For a long time, the narrative about Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was that he was talented but soft – not a true competitor – certainly not a “winner.” It goes to show that often the narratives about famous athletes are worthless garbage. Sometimes they’re even in direct opposition to the truth.
Fact is that Ryan is one of the toughest competitors in the NFL right now. His streak of consecutive starts is proof of that. According to Field Yates at ESPN, Ryan has started the last 149 games for Atlanta. That’s the second longest active streak at QB in the league behind Philip Rivers.
The last time Ryan sat out was in his second season (2009), when he missed two games due to turf toe. Ryan has almost certainly played through minor injuries and aches and pains since then that never made it into the official injury report.
In addition to durability, the common denominator for the QBs on this list is their ability to navigate the pocket and avoid hits. This has always been an underrated aspect of Ryan’s game.
Today, Ryan faces a Colts defense that went out and signed Justin Houston this offseason, so he may need to prove it again.
