If you think it was hard for Atlanta Falcon fans to watch their epic Super Bowl 51 meltdown, imagine how hard it was for Atlanta Falcon players to watch—especially quarterback Matt Ryan who spent most of the second half on the sidelines courtesy of some ridiculous play calling from the offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.
Well Shanahan may have moved on, taking the San Francisco head coaching gig the following day, but Ryan admits he is still living the horror.
The Falcons, of course, blew a 28-3 lead as the Patriots mounted an improbable comeback that began in the third quarter and Ryan has not only constantly replayed that comeback in his mind, he replayed it on his TV.
Yup, the glutton for punishment claims to have watched the meltdown for three consecutive days following the heartbreaking loss.
“No, I watched it,” Ryan says. “I watched it a day after. I watched it two days after and I watched it three days after. For me, it was one of those things where you kind of want to be able to deal with it appropriately.”
“Maybe, that’s different for everybody. Some people bury it away. Some people (do) whatever. … For me it was ‘all right, let’s watch. Does it feel the same way it felt as we were going through it?’”
And while we continue to blame the pass heavy play calling for the loss, Ryan—who seems to have watched the disaster more than us—does not. He believes the team simply was going with what worked throughout the season.
Ryan is right, they went with what worked throughout the season—not playing the New England Patriots.