When did Matt Ryan Find Out He was Starting?
Indianapolis Colts head coach Jeff Saturday said on two different occasions last week that his starting quarterback would be second-year pro Sam Ehlinger.
So it was a bit of a surprise when Matt Ryan was taking first-team reps in the warm-ups prior to the game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
It turns out it was a bit of a surprise to Ryan as well.
"I didn't know. I didn't know," Ryan said when asked if he thought he would start or be the backup quarterback. "And so, really Friday afternoon, I started to get a feel for how it might go and then he kind of talked to everybody and let us know where we were at."
"When asked me about it earlier in the week, I really just said, 'I only know one way to do it.' And so, if I do it, this is how I do it, and this is who I am, and this is how it's worked for me."
"And so, I didn't get any commitments or anything like that, just the opportunity to work."
"I'm proud of what we did today."
Ryan was an efficient 21 of 28 passing for 222 yards and a touchdown in the Colts' 25-20 win over the Raiders. He also added a key 38-yard run in the fourth quarter to extend the drive that led to the go-ahead score.
According to Pro Football Reference, it was the first time Ryan has had a run over 20 yards in his 15-year career.
"Yeah, sounds about right because I'm not used to being kind of in the open field for that long," said Ryan with a laugh after Sunday's game.
Ryan's 109.5 quarterback rating was his second-highest of the season behind the 109.7 he had in the Week 4 loss to the Tennessee Titans. It's the fourth time in eight starts he has been above 100.
Ryan's season quarterback rating stands at 86.8 with his overall numbers being dragged down by poor performances against the Jacksonville Jaguars (34.0) in Week 2 and Denver Broncos (60.1) in Week 5.
Not coincidentally, the Colts had their best rushing game of the season with 207 yards on the ground.
It's the formula the Colts hoped to employ, a strong-rushing attack with an efficient-passing game, when they acquired Ryan for a third-round pick in March.
The Colts may have gotten the formula right against the Raiders, but is it too late to make a playoff run? They sit one-game off a playoff spot, but there are three teams ahead of them.
The schedule doesn't get any easier for the Colts with the unbeaten Eagles up next.
