Before he took over as the Atlanta Falcons president of football, Matt Ryan spent 14 seasons as the team's starting quarterback. Ryan was a model of consistency for over a decade, even securing the league MVP award in 2016, but he's still haunted by the team's Super Bowl loss to the New England Patriots.
Super Bowl rings tend to change the way we view certain quarterbacks, and former New York Giants QB Eli Manning is the best living example of this phenomenon. Manning, the former No. 1 overall pick, led the Giants to two Super Bowl championships but was fairly average for much of his career.
Both Ryan and Manning started exactly 234 games. Ryan retired with 62,792 passing yards, 381 touchdowns and 183 interceptions for a career passer rating of 93.6. Manning posted similar numbers - 57,023 passing yards and 366 touchdowns, but tossed 244 interceptions and had a passer rating of 84.1.
One might argue that Ryan was a better quarterback than Manning, but those Super Bowl rings hold a lot of weight. When a fan on social media made this claim on Tuesday, Manning was quick to respond.
"I will ponder this while I play with my rings," the former Giants quarterback retorted. However, NFL fans fired back at Manning, with many claiming Ryan's body of work was superior, despite his lack of rings.
You wish you were as talented as Matt Ryan. You were just lucky with HOF Defenses https://t.co/ijFV4WSjfZ
— B17 Bomber 15 More Wins (@B17Fortres) April 23, 2026
Ponder leading the league in interceptions 3Xs and throwing the 3rd most since 1980. Then kneel and thank God for Strahan, Tuck, Osi, and JPP. You're a. 500 QB. Matt was 15 games over while having only 1 good defense his entire career. He was better.
— Ivan Johnson Jr. Jr. • F.I.L.A. (@jordan23atl) April 22, 2026
You led the league in picks 3 times but I’m not gonna send the blitz cause you beat Tom Brady twice in the Bowl. Watch your damn mouth speaking on Matty Ice tho. https://t.co/IurrGYjXLh
I like the tweet....but let's be honest, Eli was rarely even drafted in fantasy leagues https://t.co/yYXC1lt3Z0
Not only that statistically Philip Rivers is better than him too. Dan Marino didn’t win a ring and you’re not going to believe this but he’s better too.
Whole lotta talk in the comments by people with no wins at QB against Tom Brady in the Super Bowl https://t.co/lN4M77QdcR
— matt corral enjoyer 🇹🇹 (@MCE0045) April 22, 2026
Matt Ryan was better. Not even close. https://t.co/Eekeq2VE56
— Yall are DUMB AF🫵🏾 (@Suave2Niice) April 21, 2026
Ryan is back in Atlanta as the team's president of football. He left the CBS broadcast booth to take over as the Falcons' primary decision-maker. Atlanta is set to embark on its first draft under Ryan, general manager Ian Cunningham and head coach Kevin Stefanski.
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Eli Manning vs. Matt Ryan: Falcons fans weigh in on QB debate