FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- It started as added protection for an unspecified thumb injury. It turned into somewhat of a fashion statement.

Atlanta Falcons MVP candidate Matt Ryan started wearing a glove on his left non-throwing hand after banging his thumb during a 45-32 Week 3 win in New Orleans. It gave him a better grip on the football. He stuck with it the rest of the regular season and will wear a black glove in Saturday's home playoff matchup against Seattle.

Ryan could have ditched the glove a while ago.

Matt Ryan has been wearing a glove on his non-throwing hand since Week 3. AP Photo/John Bazemore

"I don't know specifically which week, but probably six or seven weeks after," Ryan said without sharing details about the thumb injury. "Probably Week 10 or 11, I could have."

But he didn't. And maybe it's become a lucky glove, in a sense.

"No, no, not at all, because that glove has changed a lot," Ryan said with a laugh. "I probably change it once a week. I've just gotten used to wearing one. That's it. Every day in practice, you get used to it. You start doing the same thing over and over again."

Because the Falcons obviously change uniforms, Ryan has changed glove colors. Not that any of it really correlates, but Ryan is 6-4 when he wears a black glove and 4-0 in all other colors: 2-0 in white, 1-0 in red, and 1-0 in gray. He wore a black glove with a red jersey when he threw for a franchise-record 503 yards in a 48-33 home win against Carolina. He wore a white glove with a white jersey when he posted a season-best 144.7 passing rating in a 43-28 road win against Tampa Bay. And he wore a black glove with a white jersey when he posted a season-low 78.7 passing rating in a 24-15 loss in Philadelphia.

Wide receiver Julio Jones, doubling as a fashion consultant, assessed which glove color suits Ryan best.

"The black one looks better, because it goes with the uniform," Jones said. "The white, it's just too much. It kind of sticks out. He sticks out a lot more than the black one."

Which one does Ryan prefer?

"Whatever they give me," Ryan said. "You've go talk to those [equipment] guys. It's their deal. It's whatever they give me that week."

Ryan certainly has gotten a good grip on Kyle Shanahan's offense in Year 2. He established new franchise single-season records with 4,944 passing yards and 38 touchdowns while completing 69.9 percent of his passes and averaging 9.3 yards per attempt. Ryan led the league with a 117.1 passer rating. His body of work in guiding the Falcons to an 11-5 finish and NFC South title led to All-Pro honors ahead of New England's Tom Brady, thought to be his toughest competitor for the league MVP honor.