Falcons' Ryan: Super Bowl collapse 'doesn't consume me'

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan faces the nearly insurmountable task of not allowing last season's collapse during Super Bowl LI affect him during the upcoming campaign. To Ryan's credit, he insists he's over the harrowing loss to the New England Patriots.

For those who have somehow forgotten, the Falcons blew a 28-3 lead in the second half of the Super Bowl, succumbing to the Patriots in overtime. Ryan is now doing his best to use it as fuel for the rest of his career.

"That game is always going to be a part of who I am," Ryan said to Greg Bishop of Sports Illustrated. "It's always going to drive me, but it doesn't consume me. I won't let it consume me."

Ryan would've had the best possible season imaginable if the Falcons held on, winning NFL MVP honors, shattering the ill-conceived notion that he wasn't among the league's best quarterbacks.

Alas, there is no time for further reflection.

"We're pointed forward," Ryan said.

Maintaining the nucleus of the NFL's highest-scoring offense from last season, the Falcons would do well to forget their nightmare end to the 2016 campaign.