1. Ryan and Jones became the first quarterback-receiver tandem of the Super Bowl era to combine for at least 500 passing yards and 300 receiving yards, per NFL Network Research. Severely outplaying last year's MVP, Matt Ryan built on his NFC Offensive Player of the Month honors to assume the top spot in the quarter-pole MVP discussion. He continues to exhibit ideal pocket movement and vision, functioning as a high-end point guard to distribute the ball to his newfound collection of weapons. Buoyed by play-caller Kyle Shanahan's hot hand, Ryan directed textbook scoring drives of 71, 75, 92, 98 and 99 yards, dissecting Carolina's defense underneath to set up perfectly placed downfield bombs to Jones, Aldrick Robinson and Austin Hooper.

Leading the league in every major passing category, Ryan has completed 101 of 140 passes (72.1 percent) for 1,473 yards (10.5 YPA), 11:2 TD-to-INT ratio and an astonishing 126.3 passer rating. After dismantling the anemic defenses of Buccaneers, Raiders and Saints in the first three weeks, Ryan feasted on a Panthers unit that ranked sixth in Football Outsiders' metrics entering Sunday's game.


2. When Julio Jones last faced a Carolina secondary featuring All Pro Josh Norman, the dynamic wideout was the key figure in a major Atlanta upset, hauling in nine passes for 178 yards. With Norman out of the picture, Jones nearly equaled those numbers by halftime, burning not just the overmatched rookie cornerback duo of James Bradberry and Daryl Worley but also third-year pro Bene Benwikere. It's safe to say Jones has recaptured peak form after a calf injury contributed to his one-catch performance in Week 3.