Matt Ryan reaches 500 club and Julio Jones gets 300 as the Falcons roll

Remember when Matt Ryan wasn’t a good quarterback anymore?

After an offseason in which Ryan’s game was picked apart, he has been the NFL’s most productive quarterback through the first quarter of this season. Ryan was brilliant as the Atlanta Falcons dismantled the Carolina Panthers 48-33 on Sunday. He threw for 503 yards and four touchdowns.

It helps when you have Julio Jones to throw to.

Jones posted the sixth 300-yard game in NFL history. His 75-yard touchdown, when the Panthers were staging a rally, put him at exactly 300 yards for the day. Jones set a Falcons franchise record for receiving yards and Ryan set one for passing yards.

Jones posted just the second 300-yard game in the NFL since 1989, when Flipper Anderson of the Los Angeles Rams set the all-time mark with 336 yards. The closest anyone has come since then was Calvin Johnson’s 329-yard game in 2013.

Julio’s day today: ???????????? pic.twitter.com/jMo8fTMUWi

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) October 2, 2016

Ryan had a chance to break the single-game record of 554 yards, and Jones could have topped Anderson’s record. The Falcons got the ball back 1:53 left, leading 41-33. A 52-yard pass to Jones would have broken both long-standing NFL records simultaneously. But the Falcons ran on first down, Ryan was sacked on second down, and then they ran a give-up draw play on third down to force the Panthers to use their third timeout. After that, the Falcons returned an interception for a touchdown to ice the game.

Jones’ tremendous day didn’t go unnoticed by former Panther cornerback Josh Norman.

Josh Norman on Julio Jones 300 yard day: "I'm just gonna sip my tea on that one" #RedskinsTalk

— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayCSN) October 2, 2016

We didn’t see records fall, but the Falcons will gladly take a huge win.

The Falcons appear to be the new favorite in the NFC South. The Panthers are 1-3, after going 15-1 and making a Super Bowl last season. The Falcons are 3-1 and looked like the superior team on Sunday. Ryan is leading the Falcons’ charge with his own resurgence.

Ryan, coming off a season in which he threw too many interceptions and didn’t post the same numbers he has in years past, had 970 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception in his first three games this season. That didn’t come against the best competition, so there was some fair skepticism before Sunday. It’s hard to be skeptical after Ryan torched the Panthers. Only 18 other players have reached the 500-yard club in NFL history. Now Ryan is in it too (though Norm Van Brocklin’s record of 554 yards, set in 1951, amazingly survives on).

Jones has been dominant his entire career, but Sunday he was better than ever. The Panthers, who let All-Pro cornerback Josh Norman go this offseason, couldn’t guard him. He’s too explosive for almost any NFL cornerback, much less the corners the Panthers are using. His 75-yard score, when he took a short pass and showed off his power and speed as he moved all the way down the field, was a thing of beauty.

Jones has never been a question. Ryan was this offseason. There are no questions now. Ryan and Jones have been the best quarterback-receiver combination in the NFL so far this season.