Matt Ryan Benched Days After Owner Compares Him To Peyton Manning

The Matt Ryan era in Indianapolis is over. In a stunning move, head coach Frank Reich announced Monday that the team is benching Ryan for former Texas standout Sam Ehlinger.

It's not just because Ryan is dealing with a shoulder sprain following Sunday's loss to Tennessee, either.

"Right now the move is for Sam to be the starter for the rest of the season," Reich said.

Say it ain't so, Matty Ice!

Ryan was traded to the Colts last offseason, and has been pretty awful through the first six weeks. He's had a few good games, which even led owner Jim Irsay to inexplicably compare him to ... Peyton Manning ... last week, but, for the most part, it hasn't been great.

Matt Ryan has been benched for second-year QB Sam Ehlinger (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

Matt Ryan leads NFL in interceptions, sacks

The former Pro Bowler has thrown nine touchdowns to nine interceptions, including a complete meltdown in Sunday's loss to Tennessee where he threw a pair of interceptions - one of which was returned 76-yards for a touchdown.

The Colts have been a disaster this season, especially on offense. They've scored just 11 touchdowns (third-lowest in the NFL), and have averaged just 16 points per game (fourth-lowest). While Ryan has completed nearly 70% of his passes, his nine interceptions lead the NFL.

He's also been sacked a league-high 24 times and fumbled 11 times.

Ehlinger, the former University of Texas QB, will become the seventh different starting quarterback under Frank Reich since 2018.

Sam Ehlinger can sling it, but can he save Indianapolis Colts?

The Colts drafted Ehlinger in the sixth round of the 2021 draft, and he was promoted to the team's backup role last week.

While he's never taken any meaningful NFL snaps, the second-year QB won 27 games at Texas (fourth-most in school history) and threw for 94 touchdowns over four seasons.

He's also a preseason STUD.

Don't know if that means anything (it probably doesn't), but hey, at least the move gives people a reason to watch the Colts now?

Frankly, ANYTHING was better than another game of Matt Ryan.

After Sunday's disaster in Tennessee, on the heels of that disgusting Thursday Night game a few weeks ago, Reich had to do something.

Sam Ehlinger is here to save the Colts season. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

It could either give a lifeless offense some sort of spark, or could be a huge disaster and we could be just a few games away from our annual Nick Foles portion of the NFL season.

Either way, I'm here for it.