Seattle Seahawks vs Atlanta Falcons Game Recap

The Atlanta Falcons went in to CenturyLink Field, perhaps the toughest stadium for opponents to play in, and almost won their fourth road game out of six games total. They almost extended their winning-streak to an NFL-high five games. They almost beat the Seattle Seahawks, who many people consider to be the best team in the NFC (if not the league).

But as the saying goes: “almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.” In the end, Atlanta was defeated by a 26-24 score, in an otherwise highly entertaining game.

Early on, it looked like the Seahawks would prove the Falcons to be nothing more than pretenders, jumping out to a 17-3 lead at halftime. Seattle held Atlanta to 91 yards of total offense, and defensive end Cliff Avril sacked Matt Ryan late in the first quarter on the Atlanta seven yard line, causing Ryan to fumble the football which Avril recovered. It took only one play for Seattle running back Christine Michael to punch in the touchdown via a nine-yard run.

The Falcons and Seahawks then traded punts, before the Falcons got themselves on the board. They slogged through a 12 play, 52-yard drive, which ended in a 33 yard field goal by Matt Bryant.

Conversely, the Seahawks needed only eight plays to score points on the ensuing drive. Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson completed passes to four different receivers on the eight-play drive, including a 24 yard screen pass to the newly-acquired C.J. Spiller which took the football to the two-yard line of Atlanta. Rookie running back Alex Collins ran in the two-yard touchdown score to cap off the drive.

After Atlanta managed to muster all of -8 yards of offense on their remaining two drives of the first half, they came out in the second half looking like a totally different team.

The Falcons scored touchdowns on their first three drives, with each of them spanning 75 yards or more, and held Seattle’s offense to a total of 44 yards in the third quarter. Ryan threw touchdown passes to superstar wide receiver Julio Jones (from 36 yards out), fellow wide receiver Mohamed Sanu (from 10 yards out), and reserve tight end Levine Toilolo (from 46 yards out). In that one quarter, the Falcons turned a two-touchdown deficit into a 24-17 lead as the third quarter came to an end.

But Atlanta’s magic seemed to run out from there. On their three possessions of the fourth quarter, they managed a total of 24 yards of offense. The next time they got the ball after Toilolo’s touchdown catch, they went three-and-out. Seattle capped off a nine-play, 70 yard drive with Michael scoring his second touchdown of the day from one yard out (but kicker Steven Hauschka’s extra point attempt was blocked). On the third play of Atlanta’s next drive, Ryan’s pass intended for Jones was intercepted by safety Earl Thomas. Seattle again capitalized, via a 44 yard field goal by Hauschka that gave the Seahawks a 26-24 lead.

On Atlanta’s final drive, in which they needed to get themselves in field goal position with less than two minutes left in the game, they couldn’t muster a single yard of offense. Many people believed the Falcons should’ve been the beneficiaries of a pass interference call on Ryan’s fourth down attempt to Jones deep down the middle of the field, as the replays appeared to show Richard Sherman holding Jones’ arm down. But, no such penalty was called, and the Falcons turned the ball over on downs, thus preserving Seattle’s victory.