Matt Ryan – QB
I start with the quarterback first every week and just as I mentioned back in Week 8, Matt Ryan can still be a threat when he wants.
Ryan has been slowing down, though, and does not look like the former MVP that he used to be. But that also means he could be ready for a breakout game soon.
The Carolina Panthers – an NFC South divisional rival – would be the perfect team for him to do that against. And it’s not like Phil Snow’s defense was pulling up any trees during their two games before the bye week.
Ryan has thrown for almost 3,000 yards and 16 touchdowns this season, but he already has 11 interceptions on the year. Last week was the first time in four weeks that he didn’t throw a pick in Atlanta’s loss to the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Falcons’ offensive line has also been abysmal, which hasn’t made Ryan’s job any easier. Carolina has proven to be a good defense when firing on all cylinders, so they need to expose the protection to make things extremely uncomfortable for the Boston College product under center.
Ryan hasn’t lost to the Panthers twice in a season since 2013. He’ll do his best to be on his game this weekend but will need help from elsewhere.