Matt Ryan was every Atlanta Falcons fan during game winning drive
By Nick Halden
For Atlanta Falcons fans who quickly grew tired of the main broadcast and Jason Kelce, the Manning cast had a welcome guest. Kelce joined the broadcast and quickly turned the entire booth into an Eagles-focused perspective with Kelce celebrating and enjoying every minute of the Eagles lead.
This isn't to say the former Philly center shouldn't have done exactly that. Rather for the Atlanta Falcons fans watching having the former Eagles enjoying and rooting for their pain was off-putting for a fanbase always on edge.
ESPN balanced out the one-sided broadcast with Matt Ryan joining the Manning brothers
While the main broadcast was decidedly in the Eagles' favor those who flipped over to watch the Mannings call the game weren't disappointed. Matt Ryan joined the broadcast at the perfect time offering balance to the Eagles fanfest that seemed to be taking place on the main broadcast.
Ryan was the final guest of the game watching as the Eagles failed to run out the clock and helping call Atlanta's final drive. What was great about the moment wasn't the comments or the calls Ryan made but the obvious emotion of the moment.
Each Atlanta Falcons fan can relate to the stressed silence that Matt Ryan sat in watching as his team drove down the field. Unable to believe something good might be happening unwilling to celebrate the moment until the final second had ticked off the clock.
This is the life of an Atlanta Falcons fan being used to sitting in stressed silence. Understanding recent Falcons' history is littered with games full of hope only for Atlanta to find a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Watching the franchise GOAT go through the same wave of emotions in real time was a great moment for the former quarterback and one Falcons fans relate to. One they are hopeful will soon become a distant memory under Raheem Morris and Kirk Cousins.