Peyton Manning was always ready for the next game, never dwelling on a win for too long, and Matt Ryan found out about this the hard way.
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Ryan has been the face of the Falcons for as long as you can remember, easily their best starting quarterback in team history. However, just recently, the team decided to move in a different direction and traded Ryan away to the Indianapolis Colts.
Ryan will look to forge a new identity in Indy as while he’s quietly been a really good quarterback the past few years, his teams have been disappointing, and thus a lot of blame shifts over to Ryan for not being able to elevate his team past their talent level like perhaps Russell Wilson has.
Ryan is definitely still a very high quality starting quarterback even if his better days are past him. Just don’t forget that there was a time when Ryan was winning MVP and guiding his team to a Super Bowl.
“I am really appreciative of my time there. It’s sad to see it end, but I am so excited to see what can happen here.”
Matt Ryan thanks the @AtlantaFalcons and is excited for the future with the @Colts. pic.twitter.com/G4gBHbDfXg
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) March 22, 2022
Peyton Manning wanted Matt Ryan to be ready immediately after winning NFCG
The 2016-17 season was a memorable one for the Atlanta Falcons. The team’s offense exploded that year, carrying them to an 11-5 record and the #2 seed in the NFC.
Matt Ryan was prolific through the air, passing for 4,944 yards, 38 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions. His quarterback rating of 117.1 led the league, and for his dominance, Ryan was awarded the NFL MVP and OPOY, and he nearly had Super Bowl MVP too, until the Patriots decided to come back from down 28-3 in the third quarter.
The Falcons were riding a lot of momentum heading into the Super Bowl. They had just trounced the Green Bay Packers at home in the NFCG, winning 44-21, making it six straight wins (including the regular season). Right after the NFCG, Ryan was eating dinner when he got a call from Peyton Manning. The legendary QB already wanted Ryan to prep for the next two weeks, sticking to his no-days-off motto.
“I want to play as long as I can… As long as I feel good, I’m gonna try and play.”
— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) March 22, 2022
