Written by Sean Wagner-McGough at CBSSports.com
It still feels weird to say this, but it needs to be acknowledged even though it’s only Week 9: Matt Ryan absolutely deserves to be in the MVP conversation — right alongside Tom Brady. If you watched the Falcons’ 43-28 win over the Buccaneers on Thursday night, you know exactly what I’m talking about.
Ryan has now led his team to a 6-3 record and by beating the now 3-5 Buccaneers, the Falcons sit comfortably on top of the NFC South.
Ryan had his way with the Buccaneers all night long, throwing for 344 yards. He completed 74 percent of his passes. He averaged 10.1 yards per attempt. He tossed four touchdowns to four different receivers.
In Kyle Shanahan’s offense, Ryan is unstoppable. He entered the game with a league-best 19 touchdown passes and he’ll likely retain his spot atop the leaderboard by the time his counterparts wrap up the week.
Here are five more takeaways from Week 9 of “Thursday Night Football.”
2. Falcons offense: Still explosive
The Falcons entered the game ranked first in yards and points per game. They didn’t slow down against the Buccaneers.
After the Buccaneers marched directly down the field for a touchdown to open up the game, the Falcons quickly responded when Ryan hit Levine Toilolo for a 32-yard touchdown.
Yep, you just watched Ryan throwing on the run! Weird.
Shanahan was just getting started. He quickly found his rhythm as play caller. Their second touchdown came on a handoff to wide receiver Taylor Gabriel, probably because Gabriel is super fast.
That touchdown, which capped a nine-play, 74-yard drive, gave the Falcons a six-point lead. They took that advantage into halftime.
Shanahan was just getting going. To begin the second half, the Falcons journeyed 86 yards on 11 plays. On four straight plays, Ryan hit Julio Jones for a total of 59 yards. But Ryan didn’t find his favorite weapon to end the drive. He found his fullback, Patrick DiMarco, for a wide-open touchdown — again, perfect play calling.
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