Matt Ryan leads the league’s highest-scoring offense. He’s probably going to end up the league MVP.
But to many, the Falcons quarterback still has something to prove, primarily because he’s 1-4 in the postseason.
Ryan knows that’s a factor, and he’s trying to apply the hard lessons learned as the Falcons prepare for this weekend’s Divisional Round game against the Seahawks.
“We’ve had the bye twice and we won one and lost one, and you have to approach it as a normal work week,” Ryan said, via Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com. “That’s probably the thing that I’ve learned in both of those times, is to keep doing things that we’ve done up until this point and stay in rhythm.
“I think we practiced really, really well last week. I think that’s important, to keep that rhythm and keep that timing and get out there and work.”
His one playoff win happened to be against the Seahawks, though that won’t necessarily help him this weekend.
“The biggest thing is, when you’re playing in the playoffs, it’s not that different,” Ryan said. “You still have got to go do the right things. You’ve got to play well. You’ve got to convert third downs. You’ve got to score when you’re in the red zone. That stuff doesn’t change.
“That’s probably the No. 1 thing that I’ve learned throughout my career: Don’t make it any less than it is, and don’t make it any more than it is. It’s about going out there and playing well.”
If he can continue to do that as he has this year, he knows he can go a long way toward changing the perception of himself around the league.
