The Atlanta Falcons are dangerous. This isn't some earth-shattering revelation, but unlike the Patriots or Packers or, say, the Seahawks, the Falcons don't make national news on a weekly basis. So until they trounced the Seahawks, 36-20, on Saturday afternoon, there were probably a lot of football fans who hadn't gotten a good look at the NFL's most explosive offense.
Well, we were all witness to what happened in the Georgia Dome. The Seahawks, known for a fantastic defense and irrepressible quarterback Russell Wilson, had no answers for what Matt Ryan and this offense perpetrated against them.
It was as complete and thorough a beatdown as you'll see, and in addition to putting the remaining playoff teams on notice, Ryan made as convincing a case as you'll see for why he's the undisputed MVP.
Seattle's defense was steamrolled
The last time these two teams met, back in Week 6 in Seattle, the Seahawks' defense got after Ryan. When it was over, Ryan was sacked four times, hurried on countless other occasions, and committed two turnovers. The Seahawks scored nine unanswered points in the fourth quarter to eke out a 26-24 victory.
On Saturday, a depleted Seahawks defense lost cornerbacks DeShawn Shead and Jeremy Lane, and were without pass rusher Michael Bennett for part of the first half. And while Ryan was sacked three times, he was untouched on his 37 other dropbacks, and his dismantling of Seattle's secondary was surgical.
And on the rare occasions when the Seahawks tried to come after Ryan it blew up in their face.
Behold this third-down bum-rush blitz late in the third quarter:
Ryan.
— NFL (@NFL) January 14, 2017
Freeman.
HUGE GAIN! #SEAvsATL#NFLPlayoffshttps://t.co/tpJF9uCrRC
Fun fact: Ryan came into the came with a 118 passer rating against the blitz, including a completion rate of 60 percent, 13 touchdowns and just one interception.
Not-so-fun-fact: The Seahawks really, really, really miss safety Earl Thomas, who broke his leg last month, leaving a gaping void in the middle of Seattle's secondary.
The Earl Thomas Effect in Seattle: #Seahawks defense on deep passes (20+ air yards) w/ & w/o Thomas in 2016 (postseason included). pic.twitter.com/CHuogDaMtq
— Marc Sessler (@MarcSesslerNFL) January 11, 2017
Against a lesser opponent, perhaps the Seahawks could mask their defensive deficiencies (we feel weird just writing that), but the Falcons are not a lesser opponent. In fact, they might be the best team in the NFL.
Seriously, consider what this Falcons offense has done
Here was Ryan's final line: 26 of 37, 338 yards, three touchdowns, no turnovers, 125.7 passer rating. This is not an anomaly. Ryan was the league's best regular-season passer on a per-play basis and in terms of total value, according to Football Outsiders' metrics. In those 16 games, he had 38 touchdowns against just seven interceptions, and threw for 4,944 yards with a 117.1 passer rating. Only twice all season did Ryan complete fewer than 60 percent of his throws, and in his last three regular-season games, he completed 74, 82 and 75 percent of his passes. On Sunday he "slipped" to 70 percent in one of the most efficient playoff performances you'll ever see.
It was like this all afternoon:
Beautiful toss, Matty Ice!
— NFL (@NFL) January 14, 2017
Beautiful catch, Mo Sanu!#SEAvsATL#NFLPlayoffs
https://t.co/albHUG1oll
We'll admit, we've been on the Tom Brady MVP bandwagon for weeks, partly because he's been, well, Tom Brady (he has just two interceptions all season), but also because he bounced back from that silly month-long Deflategate experience like it never happened and looked more like a spry 29-year-old than a legit 39-year-old. Then there's Aaron Rodgers, who has dragged the Packers to their current seven-game winning streak after a 4-6 start. He deserves to be in the mix as well.
But Ryan has to win it. He's played as such a high level for the last four months, which neither Brady nor Rodgers can say.
Need more convincing? How about this:
Matt Ryan: 330 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT today
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) January 15, 2017
Would be only QB with 300+ pass yds, 3+ pass TD, and 0 INT vs the Seahawks in the Pete Carroll era
So what's next for the Seahawks?
Here's a tweet that some people might categorize as alarmist:
Is this the end of Seattle as we know them?
— Pete Prisco (@PriscoCBS) January 15, 2017
But it's a fair question, not only because of what just transpired in Atlanta, but because the 2016 season has been an eye-opening one for a Seahawks team that, during the Russell Wilson era, was built around a strong running game and and even stronger defense.
From 2012-15, Seattle ran the ball 56 percent of the time. In 2016 without Marshawn Lynch, Seattle ran the ball just 40 percent of the time. The results: Wilson took way too many hits behind a suspect offensive line, the running game never found a rhythm, and the offense sputtered. The unit ranked 17th overall (16th in passing, 23rd in rushing) and the offensive line, which ranked 25th in pass-blocking and 26th in run-blocking, had just about everything to do with that.
Those problems seemed to be mitigated on the very first drive against the Falcons. It lasted nearly nine minutes, took 14 plays (nine of which were runs, by the way), covered 89 yards and ended in a touchdown.
The @Seahawks first drive lasted 8:34, the 4th-longest opening drive by any team this season (incl. playoffs) & 2nd-longest to end in a TD.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 14, 2017
Unfortunately, the Seahawks' offense would only see the ball for about 18 minutes for the rest of the game.
There's also this:
The Seahawks spend a league-low $6.5 million on their offensive line (cap value). The Giants are 31st at $13.6 million.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 14, 2017
And this:
Since 2012, Russell Wilson has been among the 3 most-pressured QBs every year (under pressure on 41.6% of dropbacks this season).#SEAvsATLpic.twitter.com/KqUityIo0i
— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) January 14, 2017
And one to grow on:
Russ is tripped by his own lineman into the end zone.
— NFL (@NFL) January 14, 2017
2 POINTS! #SEAvsATL#NFLPlayoffshttps://t.co/y882OXGwzO
We really can't say enough about the Falcons' offense
After the Seahawks marched down the field on that opening drive, the Falcons answered with a 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive of their own.
The @AtlantaFalcons have scored a touchdown on their first drive in 7 straight games
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) January 14, 2017
The Falcons are also immune to poor field position. Ryan and the offense began their final drive of the first half on their one-yard line. They would score a touchdown before intermission, marking the 11th time this year they have scored a touchdown after starting a drive inside their own 10-yard line.
This @AtlantaFaclons offense!
— NFL (@NFL) January 14, 2017
Matty Ice finds Coleman for SIX. #SEAvsATL#NFLPlayoffshttps://t.co/vkx6SVFCyp
Oh, and this offense, over the course of the season, scored the eighth points ever in league history.
Speaking of history ...
... Ryan and the Falcons rewrote it on Saturday. He came into the game with a 1-4 playoff record, and even when the Falcons led at the half and had a 16-point third-quarter lead, people were conditioned to not count the Seahawks out.
This is the 14th road postseason game in #Seahawks franchise history.
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) January 14, 2017
They have trailed at halftime of all 14.#SEAvsATL
Last team to rally from 16+ points down to win a playoff game?
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) January 14, 2017
2014 Seahawks, who trailed by 16 with 5 minutes left in 3rd quarter vs GB
This about says it all
This pretty much sums up the final month of the season for the Seahawks:
#Seahawks failed to intercept a pass after placing FS @Earl_Thomas on IR after Week 13 - a franchise-record 6-game drought #LegionofBoom
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) January 15, 2017
And this serves as a microcosm for Saturday afternoon:
Goodnight, Russ. Brian Poole buries Wilson. #Falcons#Gatorshttps://t.co/nrQoXL1TGv
— Only Gators .com (@onlygators) January 15, 2017
If you're so inclined, you can relive all of the magic of the Seahawks-Falcons live-blog below (click here to reload if necessary):