Even in a down season, Matt Ryan continues to make history and add to the legacy of what has become a very impressive career. In today’s game, he has officially moved into the top 10 on the all-time NFL passing yards list, with over 49,325 career yards.
He accomplished the feat on his touchdown toss to Calvin Ridley, which put the Falcons up 26-0. He needed 254 yards to surpass Moon and now has 255 on the day with plenty of time left.
Last season, Ryan made history by surpassing Peyton Manning to become the all-time passing yards leader in a player’s first 11 seasons. At the conclusion of that 11th season, Ryan was sitting on 46,720 career yards, which was 12th all time. This year, he has surpassed Hall of Famers Fran Tarkenton and Warren Moon to crack the top 10.
Ryan also holds the longest active streak of consecutive 4000-yard seasons in the NFL with eight. He’s on pace to hit 4,000 yards once again this season, as he looks to begin moving in on Drew Brees’ all-time record of 12 consecutive such seasons.
Ryan also holds the record for most consecutive 200-yard games with 64 — a streak which undoubtedly helped him get his career yardage mark to where it currently stands.
The next player on the all-time yardage list that Ryan will look to hunt down is John Elway, who threw for 51,475 career yards. With good health, there is an outside shot that Ryan can catch Elway at the tail end of this season. If not, then he’ll surely surpass the Denver legend in 2020.
Ryan looks to have at least 4-5 good years left in the NFL after this one. With some good fortune in regard to injuries, he’ll move past many more Hall of Famers on the all time yardage list. The best part is that he’ll do it all as the quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons with how long the rest of his contract lasts.