Atlanta Falcons legend Matt Ryan officially retired on Monday after 15 seasons in the NFL, 14 of those played in Atlanta.
Ryan is one of the best quarterbacks of his generation, someone who helped revive the Falcons in 2008 after a disastrous 2007 season and forged a real legacy as Atlanta’s best-ever quarterback.
As we look back on Matty Ice’s stellar career, it’s worth taking stock of his best games while wearing a Falcons uniform. Most of them come from that banner 2016 MVP season that got Atlanta to the Super Bowl, but you can find highlights throughout his career.
Let’s look back on five of those banner Falcons games that helped define Ryan’s time with the team.
Sept. 7, 2008: Home vs. Detroit Lions
In 2008, Ryan started his first game off with a bang. His first career pass was a literally 62-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Michael Jenkins. The Falcons won that day, 34-21, but the greater victory was the promising showing by Ryan in his first NFL snaps. It’s memorable because it set the tone for where Ryan’s career was headed, right on his very first play.
Jan. 13, 2013: Home vs. Seattle Seahawks, NFC Divisional Round
Ryan finally got the burden off his back of not winning a playoff game in 2013, when he led a rousing, 30-28 victory over the upstart Seahawks. He threw for 250 yards and three touchdowns (including a stellar deep touchdown pass to Roddy White) in that game and shook off the perception that he could not win in the postseason in the process. It was a special day for him and the franchise that sent the Falcons to the NFC championship game.
Sept. 26, 2016: Away vs. New Orleans Saints
No list of Ryan’s achievements would be complete without a win over the archrival Saints, but we picked one of the most exciting games of the quarterback’s tenure in New Orleans. In that 2016 season, Ryan only threw for 240 yards and two touchdowns in that game. Although, considering this was in the most hostile environment the Falcons played in during Ryan’s years, it was during Ryan’s MVP season and the fact that this was on Monday Night Football, it makes it the victory all that much sweeter. Falcons fans will always remember this one fondly.
Oct. 2, 2016: Home vs. Carolina Panthers
About week later, Ryan threw for a career-high 503 yards against the division rival Panthers in his 2016 MVP season, including a whopping 300 yards to wide receiver Julio Jones. It was the best example of just how dominant the Ryan-to-Jones connection was in the 2010s, as the Falcons firmly established themselves as playoff contenders that season by absolutely dismantling an NFC South foe.
Jan. 22, 2017: Home vs. Green Bay Packers, NFC Championship Game
Perhaps the greatest game in Falcons history was also one of Ryan’s finest moments, as he threw for 392 yards and four touchdowns in the final game at the Georgia Dome to defeat the red-hot Packers and send Atlanta to its second-ever Super Bowl. He gave the stadium where he established his career the best send-off possible as the Falcons capped that 2016 season in style … well, at least until Super Bowl 51, anyway.
