Against the rest of the league, Matt Ryan is a Pro Bowl quarterback. Against the Eagles? Hes been mediocre.
Ryan, a Philadelphia native and graduate of Penn Charter, has a 33-13 career won-loss record, and his .717 winning percentage is second-best among active NFL quarterbacks with 50 or more starts, behind only Tom Brady (.766), one of the greatest quarterbacks in league history.
But against the Eagles? Ryan is 0-2 vs. his hometown team, and his 73.2 passer rating is not only well below his overall career figure of 86.9, its second-worst of his career against teams hes faced more than once (he has a 65.9 mark against the Buccaneers, although hes 5-1 against them.)
Ryan makes his third career start against the Eagles on Sunday at the Georgia Dome, where the Eagles will be looking for a 2-0 start and trying to knock Ryan down to 0-2. And the Eagles will be trying to beat Ryan with their third QBDonovan McNabb beat Ryan and the Falcons 27-14 in 2008 and Kevin Kolb was a 31-17 winner at the Linc last year in one of his three starts in place of injured Michael Vick.
When the Eagles beat the Falcons in 2009 at the Georgia Dome, Ryan was out with a foot injury, replaced for two games by Chris Redman.
The Eagles (0-2) and Saints (2-3) are the only teams Ryan has faced more than once that he doesnt have a winning record against.
Ryan has completed just 53.5 percent of his passes in his two starts against Philly, far below his 60.8 career mark. Of the 27 teams hes played against in his , Ryan has a lower completion percentage against only the Bills (51.4) and Jets (47.1), who hes faced just once each in his four NFL seasons.
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The Falcons lost to the Bears, 30-12, in their season opener in Chicago Sunday. No surprise there. Ryan is now just 13-11 in his career on the road with a 79.6 passer rating. But in the friendly confines of the Georgia Dome, hes 20-2 with a 96.5 rating.
E-mail Reuben Frank at rfrank@comcastsportsnet.com