Matt Ryan Continues to Stand Tall Under Pressure
Scott Morris | January 26, 2017
Atlanta Falcons star quarterback Matt Ryan is the odds on favorite to win this season’s NFL MVP award. He has had some big numbers all season, with a run over his past six games of 18 touchdown passes with no interceptions.
Even though he dissected the Packers defense to perfection last weekend in the NFC title game, many football pundits wonder if he can handle the pressure he will face leading his Falcons against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI.
His stats in big games show that Ryan stays cool and collected well under the heat of an important game.
Dating back to his college days with Boston College, Ryan started three bowl games for the Eagles and was a perfect 3-0. Despite the three wins straight up, the Eagles and Ryan were 1-2 against the spread and BC did not win by more than six points in any of the three games.
As the starting quarterback for Atlanta in two NFC title games Ryan has completed more than 70% of his passes while throwing 8 touchdowns and only 1 interception.
Last Sunday against Green Bay, Ryan looked nearly flawless. If Ryan can lead his offense up and down the field without committing turnovers against Patriots, Atlanta has a solid shot at winning Super Bowl LI.
Turnovers are key. Atlanta is 10-0 in its past 10 games when Ryan does not throw any interceptions.
In Ryan’s first appearance in the NFC Championship, the football gods were against him. He led the team to a lead of 17-points only to see it squandered by the defense.
This season Ryan has more weapons around him on offense and the Falcons defense has improved each week, which gives the Atlanta quarterback and his teammates an excellent chance of knocking of the Patriots and lifting the franchises’ first Vince Lombardi trophy.
The stars might be aligning this season for Ryan and his teammates. Atlanta is currently a 3-point dog on most sportsbooks with another 10 days prior to the kickoff of Super Bowl LI.
Ryan and his teammates do not mind carrying the dog label especially in the Super Bowl as the dogs have won the past five straight Super Bowls, while going 12-3 against the number in the past 15 Super Bowls.
If you like Atlanta to cover, then you might want to take them on the moneyline to win as well. Forty-four of the 50 straight up winners in previous Super Bowls or 88% have also covered the number.
