Six Reasons Why Matt Ryan Should Win the NFL's MVP

ATLANTA, GA – When the season started, who would have thought that Matt Ryan would lead the NFL’s No. 1 offense at the conclusion of the season?

Not many people. Still fewer would have thought that the former Boston College signal caller would be in the running for the league’s Most Valuable Player award.

But as 2017 begins in earnest, and the Falcons begin their playoff push, here we are. Ryan is not only in the running but he should be the runaway favorite, if you take an objective look at the numbers. Sorry, Tom Brady fans. Yes, his insane 28 to 2 touchdown-to-interception ratio is impressive, but the guy missed the first four games of the season due to suspension. Who knows what could have happened?

To help make the case that Matty Ice is indeed the Most Valuable Player in the NFL, we picked six (get it, pick six?) reasons why he should take home the trophy:

Passer Rating

His 117.1 passer rating this year outpaced the nearest quarterback (Brady) by double digits, and that’s saying something for a New England squad that only lost twice all year. Matty Ice’s quarterback rating was fifth-highest in NFL history. What makes that stat really ridiculous is that he hit an NFL-record 13 different receivers for touchdowns this season. Think about that for a second.

All-Pro Honors

Not just any quarterback is named to the Associated Press All-Pro team. But that's exactly what happened Friday when a national panel of 50 members of the media, who cover, read and write sports all day every day, picked the Falcons quarterback over such prestigious names as Derek Carr and Ezekiel Elliott. The media can’t be wrong, can they?

Read more: Atlanta Falcons Playoff Schedule

Touchdown-to-Interception Ratio

Only three quarterbacks in NFL history have had less than 10 interceptions and 35 touchdowns. The other two, Aaron Rodgers (2014) and Tom Brady (2010), won the MVP after their respective seasons. Need we say more?

Yards, Yards and More Yards

The premium measuring stick for any quarterback is yards. They can be yards after the catch, or they can be lobs that travel great distances, but a signal caller worth his salt will have a nice mixture that shows prowess, skill and accuracy. Ryan completed 69.9 percent of his passes this season. The next closest QB? Brady (but remember he played in four fewer games. Bye-bye).

Victories

Ryan entered the season with a great receiver and good players everywhere else. If you look at it within the context of the NFC South, the Falcons' division, there was reason to fear that the Carolina Panthers' 15-1 record the year before would make them formidable. The high-powered Saints would be dangerous, and the Tampa Bay Bucs were due for a resurgence. But it was the Falcons that did the surging, and they did it while playing the toughest schedule in the league, a mark matched only by the San Francisco 49ers.

Impact

Ryan couldn’t have done it without an opportunistic defense, the most dominant receiver in the game, Julio Jones and two powerful runners, but to turn that around, none of those entities could have the seasons they did without Ryan making plays with his arm. The Falcons were undefeated – 4-0 -- in games where Jones had 35 yards or less. What does that mean? It means Ryan is putting on a clinic on destroying defenses week in and week out.

Bonus: Why Not?

Before this season, Ryan had never thrown for more than 4,720 yards in a season. He shattered that mark in a big way this year, eclipsing the 4,900-yard mark. His previous best for touchdowns in a season was 32 in 2012, but he surpassed that total in Week 15 against San Francisco.

The bottom line: Ryan's final season stats, 38 touchdowns and seven interceptions, are MVP-worthy.

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