Matt Ryan is arguably having the best season of his nine-year career.
The Atlanta Falcons' quarterback is pacing to surpass 5,000 passing yards in a season this year. Only a handful of NFL signal callers have passed for 5,000 or more yards.
Hall of Famer Dan Marino was the first to pass the mark when he finished his second NFL season (1984) with 5,084 yards, averaging 317.8 yards per game.
It would be another two decades before anyone would pass for 5,000 yards again. The Saints' Drew Brees threw for 5,069 yards in 2008. He remains the only quarterback to repeat the feat, finishing with a record-setting 5,476 in 2011 and with 5,177 yards in 2012.
Matthew Stafford (5,038) and Tom Brady (5,235) both challenged Brees for most yards in 2011.
Brees' record yardage remained for just two seasons, until the Broncos' Peyton Manning set the all-time mark with 5,477 passing yards in 2013.
Ryan came close to the mark in 2012 when he threw for 4,719 yards.
Ryan has 3,516 yards, averaging 319.6 per game after 11 games this season.
Here's a look at how Ryan's year compares to the first and last quarterbacks to surpass 5,000 (Select the tab to view how Ryan compares to each player. View player stats for each game/season):
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