FALCONS’ RYAN WINS MVP BY A LANDSLIDE
Falcons QB claims trophy over Brady
HOUSTON — Although Tom Brady had a historic season, it will not include another honor as the NFL’s Most Valuable Player.
Instead, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was named the winner for the first time in his pro career at last night’s NFL Honors.
The two signal-callers will face off tonight when the Patriots take on Atlanta in Super Bowl LI at NRG Stadium.
Ryan won the Associated Press vote with 25 of a possible 50 votes, as Brady came in second with 10.
“This is an incredible honor for me,” Ryan said in a prerecorded message. “Obviously, there are so many other great candidates and players who had amazing seasons. I want to thank all of (my) teammates. Obviously without them, none of this is possible.”
In 2007 and 2010, Brady took home the league’s MVP award, and had a truncated 2016 regular season worthy of another. He completed 291-of-432 passes (67.4 percent) for 3,554 yards and 28 touchdowns to just two interceptions. That touchdown-to-interception ratio was the best in NFL history for a single season.
But Ryan’s season was also spectacular by every conceivable metric. The former Boston College star completed 373-of-534 passes (69.9 percent) for 4,944 yards and 38 touchdowns to seven interceptions. His passer rating of 117.1 was the highest in the league by nearly five points over Brady’s 112.2.
“Matt has been unbelievable this year,” Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan said. “He started out strong and he’s only gotten better and that’s what has been more impressive to me. He’s done it from Week 1 to Week 16. He’s done it in the playoffs.”
One aspect that most likely worked against Brady in the voting was his fourgame Deflategate suspension at the beginning of the season. Due to the penalty, the quarterback did not have as many chances to showcase his talents and perhaps pile up more impressive statistics.
Over the course of the season, players like Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott and his teammate and quarterback Dak Prescott, both rookies, put themselves squarely in the race. Prescott was named Offensive Rookie of the Year last night. Raiders quarterback Derek Carr and Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers also had big seasons. Ryan beat Rodgers for the Offensive Player of the Year, 151⁄ to 11.
But it was Ryan and Brady who were the most consistent throughout the season. And while Ryan took home the trophy laswt night, if Brady leads the Pats to the Super Bowl and wins his fourth Super Bowl MVP and second in three years, he probably won’t worry too much about the regular season honor.