Matt Ryan’s a top ten quarterback on the road, too

Matt Ryan won the MVP in 2016, and as you might deduce based on that, he is a very good quarterback. But as happens to most quarterbacks in the course of their careers, Ryan has gained reputations he doesn’t necessarily deserve. One of these is the idea that he can’t win on the road, something he chipped away at convincingly a year ago, but still lingers in some dark, far-flung quarters of the internet.

To dispel this, we need to turn to the stats. Ryan isn’t alone in this reputation, as many dome quarterbacks get knocked for a perceived regression on the road, though. How has Ryan fared over the last three years? The Ringer’s Danny Kelly has an answer for us.

In case you’re squinting to read that, Ryan has the fifth-highest pass rating and eight-highest touchdown total away from the cozy confines of Atlanta over the last three seasons. That’s bolstered by last year’s impressive total, but aside from some weirdness with multi-pick games against Arizona in particular, Ryan’s played about as well on the road as he has at home over the last three seasons. He’s been better than the likes of Ben Roethlisberger, Jameis Winston, Cam Newton, and the immortal Josh McCown. That last one’s not as impressive, perhaps.

This is actually progress, which bears noting. For his career, Ryan is .500 outdoors with a 90/47 TD/INT ratio, though he’s 119/51 at home and 121/63 on the road overall. In both cases, his passer rating is nearly ten points lower when he’s not in the Georgia Dome (and now Mercedes-Benz Stadium). The progress he’s making at erasing that split shouldn’t go unnoticed, and it bodes well for this team’s continued success if Ryan can continue to play at a high level and the team can continue to surround him with weapons.