Matt Ryan

Week 6 vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Matt Ryan completed 26-of-38 passes for 285 yards with one touchdown and zero interceptions in the Falcons’ Week 5 loss to the Steelers. He also lost a fumble in the second half that Pittsburgh returned for a touchdown. Ryan was sacked six times and had zero time to find open receivers. He was relegated to checking down to tight end Austin Hooper, which is problematic for an offense that has Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley at its disposal. He did hit Mohamed Sanu for a 40-plus yard touchdown in the second quarter, but that was the only highlight of the day for Ryan and the Falcons. Adding injury to insult, Ryan suffered a foot injury, although he should be fine for Week 6. Expect a bounce-back for Ryan and the Falcons, who return home to face a bad Tampa Bay defense. Ranked as our QB4 for Week 6, Ryan has a great matchup on Sunday.

Week 4 vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Matt Ryan completed 26-of-35 passes for five touchdowns and also added 12 yards on four carries in the Falcons’ Week 3 loss to the Saints. In what lived up to its shootout potential, the two teams combined to score 80 points. Ryan put on a show, throwing three of his five touchdown passes to rookie Calvin Ridley, who finished with 146 yards on seven catches. A positive touchdown regression candidate coming into the season, Ryan now has nine total touchdowns the past two weeks. Moving forward, he and the Atlanta offense will need to out-pace the Falcons defense, which is incredibly banged-up. Ryan and Co. will be playing in plenty of upcoming shootouts and he is ranked as our No. 6 QB for Sunday’s meeting with the Bengals. He’s a viable streaming option in Week 4.

Week 2 vs. Carolina Panthers

Matt Ryan completed 21-of-42 passes for 251 yards with zero touchdowns and an interception in the Falcons’ Week 1 loss to the Eagles. For a player making top quarterback money, it was a forgettable night for Ryan, who was abysmal in the red zone, both to start the game, and end it as the Eagles hung on for an 18-12 victory. Part of the problem was Steve Sarkisian’s playcalling. If you go back and watch the sequence of events leading up to the Falcons’ failed possession at the end of the game, Sarkisian repeatedly called for four verticals into the end zone. That’s it. No crossing routes, no deception, no creatively. Sarkisian essentially learned nothing in the seven months from when the Falcons’ season ended in Philadelphia a year ago in the exact same manner.

Regardless, Ryan wasn’t good. He lacked arm strength on deep throws and seemed to be more concerned about throwing more interceptions than making a play in the red zone. Ranked as our No. 14 QB, we would avoid Ryan in his matchup with the Panthers on Sunday. If you're looking for streaming replacements, Alex Smith and Tyrod Taylor are better options than Ryan.