NFL Playoffs Betting - Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons Preview
The Seattle Seahawks will go to play the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday in the NFC Divisional Round. This would seem to be a game the Falcons should win if you look at the records. The Falcons finished 13-3 while Seattle was 11-5 including 3-5 on the road. But if you look at the Falcons closely, they won a lot of close games and even lost to three teams that finished with losing records. So this game could be the best game of this weekend. At least it should be.
Seattle has been on fire the last few weeks of the season. Even while playing on the road they have been winning lately. They were the only road team to get out of last weekend's Wild Card Round when they beat the Washington Redskins 24-14. Their win over Washington was their third in a row away from home.
The Falcons on the other hand won 13 games. But the way they did it and the teams they did it against do not give one a lot of confidence in them. Their schedule could not have been much easier and still be in the NFL. They would have had to schedule Tulane or Florida Atlantic to weaken it further. Other than a very early season game with the Broncos and a still early season game with the Redskins in early October, not one team on their schedule made the playoffs. They did beat the New York Giants 34-0 on December 16 to help keep the Giants from making the playoffs, but that's about the only impressive win you can find on the resume. Does that make them a fraud? We won't know that until after this weekend. Just because your schedule is soft, it doesn't mean you're no good. Alabama would still be great even if you put them in the ACC for a year. But as we saw, Notre Dame was not nearly as good as their 12-0 record would have suggested.
Seattle brings their phenom, rookie quarterback Russell Wilson to town. Normally, you don't like the chances of a team with a rookie going against a team with a veteran in the playoffs. But in Wilson's case, that may not matter quite as much as normal. Wilson already has one playoff win under his belt. Atlanta's Matt Ryan, is 0-3 in his playoff career. So that's a non-factor.Ryan had another stellar season throwing the football. He threw for 4719 yards with 32 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He had two receivers go over 1000 yards in Roddy White with 1351 and Julio Jones with 1198. Tony Gonzalez wound up with 930 yards. Michael Turner rushed for 800 yards.
Wilson threw for 3118 yards with 26 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. But Marshawn Lynch made up for the difference and then some with 1590 yards on the ground. The Seahawks also played a tougher schedule. They beat the Packers, 49ers, Patriots, Vikings and Bears, all of who won at least 10 games. All but the Bears made the playoffs.
Seahawks and Falcons Odds
Sports Interaction has Seattle +3 -125 or +120. Atlanta is -3 +105 or -140. Over/under is 46. We are going with the Seahawks +120 and the under.
