Two trades during the 2022 NFL offseason have helped land Matt Ryan with the Indianapolis Colts.
While Ryan has gotten to the Super Bowl before with the Atlanta Falcons, Colts fans want him to send their team there this season.
However, that task might be a tall one for the 37-year-old quarterback.
But that’s not keeping fans from having their dreams of another Super Bowl title coming to Indianapolis.
While they are dreaming, does Ryan truly give the Colts a fighting chance at winning a Super Bowl?
Ryan Might Be False Hope For The Colts
Ever since the retirement of Andrew Luck, the Colts have been searching for their next starting quarterback.
They didn’t want to keep Jacoby Brissett after his 2019 performance.
After getting Phillip Rivers in 2020, he retired after only one season with the team.
They then looked toward Carson Wentz in 2021, but traded him away after one season.
Now the team has Ryan after a trade with the Falcons, meaning the fourth starting quarterback for the team since Luck retired.
While Ryan’s past success gives the team hope, it might be false hope.
The veteran quarterback has a downward trend with his numbers since his Super Bowl loss to the New England Patriots
It’s likability. Matt Ryan seems like a nice guy and a pretty good QB. He’s at the end of his career yes. But more importantly I don’t see any national Matt Ryan commercials. But Baker also has the browns on an upswing. Ryan has been on a downward trend since the SB.
— TheDudeAbides (@TheDudeAbides30) March 17, 2022
The season following his Super Bowl run in 2016 was the last time Ryan reached the playoffs.
Since the 2018 season, Ryan hasn’t posted a winning record with his team.
However, losing games and missing the playoffs is the least of his concerns heading into the 2022 season.
Matty Ice’s Career Is Cooling Off
While Ryan’s 2018 season was his second best for touchdowns and interceptions, he slowly degraded each season afterward.
He posted 26 touchdowns in 2019 and 2020, but ended 2021 with only 20 touchdowns.
He’s also posted double-digit interceptions over the last three seasons.
That’s the thing, Matt Ryan is conservative in the fact that he limits big play potential, but still ended up throwing double digit interceptions the last 3 years, so all he’s doing is limiting the offense.
— Sam (@sklgr10) May 22, 2022
With his play style of being conservative with deep passes, his recent interception to touchdown totals become a red flag.
However, he also doesn’t have a deep threat in Indianapolis like he had with Calvin Ridley and Julio Jones in Atlanta.
These things put Ryan in a bind if he wants to help the Colts win a Super Bowl while there.
But there’s at least hope that he can take them back to the playoffs.
Colts’ Defense And Jonathan Taylor Can Help Ryan Get The Team To Playoffs
While a Super Bowl run might be out of the picture, Ryan has the surrounding tools to at least get the Colts back into the playoff picture.
He’s got a solid defense, something the Falcons lacked over the past several seasons.
He’ll also have running back Jonathan Taylor, the top rusher from 2021.
These things are what can help Ryan with leading the Colts to a playoff berth.
However, if Ryan and his coaching call the right plays with Taylor, it could give Ryan more chances in the passing game.
It would be a refreshing experience for Ryan, as he never had a dominant rusher like Taylor in Atlanta.
So Colts fans can at least look forward to a better team going into 2022, even though it won’t be a Super Bowl championship team.
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