On April 26, 2008, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell stepped up the podium at Radio City Music Hall to announce the the third pick in the NFL Draft.
“With the third pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, the Atlanta Falcons select Matt Ryan,” he said.
The Atlanta Falcons franchise was at a crossroads, looking to start anew and begin a rebuilding phase. Turning around a franchise riddled with scrutiny due to the premature exit of star-quarterback-turned-felon Michael Vick would serve as no easy task, even for a highly-touted quarterback from Boston College.
The implied promise that becomes synonymous with selecting a quarterback early in the draft is the eventual climb to the Super Bowl. For Matt Ryan, the road traveled has been a difficult one with many obstacles along the way. His first three seasons in the League reignited the football interests of Atlanta. In three years, he brought Atlanta three winning seasons, a Rookie of the Year award, a first-round bye in the playoffs and two playoff berths.
Most teams today would sacrifice the world to find that kind of success. However, a 0-2 postseason record in those years overshadowed the accomplishments and created the story of Matt Ryan’s career: top-level play in the regular season but underachievement in the playoffs.
Then came the 2012 season, one in which the fortune seemed destined to reverse course. For the second time in his career, Ryan surpassed 4,000 passing yards in a season and was seen by many as one of the league’s elite passers. He amassed a career year in yards (4,719) and touchdowns (32). The Falcons earned the top seed in the NFC again and Ryan earned his first postseason victory.
The win meant if Ryan earned another, he would finally be heading to the Super Bowl. But to much avail, Ryan and the Falcons collapsed, blowing a 17-0 lead to the 49ers in the conference-title game.
The so-called success earned Ryan a contract worth over $100 million and a commitment from the Falcons in the belief that Ryan was the man to soon lead the franchise to its first-ever Super Bowl title. For the first time, though, Ryan hit a decline, leading fans to question if he was worth the big contract. Atlanta plummeted to the bottom of the standings in the next two seasons, tallying a combined total of 10 wins.
Today, Ryan has his team on the verge of a championship. He has led the Falcons to the highest-scoring offense in the league. He has made a compelling case for NFL’s Most Valuable Player this season. And he has decisively defeated two Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks in the playoffs. Ryan was not supposed to do quite as much as that. If he is to defeat a third, Ryan could redefine his career. A win over arguably the greatest quarterback and head coach of all-time would silence all critics and solidify Ryan as one of the game’s elites.
In nine seasons, Ryan has finished in the top 10 in passing yards, touchdowns and passer ratings multiple times and quietly guided the Falcons to success. Bringing the Vince Lombardi Trophy to Atlanta means everything to Ryan. He has overcome adversity and gutted out the difficult times to finally land a chance at the title.
Most teams would have given up and started a search for a new quarterback seasons ago. A win would end the misery of lost seasons like 2010 and 2012 and create a new legacy drastically different from those of the past — one that could eventually have “Matty Ice” Hall of Fame-bound.