The Falcons knew they had to win on Sunday in order to have a chance to win the NFC South title. Fans and experts alike suspected the Falcons would have an easy time in this one because the Rams came into the game on a nine-game losing streak and were playing without two of their starting offensive lineman. Well, that wasn’t the case, as the Rams gave the Falcons all they could handle. In the end, Matt Ryan and the offense pulled through in the end with a 31-27 victory and finished the regular season at 11-5.
“I think everybody was happy with the win,” Ryan said after the game. “I don’t think we did everything exactly how we would have liked to have done it out on the field today. But nonetheless we did our part and took care of business.”
He’s right about both points as the offense started off slow, scoring only three points in the first quarter and turning the ball over three times in contest. But the Falcons were still able to come away with the win which meant a No. 5 seed in the playoffs; the Carolina Panthers defeated the New Orleans Saints to win the division and the No. 2 seed.
Ryan struggled a bit in the game, finishing the day with 10 completions, one touchdown and two interceptions. There were also a few times where he was overthrowing receivers and was pressured by the Rams’ front seven to make some mistakes.
“Today I didn’t play as well as I would have liked to,” Ryan said. “Anytime you turn the football over as a quarterback, you can’t do it. But that’s going to happen.”
Ryan did struggle, but the playmakers around him didn’t. Michael Turner was able to rush for over 200 yards and Jerious Norwood came up with the game-winning touchdown run. Receivers Roddy White and Michael Jenkins also came up with big plays when their number was called.
“Mike Turner played phenomenal today, Jerious played phenomenal today,” Ryan said. “At any point either of those guys can take one to the house. The same can be said for Mike [Jenkins] and Roddy on the outside. I think those guys have stepped up and made some huge plays for us in terms of the passing game this year. And we are going need that down the stretch.
Now that the regular season is over and the 12 qualifying teams gear up for the playoffs, the end-of-season awards should be announced soon and there have been talks of Ryan being the MVP of the NFL, at least according to former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw.
“I appreciate it Terry,” Ryan said when he heard about Bradshaw’s endorsement. “I’m glad he thinks so. It’s nice to hear, but again, I need to improve a lot and I’m going to do everything I can between now and next week to play better.”
Ryan finishes the regular season with 16 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and nearly 3,500 passing yards, numbers which should make him the leading candidate for Offensive Rookie of the Year. But after leading the Falcons to a seven-game improvement over last year, MVP is not out of the question. If he is able to lead this team to a Super Bowl by winning possibly three games on the road, Ryan should (and probably will) be the MVP.
Jones can be reached at bjones@scoreatl.com.
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