Matt Ryan Self Scouts after Embarrassing Loss
The Indianapolis Colts were humbled on the road by the Jacksonville Jaguars 24-0, warming up the seats of head coach Frank Reich and general manager Chris Ballard.
But what of quarterback Matt Ryan?
Ryan was 16 of 30 passing for 195 yards and three interceptions. His 34.0 quarterback rating was the third worst of his career that spans 224 games.
After the game, Ryan owned up to his poor play.
"Yeah, I've got to play better," said Ryan. "There's no doubt about that. I think as a group we all have to play better, too. It's disappointing when you put in the work during the week and you come out and you don't play the way that you're capable of playing."
"Credit to Jacksonville. I thought they did a good job, played well, but we have to set a certain standard for ourselves. Every week we have to show up, and we've got to be ready to go."
"In the first two weeks we haven't done that. It's a long season, and we've got to get back to work, but today wasn't good enough."
Through two games Ryan's quarterback rating is 63.9; he's never been below 80 for a full season and has a career rating of 93.9.
Ryan has been through tough stretches in his career, and the Colts will need his experience and past performances in those tough stretches to rebound from a disappointing start.
"I've played in a lot of games," said Ryan. "I've got my ass kicked before, I know that much. It's all about how you respond. You get up off the floor. It happens in this league."
"There's good players across the board. Every week is going to be tough. It happens to you sometimes, but one can't turn into two."
"You have to pick yourself back up, have a great week of preparation, and make sure we have a better performance next week."
Road games are never easy in the NFL, especially for the Colts in Jacksonville where they haven't won since 2014.
But the opponents don't get any easier. Indianapolis comes home on Sunday, but they'll face a 2-0 perennial power in the Kansas City Chiefs.
Ryan and the Colts will definitely need a better performance against Kansas City, before the season that started with such high expectations gets away from them before the calendar hits October.
