The Atlanta Falcons are led by the quarterback who might be the Most Valuable Player in the National Football League. And he has led the #1 scoring offense in the league as well. But this team has not had a rich enough recent playoff history to be overconfident in a playoff situation. On Saturday they will take on the Seattle Seahawks, who are tried-and-true post-season veterans, in the NFC Divisional Playoff game at 4:35 PM ET at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, which will soon give way to a brand-new palace where the Falcons will play. VietBet customers will get reduced juice wagering before the game starts, and they can partake in real-time action through the software provided by Live Betting Ultra.
Seahawks vs Falcons – NFC Divisional Playoff Game Odds:
In the NFL playoff betting odds posted on this game by the people at VietBet, the Falcons are favored at home:
Atlanta Falcons -5
Seattle Seahawks +5
Over 51.5 points -110
Under 51.5 points -110
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Seahawks vs Falcons – CJ’s Take:
Matt Ryan had his best season ever, throwing for the most touchdowns (34) and the least interceptions (7), while averaging 9.3 yards per attempt. That means he’s really getting the ball down the field, and he fell just short of 5000 yards. Ryan also connected with 13 different receivers for touchdowns, and that is an NFL record.
Russell Wilson really took care of the ball over the first 10 games, throwing only two interceptions, but he threw nine more in the final six games. He also managed to overcome injury problems this year, although in the opinion of some, he had some difficulty moving around last week in the wild-card game against Detroit. So that is definitely something to watch. Wilson was sacked 41 times this season behind an offensive line that was inconsistent at best. And Atlanta has Vic Beasley, who led the NFL with 14.5 sacks.
It is imperative that Seattle do something to slow down Julio Jones, who might be bothered a bit with a toe injury but will play through that with no problem. Jones had 1313 yards in receptions, and burned the Seahawks for 139 yards in the earlier meeting between these two teams, which required Seattle to get a 44-yard field-goal from Stephen Hauschka with less than two minutes remaining to escape with a victory on its home field. And on top of that, there are a lot of eyebrows raised when they would-be penalty on the part of Seattle’s Richard Sherman against Jones was not called. That would have changed things, in all likelihood. That’s because Atlanta had one of the top field-goal kickers in the league. Matt Bryant was selected for the Pro Bowl, after hitting 33 of his 36 attempts.
VietBet patrons know that even though the Falcons scored 33.8 points per game, the most of anyone, defense was not their strong suit. A secondary that gave up 31 touchdown passes and a defensive front that allowed 4.5 yards per carry leave them vulnerable to what Seattle can do, and Wilson found an emerging target last week, as Paul Richardson turned in one of the most spectacular touchdown catches of the season. But still, coach Pete Carroll and his defensive staff will have to figure out a way to compensate for the absence of Earl Thomas, because Atlanta has a very complete set of receivers and Ryan can get the ball through the air to both of his running backs, Davonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman.
Speaking of the Seattle defense, Dan Quinn, currently head coach in Atlanta, was the coordinator there for two Super Bowl teams. So you can probably say that he knows the Seahawks’ offensive approach about as well as anyone. Will that play a factor in this game? It would probably have to.
By Charles Jay
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