Falcons finish Seattle’s season
Published 12:00 am Saturday, January 14, 2017
- Devin Hester (right) showed some sparkle in the return game for the Seattle Seahawks, but the team couldn't keep pace with the Atlanta Falcons in Saturday's NFC divisional playoff game at the Georgia Dome.
The Seattle Seahawks couldn’t stop or keep pace with the Atlanta Falcons after the first quarter, and that spelled defeat — a season-ending one.
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Atlanta rallied from an early 7-0 deficit to easily claim the NFC divisional playoff game, 36-20, on Saturday.
Atlanta used a 19-point second quarter to take the lead and gain control at the Georgia Dome.
The Falcons went on to produce 422 yards on offense (323 pass, 99 run) while holding Seattle to 309 (208 pass, 101 run).
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Matt Ryan passed for three Atlanta touchdowns, and Matt Bryant kicked two field goals for the Falcons.
Ryan completed 26 of 37 throws for 338 yards.
The Falcons led in time of possession, with the ball for 33 of the 60 minutes, and in first downs, 28-17.
Atlanta will move on to play Green Bay or Dallas in the NFC championship game on Sunday, Jan. 22
The Seahawks took the opening kickoff and drove from their 11 to the end zone.
Thomas Rawls carried six times for 29 yards in the 14-play march.
Russell Wilson was 4 for 4 passing for 40 yards and the 7-yard touchdown throw to Jimmy Graham. Wilson also ran twice for 16 yards, with a 14-yard scramble that took Seattle into Atlanta territory.
Steven Hauschka’s PAT made the score 7-0 with 6:26 left in the quarter — an 8:34 drive.
The Falcons went from their 35 to the Seattle 25, then got a holding call on Seahawks defensive back Richard Sherman that moved the ball to the 20 for a first down.
Atlanta worked to the 12 at the end of the quarter, then scored in two plays on a 7-yard slant pass from Ryan to Julio Jones. The PAT by Matt Bryant tied the score at 7-7 after one possession by each team.
The Falcons’ 13-play drive took 7:12.
Devin Hester of Seattle ran back the kickoff 50 yards to the Hawks’ 45.
Wilson hit Paul Richardson for 52 yards on Seattle’s second play, moving the ball to the Atlanta 19. But the Seahawks had to settle for a Hauschka field goal from 33 yards and a 10-7 lead at the 11:20 mark.
Hester provided a long punt return that was wiped out by a holding call, leaving Seattle at its 7.
Two plays later, Wilson stumbled backward in the end zone, tripping over the foot of rookie right guard Rees Odhiambo, and was touched by the Atlanta defense for a safety.
The Falcons quickly continued to change the moment, using a 37-yard pass to Taylor Gabriel to reach the red zone.
But Seattle’s defense stiffened, forcing a field goal by Bryant from 35 yards for a 12-10 Atlanta lead.
After a Seattle punt was downed at the Falcons 1, Atlanta picked apart the Seahawks defense methodically, scoring a TD in nine plays. The scoring pass, from Ryan to Tevin Coleman, covered 14 yards and came with 53 seconds left in the half. The extra-point kick boosted Atlanta’s lead to 19-10.
Ryan was 15 of 20 passing in the half for 190 yards and two scores.
Wilson was 8 of 9 for 92 yards and one TD, and Rawls carried eight times for 27 yards.
In the first minute of the third quarter, Seattle cornerback DeShawn Shead, a former Portland State Viking, went down for the rest of the game with a knee injury. A bit later during Atlanta’s drive, defensive end Michael Bennett was hurt as well.
The Falcons went on to score via a 1-yard run by Devonta Freeman, and the PAT hiked their lead to 26-10 with 9:12 remaining in the third frame. Freeman’s blast capped a 13-play, 75-yard drive that included eight ground gainers.
Seattle got a 26-yard Hauschka field goal late in the quarter to cut the Falcons’ lead to 26-13.
The fourth quarter began with Atlanta getting back the three points as Bryant booted a 31-yard field goal.
Seattle put the pieces of a drive together, but Atlanta pressured Wilson into a deep pass that was errant and picked off at the Falcons 9.
Atlanta met with little resistance as it advanced for another TD. Moving 46 yards in eight plays, the Falcons found the end zone on a 3-yard, Ryan-to-Mohamed Sanu toss with 3:40 remaining.
Seattle’s Hester returned the kickoff 78 yards to the Atlanta 31, and on the first snap Wilson hooked up with Doug Baldwin on a touchdown throw. The PAT brought Seattle back to within 36-20.
The Seahawks tried an onside kickoff, but Atlanta easily recovered it in the air.
The Falcons picked off Wilson on Seattle’s next offensive bid, and then took a knee a few times from the Seahawks 2- and 1-yard lines.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Seattle 7 3 3 7 — 20
Atlanta 0 19 7 10 — 36
FIRST QUARTER
SEA — Jimmy Graham 7 pass from Russell Wilson (Steven Hauschka kick), 6:26
SECOND QUARTER
ATL — Julio Jones pass from Matt Ryan (Matt Bryant kick), 14:14
SEA — Hauschka 33 FG, 11:20
ATL — Wilson tackled in end zone, 9:22
ATL — Bryant 35 FG, 6:06
ATL — Tevin Coleman pass from Ryan (Bryant kick), :53
THIRD QUARTER
ATL — Devonta Freeman 1 run (Bryant kick), 9:12
SEA — Hauschka 26 FG, 3:03
FOURTH QUARTER
ATL — Bryant 31 FG, 14:57
ATL — Mohamed Sanu 3 pass from Ryan (Bryant kick), 3:40
SEA — Doug Baldwin 31 pass from Wilson (Hauschka kick), 3:29