The year 2016 seems to be a satisfying one for quarterback Matt Ryan. Ryan, at the age of 31 has led his Atlanta Falcons team to the Superbowl for the first time in his career, won the Most Valuable Player for the NFL, and won the Associated Press NFL Offensive Player of the Year award. It will be an even better year if Ryan somehow finds a way to pull off the upset and beat Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in Superbowl LI. Ryan and the Falcons finished the regular season as a hot team, winning 5 of their last 6 games and finishing the regular season at 11-5.
They followed that up with playoff wins against the Seattle Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers, earning them the right to play in the biggest game in all of football. If they somehow find a way to win, this will be the Atlanta Falcons' first championship title since the franchise was established 51 years ago.
MVP
On Saturday night in Houston, Matt Ryan won the MVP award for the first time in his career. He received 25 votes from 50 media members. He beat out Tom Brady, Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, and Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliot. The honor and Superbowl appearance speak for itself, and it is well deserved. This season Ryan threw for 4,944 passing yards, 38 touchdowns, seven interceptions, and led the NFL with a 117.1 passer rating.
He lit the spark in the Falcons' high scoring offense, helping the team score a league best 540 points.
NFL Offensive Player of the Year
Matt Ryan -- a four-time pro bowler -- is on track to be one of the Falcons' greatest quarterbacks ever. Ryan was drafted third overall in the 2008 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons. In his ninth season in the league, he set franchise single-season records in passing yards and touchdowns.
This year he also set a single game franchise record when he threw for 503 passing yards in a 48-33 victory against the Carolina Panthers. During a season-ending 4 game winning streak, Ryan threw 11 touchdowns with 0 interceptions. Ryan will need to bring his A game to the Super Bowl, as he will square off with one of the NFL's top defenses.
There is no room for error as Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons will have to bring that same offensive intensity that they played with all season long if they want to walk out of NRG stadium as Super Bowl champions.
