Ryan immediately made an impact by taking the Falcons to the playoffs in his first season, earning him Offensive Rookie of the Year.

His most successful season was in 2016 when he was named the NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) and led the Falcons to an appearance in Super Bowl LI.

Ryan went to William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia where he was a three-year starter and earned All-East honors from Larunt Lemming Prep Football Report.

[1] He captured All-Southeastern Pennsylvania accolades as a senior quarterback in addition to receiving All-City first-team honors in 2002 and second-team recognition in 2001.

A three-time All-League selection, he threw for more than 2000 yards with 19 touchdowns as a senior, finishing his career by completing more than 52 percent of his pass attempts during all three seasons at the helm.

Ryan played football, basketball, and baseball while in high school and was named captain of all three teams his senior year.

[9] He made his first collegiate start on November 27, 2004, in the final game of that season, completing 24 of 51 passes for 200 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions in a 43–17 loss against Syracuse.

[12] After a 30–10 loss to third-ranked Virginia Tech, coach Tom O'Brien finally went to Ryan for good in the fourth quarter of the next game against North Carolina State.

He completed 19 of 36 passes for 256 yards and a career-best three touchdowns in the 27–21 victory to help Boston College finish with a #18 ranking in the final AP Poll.

[21] He led the Eagles to a close 25–24 victory on December 26, 2006, in the Meineke Car Care Bowl against Navy in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Down 10–3 in the third quarter, he led the offense on a game-tying drive, hitting on key passes to Rich Gunnell, Andre Callender, and Ryan Purvis, landing the Eagles at the Clemson two-yard line early in the fourth.

[61] The contract made Ryan the fourth highest paid quarterback in the NFL behind Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, and Carson Palmer, despite never having played a professional game.

[71] The second game of the season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers marked Ryan's first interception by rookie cornerback Aqib Talib and also by Sabby Piscitelli.

With six seconds left he completed a 26-yard strike to Michael Jenkins that set Jason Elam up for the game-winning field goal as time expired.

On Atlanta's first offensive drive, Ryan completed all five of his pass attempts for 57 yards en route to a Falcons field goal and a 3–0 lead.

[94][95] In addition, he was named to the All-Rookie Team for the 2008 season, joining Steve Bartkowski (1975) and Doug Johnson (2000) as the only Falcons quarterbacks to ever claim this award.

[110] Chris Redman stepped in and managed to win the game by connecting to Roddy White for a five-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

[124] After falling to the New Orleans Saints in Week 16, Ryan closed out the regular season with a 31–10 victory over the Carolina Panthers with 236 passing yards and two touchdowns.

[128] In the Divisional Round, the Falcons were defeated by the eventual Super Bowl XLV champions, the Green Bay Packers, by a score of 48–21.

However, they were defeated by the eventual Super Bowl XLVI champion New York Giants in the Wild Card Round by a score of 24–2, marking the fewest points in a postseason game in Falcons' history.

[147] In the penultimate game of the regular season, he was 25-of-32 for 279 yards and four touchdowns in a 31–18 victory over the Detroit Lions to his third career NFC Offensive Player of the Week nod.

[150] In the NFC Championship against the San Francisco 49ers, Ryan threw for 396 yards and three touchdowns, but also committed two turnovers in crucial portions of the game, and later sprained the AC joint to his non-throwing shoulder as the Falcons lost 28–24.

After a much-needed 29–18 win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 13, the Falcons faced off against the Green Bay Packers[174] and lost 43–37 as Ryan had 375 passing yards, four touchdowns, and one interception.

Despite the struggles of the 2014 season, the Falcons still had a chance to make the playoffs with a Week 17 victory due to the weakness of the entire NFC South division.

[184] In the losing streak, Ryan had a season-high 397 passing yards for two touchdowns and an interception in a 23–20 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 8 on November 1.

[229] In a Week 14 34–20 loss to the Green Bay Packers, Ryan eclipsed 4,000 yards, becoming the third quarterback in NFL history to reach 4,000 in at least eight consecutive seasons, joining Drew Brees (2006–2017) and Peyton Manning (2006–2014).

On fourth down with two minutes left in the game, Ryan threw a 54-yard touchdown pass to Julio Jones that ended giving the Falcons the late go-ahead score.

[270] With the departure of longtime teammate Julio Jones, Ryan struggled to find consistency in his first year with new head coach Arthur Smith.

[283] Following a Week 7 loss to the Tennessee Titans, head coach Frank Reich announced Ryan had a shoulder injury and Sam Ehlinger would be the Colts starting quarterback for the remainder of the 2022 season.

[288] Following this loss, Saturday announced that Nick Foles would be the starting quarterback for the last three games of the season and that Ehlinger would be his backup, placing Ryan on the third line.