Vikings stun the Colts: Matt Ryan is now on the losing end of the four biggest leads in NFL history

If there’s any NFL quarterback who knows anything about painful losses, it’s definitely Matt Ryan. After hearing jokes nonstop over the past six years about his team’s 28-3 victory in Super Bowl LI, the Colts quarterback was on the losing end with another improbable loss Saturday.

After jumping out to a 33-0 lead, Ryan could only watch the Vikings mounted the largest comeback in NFL history To stun Indianapolis 39-36 in overtime. The loss meant that Ryan was now the losing quarterback on four of the biggest leads in NFL history.

“I’ve played in this league for so long I know that so many different things can happen,” Ryan told ESPN.com. “Anything can happen. You just have to keep your head down and go ahead and find ways to introduce plays when they present themselves. It’s not much. It’s a handful of plays in a game. It’s three or four plays from an offensive perspective that we have to find ways to implement, and that’s a win.” We just didn’t make it.”

Here’s a quick rundown of the other three biggest losses of Ryan’s career, besides Saturday’s.

Biggest Super Bowl lead

Date: February 5, 2017 (Super Bowl LI)
Lead: The Falcons lead the Patriots 28-3
Final: The Falcons lose 34-28 in overtime

Everyone knows the story, here: Ryan and the Falcons led 28-3 in the third quarter, only to take the score 31-0 afterward. After jumping out to a 25-point lead, the Falcons offense had the ball four times during Patriots’ comebacks, but on all four occasions, they were unable to score. They went three and lost a fumble, making a Patriots comeback possible.

The biggest advance in the NFC title game

Date: January 20, 2013
Lead: The Falcons lead the 49ers 17-0
Final: The Falcons lose 28-24

Not only was Ryan on the losing end for the largest lead in Super Bowl history, he was also on the losing end for the largest lead in NFC Championship history. The Falcons were the top seed in the playoffs during the 2012 season and halfway through the second quarter, they were leading 17-0 and looked like they were on their way to a win over the 49ers, but that didn’t happen. Instead, the Falcons were eliminated 14-0 in the second half. The Falcons drove to the San Francisco 10-yard line in the final two minutes, but were unable to hit it and ended up winning. Although the 49ers won the game, they did not win a Super Bowl: The Ravens would beat them 34-31 in Super Bowl LVII.

Biggest bullet in caps

Date: October 26, 2014
Lead: The Falcons lead the Lions, 21-0
Final: The Falcons lose 22-21

Everyone knows the Super Bowl loss and some fans remember the amazing lead in the NFC Title Game, but sometimes that gets forgotten. In 2014, the Falcons had a Week 8 game in London against the Lions and looked unbeatable during the first half, jumping out to a 21-0 lead, but that’s the biggest threadbare we’ve ever talked about, so you know what happened next. The Lions outscored the Falcons 22-0 in the second half, including a 48-yard field goal from Matt Prater as time expired. The Falcons offense got four possessions in the second half, but came up empty on them all on three punts and an interception by Ryan.