Why fantasy owners should put Matt Ryan on ice for the playoffs

It seems highly unlikely that Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has led anyone into the fantasy playoffs, but, if you're still holding out hope, it's time to cut him loose — yup, we're telling you to drop Matty Ice like a burning coal. Ryan's transition to Kyle Shanahan's offense has been mostly horrendous. He's tossed as many interceptions as touchdown passes over the past six weeks (9), and he's delivered only one game all season with more than two TDs. For comparison's sake, Tyrod Taylor has four games with at least three TDs, as does Marcus Mariota.

Complicating matters further for Ryan is the fact that he'll face the Carolina Panthers defense twice over the next three weeks, during the most important stretch of the fantasy season. Carolina is perhaps the team best equipped to contain Julio Jones, because they have a legit shutdown corner on the roster (Josh Norman). The Panthers have held opponents to a league-low 6.1 yards per pass attempt this season, and they lead the NFL in both interceptions (19) and total takeaways (29).

Bottom line: You won't be starting Matt Ryan in the fantasy postseason, except perhaps in a two-QB league — and ideally you can avoid him in that format, too. Drop him and don't look back. Quarterbacks like Ryan Fitzpatrick, Alex Smith, Jameis Winston, Taylor and Mariota all remain available in a majority of Yahoo leagues, and all are better options in the money weeks.

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