CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- It was a Matty Ice moment, for sure.
Early in the fourth quarter Saturday, right after Matt Ryan absorbed a sack and his team got whistled for 12 men on the field, the Atlanta Falcons quarterback and MVP candidate showed his poise under pressure. On third-and-21 from his own 14-yard line, Ryan ignored the Carolina Panthers' home-crowd cheers and took the snap from center Alex Mack. Ryan stepped up to avoid pressure, bypassed his first two targets, threw the ball with a defender corralling him, and found a wide-open target in Tevin Coleman. The running back collected the pass at the 30-yard line and dashed for the first down on a 31-yard pickup. Coleman then followed up on the next play with a 55-yard touchdown sprint.
It was simply another case of Ryan keeping his cool and using all the weapons at his disposal. And it emphasized just why the Falcons should be feared come playoff time.
"To me, Matt's the MVP," star wide receiver Julio Jones said. "People are going to say what they want to say about who is the MVP. I don't watch Tom Brady. And I don't even know what all the MVP talk is about. But in my eyes, Matt Ryan's the MVP right now."
Ryan came out with a purpose in a 33-16 victory that moved his 10-5 team closer to an NFC South title and automatic playoff berth. He completed all 10 of his first-quarter passes for 112 yards and a touchdown to stake the Falcons to a 13-0 lead.
Ryan's two touchdown passes Saturday -- to undrafted tight ends Joshua Perkins and D.J. Tialavea -- meant he had completed touchdowns passes to 13 different targets this season. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, no other quarterback in NFL history has accomplished such a feat.
The "M-V-P, M-V-P" chants by Falcons fans could be heard loud and clear from the stands in the late moments of the contest.
Those two scores also helped Ryan set a new franchise single-season record with 34 touchdowns, surpassing the 32 he had in 2012 and going into Saturday's game.
"Those don't happen without a lot of people making good plays," Ryan said. "I'm lucky to be surrounded by a lot of really good players."
Ryan now has 4,613 passing yards, putting him 387 yards from 5,000 with one regular-season game at home against the New Orleans Saints remaining. But Ryan, just named the NFC starting quarterback for the Pro Bowl, would be the first to say he'd trade in all the individual accolades for a shot at a Super Bowl. His 1-4 career postseason mark is something folks continue to use against him in assessing his accomplishments.
All Ryan did against the Panthers on Saturday was complete 27 of 33 passes for 277 yards and a passer rating of 121.8. He did so by completing passes to 10 different receivers. And Ryan went his third straight game without throwing an interception.
Although Jones, who returned from a toe sprain, led all receivers with 60 yards, Ryan didn't have to force his top target the ball. Jones, who had a franchise-record 300 receiving yards against the Panthers in Week 4, had four receptions on seven targets. Five Falcons players had three receptions or more, led by running back Devonta Freeman with eight.
Spreading the ball around has worked for the Falcons all season. It simply works better when an MVP candidate is the one throwing the passes.