NFL QB Rankings: Falcons Rise while Matt Ryan Falls
The Atlanta Falcons got their first win of the season last Sunday when they went on the road and beat the New York Giants 17-14 on a game-winning field goal by Younghoe Koo.
The Falcons were rewarded by ESPN's NFL Power Rankings by moving up four spots from 29 to 25.
Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan had his best game of the season, completing 27 of his 36 passes for 243 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Those numbers were good enough for a season-high 111.2 quarterback rating.
He was especially sharp on the two scoring drives that engineered the Falcons’ comeback against the Giants. On Atlanta's two big possessions, he was 11 of 13 passing for 112 yards and a touchdown.
But … For his performance, Ryan fell a spot from 18 to 19 in Gregg Rosenthal's NFL.com QB Ranking and Index.
This marks the second week in a row that Ryan has fallen on Rosenthal's index.
READ MORE: Ryan Falls in QB Rankings after Loss to Tampa
Ryan's yards-per-attempt number against the Giants was 6.75, not far off his career mark of 7.5. Most of the damage done to the Giants was after the catch, and Rosenthal dings Ryan for not getting the ball downfield.
Writes Rosenthal of his Ryan ranking -
We are entering the fourth week of Matt Ryan Deep Completion Watch. He didn't even attempt a pass over 20 yards against the Giants and remains 0-for-3 on the season in the category. With that said, ole Matty Ice did make an appearance, helping the Falcons score 10 straight late in the win at New York, with a few key throws to rookie tight end Kyle Pitts.
Ryan loses ground in Rosenthal's ranking to Giants' quarterback Daniel Jones, who didn't throw a touchdown, had a quarterback rating of 90.9, and lost the game.
While the quarterback gets too much credit when a team wins and too much blame when it loses, Rosenthal seems to be going in the other direction.
In a sense? According to Rosenthal's new rankings, the Falcons won despite Ryan's good work on Sunday.
