comeback against the Houston Oilers in the 1992 AFC Wild-Card Game was surpassed by the 33-point rally as the largest comeback in NFL history.
Matt Ryan’s Role in the Historic Loss
All of those decisions, however, might not have mattered if Ryan and Colts’ offence had scored more points in the second half. Due to this, Indianapolis’ seasoned quarterback hardly deserves to be exonerated of all blame for the loss.
A season-high 36 points and 341 yards were scored by the Colts. In the first half, Indianapolis’ defence and special teams each scored a touchdown. In the entire game, Colts’ offence only managed one touchdown drive and settled for five field goals.
The offence of the Colts had 97 yards in the second half. Indianapolis then only required a field goal in overtime, but the Colts were unable to cross midfield.
Ryan completed 19 of 33 attempts for 182 yards and a score. Although he didn’t commit a turnover, he lost the ball in overtime. Thankfully for him, Alec Pierce, the receiver, found it. Ryan also grabbed three sacks.
Many analysts and supporters accused Ryan of being a part of another historic collapse after his team was unable to win the game.
