Matt Ryan was ruled out for the Atlanta falcons for Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks with a high ankle sprain, ending one of the more impressive streaks in NFL history. In a year where starting quarterbacks have suffered injuries and missed games, Ryan was able to avoid the injury bug for seven weeks and up his consecutive starts streak to 154 games, fifth on the league's all-time list for quarterbacks.
The last time Ryan missed a game was Week 14 of the 2009 season; his 154-game streak was the second longest in the league among active NFL quarterbacks. Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers holds the longest active streak at 215 games, dating back to his first start for the Chargers in Week 1 of the 2006 season. Rivers is second all-time on the list, 82 games behind Brett Favre for No. 1. To reach Favre's streak of 297 games, Rivers would have to play five more seasons, along with the remainder of this season. If Rivers were to catch Favre, he would reach him in his age 43 season in 2024.
Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford now has the second-longest streak for consecutive starts among active quarterbacks with 134, which is sixth all-time. Stafford started his streak in Week 1 of the 2011 season. Eleven players have started more than 100 consecutive games, with New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady accomplishing the feat twice. Brady's first streak of 111 games -- from his first start in Week 3 of the 2001 season to Week 1 of the 2008 season -- was snapped when he tore his ACL. His second streak of 112 games went from Week 1 of the 2009 season to Week 17 of the 2016 season, and was snapped when he was suspended the first four games of the 2016 season because of the "Deflategate" controversy.
Here are the longest consecutive starts streak for quarterbacks in NFL history:
| Quarterback | Consecutive Games Started (Regular Season) |
|---|---|
Brett Favre | 297 (9-27-92 to 12/5/2010) |
Philip Rivers | 215 (9/11/2006 - Active) |
210 (11/21/2014 to 11/23/2017) | |
208 (9/6/1998 to 1/2/2011) | |
Matt Ryan | 154 (12/20/2009 to 10/20/2019) |
Matthew Stafford | 134 (9/11/2011 - Active) |
122 (9/7/2008 to 11/22/2015) | |
119 (9/9/2012 -Active) | |
Ron Jaworski | 116 (9/18/1977 to 11/25/1984) |
Tom Brady | 112 (9/14/2009 to 1/3/2016) |
Tom Brady | 111 (9/30/2001 to 9/7/2008) |
Joe Ferguson | 107 (9/18/1977 to 9/23/1984) |
And here are the longest consecutive starts streak for active quarterbacks:
| Quarterback | Consecutive Games Started (Regular Season) |
|---|---|
Philip Rivers | 215 (9/11/2006 - active) |
Matthew Stafford | 134 (9/11/2011 - active) |
Russell Wilson | 119 (9/9/2012 - active) |
72 (9/13-2015 - active) |
The longevity of Ryan's streak makes his feat all the more impressive. Only five quarterbacks have started 150 consecutive regular season games in the 100-year history of the NFL. While that list may grow over the next few years, that shouldn't take away the incredible durability of Ryan.
