The Atlanta Falcons are preparing for their Super Bowl 51 matchup against the New England Patriots, but before the two teams take the field, some awards had to be handed out. The football world was in Houston to get some hardware handed out at the NFL Honors Awards Show on Fox plus the official announcement of the 2017 Pro Football Hall of Fame class. All the major NFL awards were handed out including the Coach of the Year, Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year and even the Comeback Player of the Year.
Matt Ryan was in the running for a few awards, but the first the first award he came home with was the NFL Offensive Player of the Year. But before the night was over, Ryan would win the NFL’s MVP award.
The NFL made the official announcement at the awards show on Saturday night.
The Associated Press chose the Atlanta Falcons quarterback as the league’s MVP Saturday night at NFL Honors, capping an incredible season stuffed with big plays and bigger statistics. Ryan earned the honor over Tom Brady, Ryan’s adversary in the Super Bowl, presumably because Brady had 12 games of excellence instead of Ryan’s incredible full season. Ryan received 25 votes for MVP while Brady finished second with 10.
?? Matty Ice = M-V-P! ??@M_Ryan02 is the Most Valuable Player for the 2016 season! #NFLHonors pic.twitter.com/6RRO43MIvl
— NFL (@NFL) February 5, 2017
Matt Ryan led the NFL in just about every big play category, from yards-per-attempt to plays over 40 yards to completion percentage on passes over 20 yards. Matt Ryan finished with 4,944 yards, 38 touchdowns, and only seven interceptions, ranking in the top two in touchdowns and yards.
Ryan and the Falcons square off with the Patriots on Sunday, February 5th at 6:30 PM ET on Fox.
