Matt Ryan reaches 100 Touchdown level, Atlanta Falcons history

Sep 17, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) throws a pass during the game against the Denver Broncos at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

With his second touchdown pass of the game against the Denver Broncos, Matt Ryan made Atlanta Falcons history. He threw his 100th touchdown pass as an Atlanta Falcon, second on the Falcons’ all time list.

Right now Ryan is only behind Atlanta legend Steve Bartkowski on the Falcons all-time touchdown passing list. Granted, he is 54 touchdown passes behind the Falcons Ring of Honor member, but that says a whole lot about Ryan.

In his second game of his fifth season, he reached a milestone that took Bartkowski nearly six full seasons to reach. It was a different era, but don’t tell Falcons fans that.

After watching the Week 2 Monday Night matchup between the Falcons and Broncos, Ryan confirmed our thoughts that he is the best quarterback in Atlanta Falcons history. He did it not by throwing half a dozen touchdowns and 500 yards, but by going 24-36 for 219 yards and 2 TDs. A passer rating of 101.5 is really good compared to most of Falcons history, but that effort seemed to be just enough to get the job done against the Denver Broncos.

It’s a good sign that in Atlanta, expectations of our quarterback out high. He faced not only tough competition from the Broncos front seven, but also from Denver’s strong cornerback unit. It says a lot about Ryan’s maturity and ability to be a cerebral, decisive quarterback that he could still be very productive against a defense very well prepared to defend the pass.

It may have been the under-the-radar story of the game, but this is a huge milestone for both Ryan and the franchise as a whole. Throwing 100 touchdown passes as a Falcons quarterback is a huge deal, something that deserves more attention than from this humble blog. There is no doubt, however, that Ryan will soon go down as the best Atlanta Falcon quarterback of all time. One day, he will join Bartkowski in the Falcons Ring of Honor.