Although the Falcons are coming off a disappointing 24-15 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, quarterback Matt Ryan looks forward to the Falcons’ weekend off. He returns to Boston College to have his No. 12 jersey retired Saturday.
Ryan joins seven other Eagles to have their jerseys retired, including Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly, who had his No. 40 retired in October.
“It’s a great honor,” Ryan said. “It really is to have my jersey retired at BC. I’m looking forward to that.”
Starting at quarterback for the Eagles in 2006 and 2007, Ryan had the most pass completions in the ACC and second most in the NCAA in his senior season (388), behind only Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell. Ryan also finished his junior season in 2006 with the most pass completions in the ACC (263).
During his career with the Eagles, Ryan had a 59.9 completion percentage and threw for 9,313 yards and 56 touchdowns. As a senior, Ryan ran an impressive Heisman Trophy campaign and the Eagles peaked at No. 2 in the polls in Week 10 and won the ACC Atlantic. Ryan finished seventh in Heisman voting after throwing for 31 touchdowns, 19 interceptions and 4,507 yards — the most passing yards in the ACC and fifth best in all NCAA football in 2007.
Nearly nine years to the day after he threw his last pass as an Eagle, against Miami in Alumni Stadium, Ryan will return to Chestnut Hill, Mass., where he played under coaches Tom O’Brien (2006) and Jeff Jagodzinski (2007).
“That’ll be a fun weekend to be able to get together with some college teammates and some college friends as well as some family up there and to see so many of the people that have impacted my life on such a huge scale and really helped me to become both the player and person that I am,” Ryan said. “It’ll be really fun to get back to BC.”
This season as a Falcon, Ryan has been the elite quarterback. Ryan averages 9.38 yards per pass, the highest through 10 games in his career, and has thrown for 3,247 yards — the most of any quarterback through Week 10. Ryan also is tied with Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees for most touchdowns thrown this season (24).
With the help of wide receiver Julio Jones, Ryan has led the Falcons’ offense to a league-high 320 points this season, 28 higher than the next team, the San Diego Chargers.
Yet the Falcons were held to one touchdown and settled for three field goals in three appearances inside the Eagles’ 40-yard line in Sunday’s loss.
“We had some momentum winning two games in a row,” Ryan said after the Falcons’ loss Sunday. “It’s disappointing heading into a week off like that. Typically, when you don’t play well, the most important thing is to get back onto the practice field and start preparing for another opponent. We have a week where you have to sit with it a little bit longer. Hopefully, we can take advantage of getting the rest, getting some guys back and being fresh and ready to play down the stretch.”
Ryan was 18-for-33 passing for 267 yards, with one touchdown and a late-game interception, in the loss. The Falcons’ only touchdown was a 76-yard pass from Ryan to wide receiver Taylor Gabriel. Ryan also was sacked twice for 12 yards for loss.
“We knew this defensive line was good coming into the ballgame,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. “We knew that was one of the strengths of their club. So like I said we’ll give them the credit.”
Over the bye weekend while Ryan takes a break from practice and revisits the college where he grew as a player and as an individual, he’ll work on his focus for the remainder of the season.
“You have to get rest this week and have a mindset that we’re not preparing for the last six games of the season, but the mindset to play nine or 10 more,” Ryan said.
“That’s what you have to prepare for, and that’s why you have to take advantage of these opportunities where you can get some rest and be fresh. That’ll be my message to everybody. Keep moving, but let your body and mind get right.”
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