The 2016 NFL regular season is now officially in the books and with that comes a heated debate as to who should represent the league as the most valuable player.

Its rare that three or more players have a legitimate shot at winning one of the league’s most prestigious awards, but that’s the case this season. The so-called front-runner has changed numerous times, but as we slide into the postseason, it appears that it is a three-horse race. Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons, Tom Brady of the New England Patriots and Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers.

Matt Ryan Will Win the NFL MVP Award By a Landslide

All three players have had great seasons and have helped propel their respective teams into the playoffs. But one player stands out above the rest and is by far the most deserving of the MVP and that player is Matt Ryan.

Ryan entered the 2016 season with a lot to prove. The former Boston College Eagle had an abysmal 2015 season, a year in which he had a career high 24 turnovers (16 interceptions and eight fumbles). But Ryan broke numerous records and helped Atlanta finish the season with an 11-5 record and the number two seed in the playoffs, despite the Falcons having the toughest schedule in the league for 2016 .

Matt Ryan Leads The Way In Virtually Every Statistical Category

Ryan posted a quarterback rating of 117.1, which goes down as the fifth-best rating of all-time. Rodgers finished 2016 with a rating of 104.2 and Brady ended the season with a rating of 112.2. So when it comes to quarterback rating, Ryan gets the checkmark.

Ryan was also the only quarterback in the NFL to throw a touchdown pass in all 16 games and threw the second most touchdown passes (38) this season, behind only Rodgers’ 40 touchdown throws. But when you dig a little bit deeper than that, Ryan still has the advantage. Ryan averaged a touchdown every 9.8 pass attempts while Rodgers’ average was over 10.

But what really separates the two quarterbacks is the amount of rushing touchdowns Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman stole from Ryan. Atlanta finished with 20 rushing touchdowns, good enough for third best in the NFL. Green Bay finished with 11. It’s a pretty safe bet that Ryan easily could’ve eclipsed the 40-touchdown mark if not for the Falcons terrific rushing attack.

The Trend Continues In Total Passing Yards

The last main category to look at is passing yards and Ryan has both Brady and Rodgers smashed. Ryan completed 28 fewer passes than Rodgers, yet threw for 516 more yards. And that was due in large part to Ryan’s NFL record-setting 9.26 yards per attempt for 16 games. This is arguably the most important stat of them all. A quarterback’s main job is to move his team down the field and Ryan did it the most efficiently. Rodgers ranked 14th in the NFL in yards per completion at a measly 7.26.

Ryan set a Falcons franchise record by throwing 38 touchdowns, breaking his own record. He has now thrown for over 200 yards 55 games in a row which is an NFL record. Ryan became the first quarterback to throw a touchdown pass to 13 different receivers in a single season and threw two or more touchdown passes to 10 different receivers. Also an NFL record.

The main argument for Rodgers as MVP is the “run the table” stretch. Rodgers’ finished the season on a five-game winning streak and posted some very impressive numbers. But they still weren’t better than Ryan’s over that period of time.

Ryan completed 73 percent of his passes over the last five games (137-188) for 1,697 yards, threw 14 touchdown passes and posted an 87.5 quarterback rating.

Rodgers completed 71 percent of his passes over the last five games (142-200) for 1,667 yards, threw 15 touchdown passes and posted an 83.1 quarterback rating.

The numbers speak for themselves. Ryan has been by far the most efficient passer in the NFL all season and he is more deserving of the league’s MVP award than Rodgers or Brady. It would be an absolutely travesty if Ryan doesn’t win this award. Ryan has the head-to-head win over Rodgers, has the higher seed in the playoffs than Rodgers and has excelled even with all-pro wide receiver Julio Jones missing two games and being hardly able to walk in two others.

Matt Ryan for MVP.

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