The Falcons won three games last year off Matt Bryant game-winning kicks, including a 49-yarder against Seattle with eight seconds remaining that sent Atlanta to the NFC Championship. The Falcons were trailing 28-27 before Bryant split the uprights for the 30-28 win. Bryant’s strike cemented its place in the franchise’s most clutch moments, and earned Atlanta its first playoff victory since 2004.
“Going out there you remind yourself keep your head down,” said Bryant after the game-winner. “I tell myself all the time right before the kick, ‘down and thru, down and thru’.”
While Bryant regularly downplays the magnitude of his heroics and reveals his simplified approach, those watching the play unfold are at their wits’ end. The moment before the snap against Seattle was so intense in the Dome, that much of the fanbase stood silently, frozen by the moment. Some fans, including Matt’s mother Mary Bryant, could not even watch, and instead closed their eyes to pray.
“I will tell you the very truth,” said Mary following the game. “I didn’t see it, I was praying so hard.”
Bryant is a rare breed. His demeanor never shifts and you could tell that he was the most calm body in the Dome when the game was on the line. Calm and steady turned into raw emotion however, and an emotional Bryant burst into a sliding fist pump at midfield when it sailed through.
“That was a big kick,” admitted Bryant following the game, “but we’ve done this before. It’s not like it’s the first time we have seen this situation. We knew we could do it again.”
Bryant has had big moment after big moment since coming to Atlanta, but admits he cannot always tell when his number will be called heading into a game. It is not until after the opening kickoff when Bryant’s instincts kick in and he senses that the outcome may come down to his leg.
“You just don’t ever know before each game. You get out there and you get ready to play that game,” said Bryant. “Now, there are those times during the game when it feels like, ‘you know what, I bet you there is going to be a kick at the end of this game’. There are times that it definitely feels like that.”
While providing Atlanta with clutch kicking, Bryant has also remained consistent and accurate. He was 33-for-38 in his field goal attempts last season, including 4-for-4 from 50 or more yards and is a perfect 143-for-143 on extra points since arriving in Atlanta. There are many things involved in each kick, and Bryant stays in tune with all of the surrounding elements. Whether it is during the potential game-winning drive or during pregame warmups, Bryant analyzes his leg strength that day, the kicking surface and the wind.
“Whenever you go out there in pregame, you go out there and see how everything is going,” he explained. “We are good from 58, we are good from 54. Every day is different.”
The gravity of a lining up for a game-winning field goal attempt is one of the biggest pressure situations any sport has to offer. To Bryant, however, it is just part of his job. His competitive nature and will to win triumphs his fear of failing in the spotlight.
“I’m a competitor,” said Bryant. “Whether it be on the field kicking a ball, whether it be on the golf course, or whether it be sitting down playing checkers with my kid, I want to win. If we are playing H-O-R-S-E, I want to win. That’s just my nature. If there is a scoreboard or someone is keeping track of some sort, doing my best is always the goal.”
Bryant’s importance to this team’s success is invaluable. Matt Ryan’s 23 career game-winning drives would not be possible without Bryant there to close the door. The team’s resiliency would not be there if it did not have Bryant’s clutch kicks proving time and time again that they can orchestrate even the most improbable game-winning drives.
“This team is a resilient group of guys,” said Falcons Head Coach Mike Smith “I’ve said this time and time again. I’ve seen him [Bryant] too many times kick in pressure situations. I don’t even concern myself when Matt lines up to kick. … We’ve got two Matty Ices. We’ve got Matty “Ice” Ryan and Matty “Ice” Bryant.”
Bryant’s successful time in Atlanta was preceded by years of hard work and persevering through a carousel of tryouts and rosters. It has all been worth it to the 38-year old. His NFL journey began with the New York Giants, who first signed him in 2002. As a rookie, Bryant was a feel-good story upon arrival.
Bryant was four years removed from Baylor where his collegiate career ended, and had been working in a Texas pawn shop while waiting for an opportunity to kick. Soon after offseason camp began, Bryant was cut and sent to the practice squad by the Giants. An injury to kicker Owen Pochman placed the starter on injured reserve, and Bryant was signed and given his first starting opportunity. He had a steady two years with New York and kicked the Giants into the playoffs as a rookie with an overtime game-winner against the Eagles. The following week, Bryant watched hopelessly against the 49ers at Candlestick Park, when the infamous botched snap by fill-in long snapper Trey Junkin never gave him his chance to kick the game winner.
Without the ability to kick what would have put Bryant’s clutch foot in the national spotlight, the young kicker’s luck began to turn. He was injured the following season and the Giants stumbled to a 4-12 record. Head Coach Jim Fassel was fired and Bryant was released before the following season, never getting the chance to play for new head coach Tom Coughlin.
“I got cut the first day of training camp of Coughlin’s first year,” revealed Bryant. “It was 5:30 in the morning. As soon as one of their draft picks got signed, they cut me. I got the knock on the door. I was kind of in disbelief because I had just gotten through playing two seasons.”
The Cowboys gave him a look, but Bryant got injured again. A brief stint with the Colts led to a three-week job with the Dolphins and, eventually, Matt landed in Tampa Bay. The Bucs signed him in 2005 and Bryant proved once again to have a knack for making the big kick. In 2006, he nailed the biggest one of his career to that point with a 62-yard field goal as time expired to beat the Philadelphia Eagles. The following day, Tampa mayor Pam Iorio declared Oct. 23 to be “Matt Bryant Day.”
The Bucs released Bryant in 2009, and he then signed with the Florida Tuskers. Later that year, the Falcons needed to replace Jason Elam and inked Bryant on Dec. 1, 2009. They have benefitted from his grit and will to win since.
“Matt Bryant has done really good things for us,” said Smith. “He’s got ice water in his veins.”
Since 2010, Bryant’s five game-winning kicks are the most in the League. When the game is on the line, the married father of six can be counted on.
After the season ends, Bryant is busy enjoying time with his wife, Melissa, and his children and gives his leg a much-needed vacation. Bryant will wait as long as mid-April or May to touch a football after the season ends.
“You take as much time off as you can. If you don’t know how to kick by now, then you probably don’t belong here,” laughed Bryant.
Bryant has proved he belongs in the NFL and also that he belongs in the situations with the game on the line. His ability to generate clutch plays even extends from the gridiron to a sporting scenario that Bryant feels is very similar to nailing a game winning kick.
“Hitting a game-winning home run,” smiled Bryant. “I’ve had similar situations [to kicking a game-winner] in high school where in order to go to the state playoffs we were down by two. I ended up hitting a three-run home run in the last inning. That is pretty fun.”
Bryant’s leadership on the Falcons is inspiring. On a team filled with veterans and future Hall of Famers, there is a bond of trust with his teammates that allows the kicker to be a driving force of the team’s success and his heroics have become ingrained in the organization’s mantra, “Rise Up.”
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