Falcons' Matt Ryan Continues Development into an Elite QB with Career Day

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan entered rarefied territory Sunday against the New Orleans Saints. 

In the NFL, four quarterbacks are generally considered elite players: Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers are the best of the best. Ryan was always considered a part of the next tier of signal-callers.

After his performance during the Falcons' 37-34 overtime victory, however, he's clearly entering the same category at the start of his seventh season. 

Ryan outdueled Brees, purely from a statistical point of view. Ryan was razor-sharp. He completed 31 of his 43 passes, threw with three touchdowns and had a 128.8 quarterback rating. 

Player	Completions	Attempts	Yards	Touchdowns	Interceptions
Matt Ryan	31	43	448	3	0
Drew Brees	29	42	333	1	1

Ryan's 448 passing yards are a Week 1 franchise record and one of the best opening-day performances in NFL history. 

The most important statistic during Ryan's performance was zero turnovers. 

A deeper look into the game also showed a quarterback who is prepared to carry his team. When Ryan entered the NFL, he benefited from a strong running game and a talented roster. This is now Ryan's squad, and head coach Mike Smith didn't understate the importance of that fact in his postgame remarks, via NewOrleansSaints.com:

"

I thought Matt may have played his best game as an Atlanta Falcon. He’s played a lot of games for us, and made a lot of plays, but I was really impressed with his ability to extend some plays today, moving in the pocket and actually getting out and running the football. He was able to extend some plays. I thought he was very, very accurate. When you have almost 570 yards of total offense and 448 yards through the air, your quarterback’s playing well.

"

The quarterback could rely on future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez since 2009. He was the calming voice on the Falcons offense and Ryan's security blanket. After Gonzalez retired following the 2013 campaign, though, Ryan became the primary voice in the huddle.

The quarterback can still rely on running back Steven Jackson or wide receiver Roddy White, but both veterans missed significant playing time in the past year. Their absences allowed Ryan to assume the position as the primary veteran voice on the offense. 

Gonzalez still makes his voice heard even in retirement. 

Ryan has even reached the stage of his career where he displays the ability to overcome deficiencies within the rest of the Falcons offense. 

The quarterback played behind a makeshift offensive line during the second half against the Saints. With backups playing at both offensive tackle spots, he still went 17-of-25 passing with two touchdowns in the second half and overtime.

Ryan orchestrated three scoring drives to bring back the Falcons against New Orleans. He was at his best in the final drive in regulation when he was 4-of-5 passing to put the team in position for kicker Matt Bryant to convert a 51-yard field goal and force overtime. 

It became the Boston College product's 25th comeback victory of his career. 

The most impressive part of Ryan's game was how he almost always found the right target. He completed passes to nine different receivers and averaged 10.4 yards per pass, which is over three yards better than his career average. He also showed good awareness in the pocket by being sacked only once despite exotic looks from Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. 

The Falcons preached toughness the entire offseason. They wanted to be a more physical team. It starts with the team's best player. Ryan is the toughest player on the field for Atlanta, and his continued growth at the position will help the Falcons return to the squad seen in 2012 when it appeared in the NFC Championship Game, instead of the one which skidded to a 4-12 record in 2013. 

Once Ryan leads the Falcons back to the playoffs, he'll be mentioned in the same breath as Brees, Brady, Manning and Rodgers. He's that good, as he demonstrated against New Orleans during the opening week of the 2014 NFL season.

Brent Sobleski covers the NFC South for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.