Seahawks at Falcons: 3 things we learned
By John Buhler
The Atlanta Falcons shredded the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday, 36-20. Here are the three biggest takeaways from the NFC Divisional Round game.
In the first of four NFL Divisional Round playoff games, the Atlanta Falcons dismantled the Seattle Seahawks, 36-20, to advance to the 2016 NFC Championship Game. This is Atlanta’s second trip to the NFC Championship in five seasons and the fourth in franchise history.
Seattle battled like crazy in this game, but couldn’t stop Atlanta from rolling at home. Here are the three biggest takeaways from the Falcons’ evisceration of the Seahawks on Saturday evening.
1. The Atlanta offense is a machine that doesn’t care how good an opposing defense is.
The world now knows what many in the NFC South have known for a while: the 2016 Falcons offense is historically great. It is a well-oiled machine that will rip apart any defense it plays. If Atlanta holds on to the football, the Falcons are almost guaranteed to put up 28 points of offense.
Atlanta has played great teams this season, but this kind of offensive output against the vaunted Seahawks defense felt like a change of guard moment in the NFC. The Falcons not only shredded the Seahawks secondary, but frankly played better ball on the defense than did Seattle in this game.
While there are a few teams in the NFL Playoffs that can keep pace with Atlanta offensively, outside of maybe Kansas City or Houston, nobody left can keep the Falcons from getting all the points they want going forward.
2. Seattle’s offensive line needs a massive overhaul.
Seattle had a great season. Let’s not let that go unnoticed. While there were stretches midseason that Seattle looked Super Bowl caliber, injuries and an atrocious offensive line limited their overall 2016 ceiling.
Seahawks general manager John Schneider has to completely overhaul this offensive line. He needs to ask offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell what type of players he needs up front and draft them. Schneider can no longer go cheap up front by using former tight ends or college basketball players to protect Russell Wilson.
Wilson is too great of a player to be thrown around like a rag doll. It was embarrassing to see him have to run for his life on every other play from the middle of the pack Falcons’ pass rush. This is a good Seahawks organization. They can get back to the NFC Playoffs next season. However, they will not contend for Super Bowls until this offensive line is at least middle of the pack in the NFL hierarchy.
3. The playoff monkey is off Matt Ryan’s back.
Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan entered 2016 with a lackluster 1-4 playoff record in eight NFL seasons. Coincidentally, his only playoff win before Saturday came against the 2012 Seahawks in the Divisional Round.
While Ryan and the Falcons may fall short of Super Bowl 51 aspirations, the metaphorical playoff monkey is off his back. He was easily the best player on the field Saturday evening. This is very likely the next NFL MVP.
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Ryan’s performance against the Seahawks will go down in Atlanta sports lore. He completed 26 of 37 passes for 338 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions against the best defensive culture in football the last six years in Pete Carroll’s Seahawks. Atlanta is now playing with house money the rest of the way. Ryan looks unencumbered in January. Nobody wants to play Matty Ice and Brotherhood Falcons.