Falcons Quarterback Matt Ryan adds another piece to Hall of Fame resume

In his 14-year career with the Atlanta Falcons, quarterback Matt Ryan has seen his fair share of highs and lows. From the early days when the team was a “gatekeeper” for the NFC to winning MVP, he has pretty much done it all while wearing the red and black.

This time, however, the 36-year-old signal-caller added a new stat towards his Hall of Fame resume. And he did it on Eli Manning Day, no less.

The Falcons head coach dialed up a great call for a Matt Ryan milestone.

With just over a minute remaining in the first half against the New York Giants, Ryan and the Falcons were inside the Giants’ five-yard line, facing a third and goal situation.

Not wanting to fall into the same trap they did against another NFC East opponent — Philadelphia — head coach Arthur Smith dialed up an interesting formation: double rub routes over the middle of the field, with Calvin Ridley and Kyle Pitts, lined up outside the numbers.

This formation ended up confusing the Giants’ defense leading to Ryan finding Olamide Zaccheaus for the touchdown, also giving Atlanta their first outright lead since said Eagles game.

However, this touchdown also has merit to Ryan’s Hall of Fame resume. This touchdown was his 350th for his career, making him the tenth player in NFL history to reach this achievement.

Ironically enough, the next player for him to pass? Eli Manning, who has 366 for his career.

Ryan finished the game with 351 touchdowns on his career as a whole, hitting tight end Lee Smith on another interesting formation which saw him fake the handoff to Mike Davis (who made a great fake with a hurdle) and then hit Smith in the end zone.

It’s very easy to say Ryan’s status as a Hall of Famer is borderline given everything that’s happened in his career. Yet his consistency and durability at the position are not something that comes around often, especially with the amount of versatile defensive players.

Furthermore, Falcons fans, what about the offensive line? Let’s be real about them. The Eagles game appears to be an aberration right now, because in the past two games they have only given up four sacks, and that includes the vaunted Buccaneers front-seven.

It does not matter how good or bad your quarterback is, if they are not protected by the five guys up front, they cannot find the open man. Don’t believe it? Super Bowl LV. Case closed.

Getting back to Ryan, if his career continues, he most likely could finish top-five in both passing yards and passing touchdowns. Add on the MVP award, and he most likely will receive a gold jacket and a bust in Canton.

The question is: will all three of those accolades, along with countless other miscellaneous NFL records, be enough for him to get in on the first ballot?

That’s up to you, Falcons fans.