Atlanta Falcons Vs. Seattle Seahawks Game Preview

Will Atlanta Or Seattle Come Out On Top in Week 1?

After a long offseason of uncertainty surrounding the 2020 NFL campaign, the Atlanta Falcons will be back in action at an empty Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday afternoon to take on Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks.

Since Wilson entered the league in 2012, the Falcons and Seahawks have met six times, with the teams splitting the series 3-3 (with Atlanta winning both playoff matchups). Seattle leads the all-time series 11-8, with the team’s first matchup coming in a Seahawks victory in 1976.

The Falcons, who finished second in the NFC South last season with a 7-9 record, will be hoping to recapture the magic of their 2016 and 2017 playoff runs, the former of which almost resulted in the franchise’s first Super Bowl victory.

A 1-7 start last season threatened the jobs of Atlanta’s head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff, but the team rallied, going 6-2 in the second half of the year.

Seattle finished the 2019 regular season with an 11-5 record, giving the Seahawks their eighth consecutive winning season under head coach Pete Carroll. The Seahawks defeated the Falcons, 27-20, in last season’s matchup, but eventually lost to Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Divisional Round.

While Atlanta will feature a cast of young, inexperienced players on both sets of lines and in the defensive secondary, Seattle has retained much of its roster while adding all-world safety Jamal Adams to a secondary that’s beginning to resemble the Legion of Boom of the mid-2010s.

Still, with Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley and newcomers Hayden Hurst and Todd Gurley II on the offensive side of the ball, the Falcons' firepower may be too much for Seattle to keep pace with, especially in a year with reduced offseason practice and no preseason games.  

Injury Report

Atlanta -  Out: CB Kendall Sheffield (foot); DE Charles Harris (ankle); DT Marlon Davidson (knee); RB Qadree Ollison; T Timon Paris 

Seattle - Out: T Cedric Ogbuehi (personal); WR Phillip Dorsett II (foot); DE Alton Robinson; RB DeeJay Dallas; T Jamarco Jones; LB D'Andre Walker

2019 Team Rankings

Total Offense

Atlanta – 5th
Seattle – 8th

Total Defense

Atlanta – 23rd
Seattle – 22nd

Offensive DVOA (Football Outsiders)

Atlanta – 15th
Seattle – 5th

Defensive DVOA 

Atlanta – 17th
Seattle – 21st

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Sunday, Sept. 13, 1 p.m. EDT

Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium

TV: Fox, NFL Sunday Ticket

Radio: 92.9 The Game (Atlanta)

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