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This is not an article that seeks to convince you that Matt Ryan is one of the best quarterbacks in football, because you’re either already convinced or you can’t be convinced. This is just an article that highlights an impressive statistic and wonders, logically, whether that run will continue for #2.
First, the statistic. Ryan leads the NFL the past two seasons in games with more than 300 yards passing, a product of a prolific passing attack with him at the helm. He’s keeping rare company with the likes of Patrick Mahomes...and also Jared Goff.
Most games with 300+ passing yards in last two seasons
— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) June 11, 2020
Matt Ryan - 19
Patrick Mahomes - 17
Jameis Winston - 16
Jared Goff - 14 pic.twitter.com/e2pXefOfyI
Will this continue in Atlanta, which would help vault Matt Ryan into the upper echelon of quarterbacks in terms of statistical production again in 2020? There are several reasons to think the answer to that question is yes.
First, consider Dirk Koetter. His offenses tended to be wildly unbalanced in Atlanta, as the Falcons pass, pass, pass their way to either victory or defeat. Look at this:
In his time with Atlanta (both as OC and HC), Dirk Koetter has never ranked worse than 8th in total pass attempts.
— Jake FF'ing Trowbridge (@JakeTrowbridge) June 14, 2020
2012 - 8th
2013 - 3rd
2014 - 3rd
——
2019 - 1st
The second factor is the talent on hand. Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley are two of the best receivers in football, Russell Gage showed promise a year ago, and Todd Gurley is a very capable pass catcher, to say nothing of Ito Smith. Add in Hayden Hurst and his intriguing upside and there are plenty of reasons to think the Falcons, whatever their flaws may be, will once again rank near the top of the league in their passing game.
Of course, all those 300 yard games haven’t translated to a ton of wins the last two seasons, which is why I’m hoping this is a more efficient, less volume-based attack. Either way, I do think Ryan will run his streak of leading the league in this particular metric to three straight seasons.