Seahawks-Falcons Preview

ATLANTA (AP) Talk about two teams heading in opposite directions.

The Seattle Seahawks have won six of their last seven games, putting them in the mix for an NFC West title and a top seed in the playoffs.

Then there's the Atlanta Falcons, who've lost six of seven to all but ensure their eighth straight losing season and another January spent watching from the couch as others compete for championships.

With so much at stake for Seattle (9-3) - and so little on the line for Atlanta (4-8) - the Seahawks can't afford a slip-up when they visit Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday.

Especially when two other NFC West teams, the Rams and the 49ers, also have nine wins.

“We put ourselves in a good spot, but a couple of other teams have done the same thing,” Seattle linebacker Ernest Jones IV said. “The NFC is a tough one right now, so we’ve got to just go out there one game at a time. You don’t help your case losing games.”

The Seahawks are coming off a 26-0 rout of the Minnesota Vikings, their first shutout since the 2015 season.

Atlanta, meanwhile, kept up its habit of losing close games, falling to the last-place New York Jets on Nick Folk's 56-yard field goal as time expired. The Falcons have dropped two games in overtime, two more in the final minute of regulation, and are 1-5 in one-score contests.

The hugely disappointing season has put second-year coach Raheem Morris on the hot seat.

“These guys, they are competitors. They love playing,” Morris said. “I’ve got a lot of confidence they’ll go out there and do that for us.”

Ahead of the trade deadline, there was speculation that Riq Woolen's days in Seattle were numbered.

The fourth-year cornerback is in the final year of his rookie contract, and his spot in the rotation looked tenuous after a couple of poor games.

But Woolen turned things around in recent weeks. He's defended eight passes in the past six games and came up with his first interception of the season last Sunday.

“He's doing a tremendous job,” coach Mike Macdonald said. “He’s had a great attitude, he’s been a great teammate, so you do those things and you’re practicing well, you’re productive in practice, and now it starts to show up in games.”

Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy II have formed quite the tag team for the Seahawks on the defensive line, tying for the team lead in sacks with seven apiece.

Williams is 4 1/2 sacks shy of his career high, while Murphy has long since surpassed the half-sack he had a rookie.

Williams said playing alongside Murphy last year helped the two build trust and camaraderie.

“Especially for a young guy, I think he’s impressed me a lot with the way he’s been able to come in and just soak up knowledge,” Williams said. “He’s starting to have more of a voice out there.”

The Seahawks have 40 sacks overall, fourth most in the NFL. They'll look to add to those numbers when they face Atlanta's Kirk Cousins, who took over as the starting QB when Michael Penix Jr. went down with a season-ending knee injury.

Atlanta is one loss away from matching the franchise record for consecutive losing seasons.

The Falcons failed to reach .500 from 1983-90, when they posted a cumulative record of 38-88 - including six seasons with double-digit losses.

The team has been more competitive during this dry spell, going 44-77 since the beginning of the 2018 campaign, but the fall has been more dramatic since it began just two seasons after the Falcons reached the Super Bowl.

“Certainly the tough losses, you just go back to what are the inches we can find here and there to make the difference,” Cousins said.

Two huge breakdowns on special teams were major factors in Atlanta's loss to the Jets.

Jamal Agnew inexplicably attempted to field a punt inside the 5 and fumbled it away. New York recovered at the 2 to set up an easy touchdown.

The Falcons also gave up an 83-yard kickoff return that set up a tying field goal.

“We played awful on special teams,” Morris lamented. “I don’t know how to say it any other way.”

For good measure, Zane Gonzalez - Atlanta's third kicker this season - missed a 50-yard field goal attempt.

Jones is looking to build on one of the best performances of his career.

The fifth-year linebacker was picked as NFC defensive player of the week after recording two interceptions - one of which he returned for the first touchdown of his career - in the Seahawks' blowout of the Vikings. He also led the team with 12 tackles.

“I think just finally getting some recognition, finally people are knowing who I am,” Jones said. “It just feels good. I’ve been playing this game for a long time, and I’ve been in the back seat, so I’m ready to do what I’ve got to do to keep playing and get to that top.”

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AP Sports Writer Andrew Destin in Seattle contributed to this report.

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