While Ashleigh made a great argument for Matt Ryan, the case against Matt Ryan as MVP is pretty simple. The question is if the Atlanta Falcons would have been as great without Matt Ryan and the answer is yes. While Ryan did throw for almost 5,000 yards and almost 40 touchdowns, he had a lot of secret weapons that guys like Drew Brees, for example, didn’t have.
While Brees isn’t in the running, he was the number one passer in the league. Ryan threw to 13 different receivers including Julio Jones, Taylor Gabriel, and Mohammed Sanu to name just three. With so many weapons, there was no way Ryan couldn’t have gotten such heavy passing yards. Some teams are lucky to even have 3 good receivers like the Raiders, Packers, and Cowboys. With all three of those quarterbacks in the MVP conversation, they had to work through more adversity than Ryan had to deal with.
The downfall of the Panthers was the biggest reason why Ryan shined so much. The NFC South isn’t known for being a tough division and usually, it is ruled by the Panthers. However this year, they had a down year and the Falcons were able to get into the playoffs due to that. While Ryan’s play helped them, they really should be tipping their hat to Cam Newton too.
Many cite the Falcons offense as great, but no one really talks about their defense. If there was one MVP from the team, it should be Vic Beasley. Beasley finished the season with the most sacks in the league, even overtaking Von Miller and Khalil Mack. Without Beasley, the Falcons may not have secured a first-round bye because Beasley was able to keep the opposing offenses on the field which helped Ryan and the Falcons’ offense.
Yes, Ryan’s stats are impressive, but other quarterbacks have done more for their teams with less surrounding talent. Ryan does deserve some credit for resurging the Falcons and breaking the stereotype of them not finishing, but an MVP award would be better awarded to Derek Carr or Aaron Rodgers.
