What is Matt Ryan’s Legacy?

During opening day Thursday, Atlanta Falcons quarterback, Matt Ryan, went 21 of 43 for 251 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception in a 18–12 loss against the Philadelphia Eagles. Ryan’s performance was sub-par to say the least. Unfortunately for him, this isn’t anything new.
Entering his 11th season, Ryan has been the Falcons starting quarterback for each of the previous ten. In that time, Ryan has built quite a career.
Of course, Ryan has gaudy career stats with over 42,000 passing yards and 260 touchdowns. He even has a decent career regular season record of 95–64. Along with that, he has been in 4 Pro Bowls and even snatched the MVP in 2016.
So considering his achievements, it’s safe to say that Matt Ryan has been a pretty good quarterback. The issue with Ryan is that no one can definitely call him great. Great quarterbacks have great moments, and Ryan hasn’t had any.
For example, John Elway has “The Drive,” Joe Montana has “The Catch,” and Tom Brady has the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history, against, out of all people, Matt Ryan’s Falcons.
Despite his accolades, Ryan’s biggest moment is walking off the field, with his head down, after giving up a 28–3 lead in the Super Bowl.
Now, obviously you can’t put all of the blame on Ryan, considering that he helped build that lead in the first place. However, throughout New England’s comeback, Ryan did have plenty of opportunities to prevent the floodgates from opening up and came up short.
That’s where Ryan finds his niche as the guy who came up just short of what was expected.
Whether it be losing his first three playoff games, getting to a Super Bowl just to lose in epic fashion, or losing a playoff game last season on an overthrown ball in the final seconds, Matt Ryan has never come through when it mattered most.
The final moment of Thursday's game was Ryan throwing a ball a little too far out of the end zone in a last ditch effort to win the game. This only another example of Ryan’s legacy.
