These two teams have already met in the regular season in Seattle. They know each other and they knew what to expect from their rival. Atlanta really didn’t like how that game ended and that put a big chip on their shoulder in this game. In the end, they avenged that loss and are moving on.
Both squads played very well on offense to start the first quarter. Seattle opened with a touchdown from Jimmy Graham and the Falcons responded with a Julio Jones touchdown. At one point in the game, Seattle had a 10-7 lead and Falcons were just about to punt the ball.
Devin Hester took that ball and returned it all the way to the red zone, putting the Seahawks in a great position to score. But, the flag was out and holding was called on one Seahawks defender who was trying to block that punt. It was a huge momentum shift. Seattle had to start on their own 10-yard line, instead of Falcons 20.
Atlanta went on to force a safety on that play and after that, their offense did the rest of the work. Great play calling by Kyle Shanahan and the execution by Matt Ryan led them to this huge 36:20 win.
After going to the NFC Championship game back in 2012, the Atlanta Falcons are back in the conference title game. This offense has proved that they are ready for prime time, a tough matchup for all defenses and a difficult opponent for all teams that are in the hunt for that Super Bowl title.
