Matt Ryan is now an elite NFL quarterback

Fueled by another early exit from the playoffs a year ago, Matt Ryan appears to be playing on a new level in 2012.

He’s got his Atlanta Falcons sitting at a perfect 4-0 a quarter of the way through the NFL season, one of only three teams in the NFL to remain undefeated after four weeks.

Before his arrival, Atlanta had never posted back-to-back winning seasons. He is now on the verge of accomplishing a winning season in each of his five NFL seasons.

The Falcons have never been 4-0 with Ryan as their starting quarterback. One reason for their early success this season is their willingness to give Ryan much more control of the offense.

During his first four years in the NFL, Atlanta averaged 30.64 rushing attempts per game while passing the ball 33.98 times per contest. The team entrusted running back Michael Turner with a great amount of work for its offense.

This year, that has changed. Atlanta has decreased its rushing attempts to 24 per game and increased its passing average to 36.75 attempts.

A quarter of the way through the season, the 27-year-old might just be the league’s MVP.

Among quarterbacks that have started four games, Ryan leads the NFL in quarterback rating and Total QBR, statistics that completely encapsulate a quarterback’s performance.

He ranks second in passing touchdowns and seventh in passing yards per game, all the while tossing only two interceptions.

His most impressive performance came Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.
With less than eight minutes to play, Ryan’s Falcons trailed the visiting Panthers by four points.

Starting at its own 20-yard-line, Atlanta had a lot of field to cover and not much time to do it.

Ryan led the hurry-up offense down the field all the way to the Carolina 15 yard line in less than three minutes. Atlanta kicked a field goal, bringing the score to 28-27 in favor of the Panthers.

Atlanta got the ball back with 3:16 remaining and a chance to take the lead.
Ryan made a beautiful pass on the first play of the drive, a rainbow to wide receiver Julio Jones that, had Jones’ big toe not grazed the sideline, would have been good for 43 yards.

Jones stepped out, and the Falcons had to punt after a lockdown performance from the Carolina defense for the next two plays.

Ryan would have one last chance to lead his team to a victory. In a seemingly impossible situation, Atlanta had the ball at their own one yard line with 59 seconds remaining on the clock and no timeouts.

Ryan wasn’t fazed.

Again on the first play of the game, he hoisted up a deep ball to one of his receivers. This time, Roddy White came down with the perfectl y placed pass good for a 59-yard gain.

A couple more quick passes to the sidelines, and Ryan had set up his kicker with an easy 40-yard field goal to take the lead for good.

To be one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks, you need the arm, the stats, the confidence and the wins.

Matt Ryan has all of them. The only thing eluding his accomplishments is a Super Bowl victory.

The way he’s playing now, don’t be surprised if he adds one of those to his résumé come February.

­— tlstutzm@indiana.edu