Falcons at Seahawks
Any questions of whether the Atlanta Falcons' fast start was somewhat of a fluke were put to rest last week following a convincing road victory over the reigning Super Bowl champions. Life won't get any easier for the Falcons, who put a four-game winning streak on the line when they head to the Pacific Northwest for a matching against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
Not only did Atlanta hand Denver its first loss last week, it came on the heels of a thrashing of the Carolina Panthers, making the Falcons the third team in history to post back-to-back wins over the two teams who appeared in the previous season's Super Bowl. “That was a very good team win for us,” Atlanta coach Dan Quinn said after the 23-16 victory over the Broncos. "And now we reset and go through our process to get ready to play ball again.” The Seahawks, historically one of the league's toughest teams at home, have an in-depth familiarity with Quinn, who served as their defensive coordinator in 2013-14 before taking the head job with the Falcons. Seattle got its offense on track in winning two in a row entering last week's bye, which should help quarterback Russell Wilson recover from ankle and knee injuries.
TV: 4:25 p.m. ET, FOX. LINE: Seahawks -6. O/U: 45.5
ABOUT THE FALCONS (4-1): Quarterback Matt Ryan leads the league's No. 1-ranked offense into Seattle, topping the NFL in passing yards (1,740) and passer rating (121.6) while ranking second with 12 touchdowns. Stud wide receiver Julio Jones had a quiet week against Denver after hauling in 12 receptions for 300 yards and a touchdown in the drubbing of Carolina. Atlanta is receiving great production from the backfield tandem of Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman, with each scoring a TD last week while combining for 119 yards rushing and 167 yards receiving. Defense has long been an issue for the Falcons, but they collected six sacks against the Broncos -- 3.5 by 2015 first-round pick Vic Beasley.
ABOUT THE SEAHAWKS (3-1): Seattle managed only one touchdown in splitting its first two games of the season but rebounded to put up 64 points in back-to-back victories over San Francisco and the New York Jets. Despite playing with a sprained knee against the Jets, Wilson threw for 309 yards and three touchdowns and says he feels great following the additional rest. While Christine Michael continues to carry the running game in place of an injured Thomas Rawls, the biggest surprise has been the return to health by tight end Jimmy Graham, who is coming off consecutive six-catch, 100-yard games. Seattle allows 13.5 points per game and owns the league's top-ranked defense (264 yards per game).
EXTRA POINTS
1. The Falcons are averaging 35.0 points and 457.4 yards per game, both league highs by a wide margin.
2. Seahawks WR Doug Baldwin has eight touchdown receptions in his last five home games.
3. Jones had 11 catches for 127 yards in his only matchup versus the Seahawks in 2011 at Seattle.