The 36-20 win in the divisional round gives the Falcons a place in the NFC championship game for only the fourth time in their 51-year history. Then, as now, they faced Seattle in the division round. “Seattle is the team that is superior in every way on that side of the ball in this match-up”.
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Atlanta will face either the Dallas Cowboys or the Green Bay Packers, who meet Sunday in the NFC’s other divisional game.
Running back Devonta Freeman slipped out of the backfield to haul in a 53-yard pass, putting a dazzling fake on replacement free safety Steven Terrell right in the middle of the field.
He’s also not the kind of guy who gets sentimental with game memorabilia. Brett Favre, who started his career with the Falcons before a stint of some note with the Packers that landed him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, is blunt, saying it’s already put-up or shut-up time for Ryan and his defenders. He helped lead the 2013 Seahawks to their first Super Bowl title, with current Falcons coach Dan Quinn as defensive coordinator.
In the aftermath of their bludgeoning at the Georgia Dome, the Seattle Seahawks could point to a rare 86-yard penalty, an even rarer instance of Russell Wilson taking a pratfall in his own end zone and a couple of other missed opportunities which might have changed things.
In Roger Goodell’s buttoned-up NFL, the league’s star players are generally expected to serve as the on-field entertainment, but not to express themselves as people. It may be the best playoff game yet, the battle between these two teams was back and forth with incredible plays. On the ensuing possession, the Falcons kicked a go-ahead field goal and never relinquished the lead, scoring 19 unanswered points to ensure Falcons-Seahawks would be the fifth consecutive noncompetitive game of the postseason. “Because of the greater likelihood of the Falcons having success against their defense, keeping control of the ball for as long as possible takes on much greater importance for the Seahawks this week. They capitalized on our mistakes and came out on top”.
On Sunday, the Falcons will find out what comes next.
“I told my wife it’s pretty much my past year”, Hester told reporters following Saturday’s loss to Atlanta, via The News Tribune. We’re just looking like, we need to stop these guys, and if we don’t stop them defensively, all right, look. They played opportunistic defense creating turnovers and sacking Wilson on multiple occasions the Falcons showed that they are capable of playing both defense and offense at a high enough level to make a Super Bowl run.
Yet on this particular evening, the crowd seemed to have the most energy. “That place, from the opening kickoff, the Dome was rocking”. That’s got to be as loud as it’s ever been.
By late tonight, the eight teams that were still alive at the start of the weekend will have been trimmed to four.
The Atlanta Falcons put on one of the best and most complete offensive displays in recent memory. “It doesn’t matter”, Freeney said.
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“We are going to have a playoff game at home and it’s because of them”. That means it won’t be easy for the Seahawks to end their interception drought Saturday.
