Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan is poised, deliberate, and elite under pressure. His reputation as someone who plays well under pressure precedes him. It's how he earned the nickname "Matty Ice" and it's why the Falcons have pulled out so many fourth quarter victories in recent years. But the pressure of coming from behind in the fourth quarter isn't the only pressure Ryan faces.
In 2014, Ryan played behind an often injured, frequently changing offensive line. He was pressured in 26.4 percent of the Falcons' 681 offensive snaps. That pressure percentage ranked 23rd in the league. So is that why the Falcons struggled to win games? Not exactly.
Football Outsiders had a fantastic article yesterday about how NFL offenses fared in 2014 when their respective quarterbacks were pressured. So how did the Falcons fare when Ryan was pressured? Not bad. In fact, not bad at all, relatively speaking. When Ryan was pressured, the Falcons had the fourth best offensive DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average). On the other hand, when he wasn't playing under pressure, the Falcons' offensive DVOA ranked 19th. Quite the disparity, eh? In fact, it was the third highest disparity in the league.
So what's my point? Put simply, pressure on Ryan didn't lead to a crappy season.