Stafford made a similar leap this year under Jim Bob Cooter, improving his completion percentage to 65.3 (second best in his career) and cutting his picks to 10, a career low over a full season. And he did it despite playing with an injured throwing hand in the final month of the season.
Could that be a sign he's nearing a Ryan-like leap?
"Jim Bob Cooter has come in, and I think that's important," Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman said. "As it relates to this game, for instance, I think what Kyle Shanahan has meant to Matt Ryan, in a lot of ways, you could say Jim Bob Cooter has meant to Matthew Stafford. And we've seen his play elevate because of that."
The biggest missing piece appears to be the running game.
Atlanta selected Devonta Freeman in the fourth round of the 2014 draft, then Tevin Coleman in the third round a year later. Now Freeman is the only back in the league to surpass 1,000 yards rushing each of the last two years, while he and Coleman are just the third tandem in league history to both rack up 500 yards rushing and 400 yards receiving in the same season.
When Atlanta wasn't running the ball this year, it was pretending to. Nobody used play action more than the Falcons this season (27.6 percent), and Ryan led the league with 1,650 yards on the looks. He averaged 11.3 yards per attempt.