OMNISPORT

The night before he will lead the Falcons in Super Bowl LI, Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan received the highest individual NFL honour.

Ryan was named the 2016 league MVP during Saturday's NFL awards at Houston's Wortham Theater Center.

The nine-year veteran was already named the 2016 MVP by the Pro Football Writers Association and was the first-team quarterback on the Associated Press All-Pro team before receiving the AP's MVP award on Saturday.

Ryan was also named the FedEx Air Player of the Year and the league's Offensive Player of the Year on Saturday. 

He completed nearly 70 per cent of his passes during the regular season for 4,944 yards, 38 touchdowns and just seven interceptions as the Falcons went 11-5 to win the NFC South and earn the NFC's number two seed.

Ryan set an NFL record with touchdown passes to 13 different receivers and his 9.3 yards per pass attempt was the highest mark since former St Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner had a 9.9-yard average in 2000.

His number this season is the best for any quarterback attempting 500 or more passes. He also led the league this season with 13.3 yards per completion.

Ryan set franchise records in passing yards, touchdowns, completion percentage and passer rating, which was the fifth-highest in NFL history. 

The Falcons led the NFL in scoring this season with a franchise-record 540 points. 

Ryan beat out Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who led the NFL with 40 touchdown passes and just seven interceptions with another four rushing touchdowns while carrying Green Bay to an NFC North division title.

Other MVP candidates who lost out to Ryan were Cowboys rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott, who led the NFL in rushing as Dallas went 13-3 to win the NFC East and the NFC's top seed, and Ryan's counterpart on Sunday, New England quarterback Tom Brady, who set an NFL record for touchdown-to-interception ratio with 28 TDs and just two picks.