Game Recap: Seahawks Trounce Falcons, Snap 3-Game Skid

Late defensive heroics and a balanced offensive attack fueled the Seattle Seahawks to a 34-14 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

Connor Benintendi | Oct 20, 2024

Oct 20, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) celebrates after a touchdown catch against the Atlanta Falcons in the third quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

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Seattle Seahawks

Derick Hall returned Boye Mafe’s fourth-quarter strip sack of Kirk Cousins for a touchdown and the Seattle Seahawks turned a 10-point lead into an insurmountable three-score advantage in a 34-14 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The Seahawks (4-3) played mistake-free football, snapped a three-game skid and earned their first win in nearly a month. After being minus-five in the turnover battle the last three games, Seattle forced three final-period turnovers by the Falcons (4-3) to seal the victory.

"I felt like we earned the win on our preparation Monday through Saturday. It was probably our best week of prep," Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said postgame. "Guys were locked in. Going through traveling east, 10 a.m. game on our time, having energy, the focus, the togetherness, all the stuff that we need in order for us to win, we did."

Even though the Falcons outgained the Seahawks by 46 yards, Seattle picked up about a half-yard more per play on offense. The offense was efficient and put enough points on the board for the defense to finish it. That kind of complementary football was absent from the team’s three losses.

The Seahawks initially took a 10-0 lead via a 20-yard touchdown run by Kenneth Walker III. Atlanta responded with a 9-play, 70-yard scoring drive that trimmed Seattle’s advantage to three.

Two drives later, after beginning from their own 32 with 1:07 left in the half, Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith threw a 31-yard strike to DK Metcalf in the end zone between four defenders with four seconds remaining in the half. The Seahawks took a 10-point lead into the break.

"Those are things that we practice. We practice those a bunch," Smith said postgame. "We look for the situations and the moments to take advantage of them, and we had an opportunity. I thought the protection was great. DK [Metcalf] ran a great route, and we were able to get in the end zone.”

Atlanta’s opening drive of the second half torched more than seven minutes of the game clock. Quarterback Kirk Cousins found wide receiver Drake London for a 5-yard touchdown on 4th and 1 to trim the Seahawks’ lead back to three points.

Walker and Smith kept churning out points for Seattle. A 9-play, 63-yard drive was kept alive in Atlanta territory via a low hit on Smith on third down, triggering a roughing the passer penalty. On the next play, Smith navigated the pocket and led Walker on a 17-yard touchdown pass out of the backfield.

The Falcons went backward on their next drive, with Seattle’s defense forcing a three-and-out highlighted by a batted pass and sack from outside linebacker Dre’Mont Jones.

Seattle took a commanding lead with 12:46 remaining in the game when Cousins rolled out to his left while facing heat from Mafe — hitting the ball directly as Cousins attempted to throw and creating a strip sack that was returned 64 yards for a touchdown by Hall.

SEAHAWKS STRIP SACK AND TOUCHDOWN.

📺: #SEAvsATL on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/CwbnOdEXTS
— NFL (@NFL) October 20, 2024

"Really, on that play, when I saw that [Derick Hall] scooped up the ball — I was running for the ball too — but I saw that he picked up the ball, and he got in stride. I said, ‘He got it,’ and I slowed down and let him go finish in the end zone," Mafe said postgame. "So, it was a gift."

The defense, which entered the game having forced just one turnover in the past three games, pushed Seattle over the 30-point mark for the first time all season.

That was the beginning of a string of three straight takeaways by Seattle’s defense. The Seahawks picked off Cousins on Atlanta’s next two drives, with safeties Julian Love and Coby Bryant each nabbing an interception.

Seattle tacked on three more points before Cousins retired for the rest of the game and was replaced by No. 9 overall pick Michael Penix Jr., who completed his first NFL pass with his college offensive coordinator, Ryan Grubb, in the building — albeit for the other team.

Balanced offense

Smith threw only 28 passes after averaging 41 attempts per game over the first six games. That was possible due to an able rushing attack that saw Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet combine for 88 rushing yards on 22 attempts.

During the Seahawks’ three straight losses, their running backs averaged just 13 carries for 59 yards. Seattle is 3-0 this season when its running backs have at least 20 rushing attempts.

“That's the balance we talk about," Smith said. "When we can run the ball, when we can play action ... when we can mix it up and just give multiple looks to the defense with the type of personnel we have and the multiple guys that we have that can make plays, it just makes it that much tougher on the defense."

That balance had been missing, and it helped Smith avoid forcing throws into tight spaces in desperate need of points. The Seahawks played with a lead the entire game after going up 3-0 in the first quarter. Smith finished 18-of-28 passing for 207 yards and two touchdowns — his first game this season with multiple passing scores.

Metcalf, despite leaving the game with a knee injury in the second half, finished with four catches for 99 yards and a score, narrowly missing his fourth 100-yard receiving game of the season.

Swarming defense

Oct 20, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Seattle Seahawks cornerback Coby Bryant (8) intercepts a pass intended for Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts (8) in the fourth quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

For a while, it felt like the Falcons would hang around until the bitter end. Atlanta had the ball, down 10, at Seattle’s 48-yard line with the majority of the fourth quarter remaining. Another touchdown would have continued to pressure Smith and the Seahawks’ offense to generate scoring drives.

Then Mafe and Hall happened. The Seahawks only needed three more points on offense to seal the deal. Atlanta was forced to go away from its run game in an attempt to keep pace. Atlanta had just 39 rushing yards in the second half on 16 attempts after posting 116 yards via the same amount of carries in the first half.

"One of the reasons I love this defense and I love playing with these guys is that we never waver. No matter what the situation, no matter what the score is, we never waver," Mafe said. "Everyone in the room, everyone on this defense, we have each other's back regardless of any situation."

The consecutive interceptions by Bryant and Love shut down any hopes of a Falcons comeback attempt. Self-inflicted wounds were Seattle’s biggest issue from Weeks 4–6, and they lost because of it. They beat the Falcons because they flipped the script.

"If you force them into more passing situations, you can start to affect the quarterback a little bit more," Macdonald said. "Again, it's a team stat."

In addition to Hall and Mafe’s effectiveness off the edges, Jones finished with two tackles for loss, a sack, a pass deflection and a team-high four quarterback hits. The Seahawks were as effective as they were while playing without two of their top three cornerbacks in Riq Woolen and Tre Brown. Bryant, seeing an increase in snaps as a result, also had a team-high 11 tackles.

Redeeming victory

Oct 20, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald reacts with quarterback Geno Smith (7) after a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

After beginning 3-0 against lackluster teams, the following three losses indicated Seattle may not be as good as their record. They fought injuries, a rigorous schedule of three games in 11 days and couldn’t get out of their own way with turnovers.

Instead of continuing to slide, the Seahawks cracked the 30-point mark for the first time all season and reversed all of the negatives that were hindering the team on gamedays.

"Our guys are determined, and we grew as a football team this week," Macdonald added. "Now we have to keep it going ... We've got to keep stacking these days, keep stacking our prep, take what we need to learn from this game, and keep moving forward. So, it's still early in the season, but it's great to get back in the win column for sure."

Up Next

Seattle returns home in Week 8 to face the Buffalo Bills (5-2) at 1:05 p.m. PT on Sunday, Oct. 27.

The Bills have won two in a row, most recently defeating the Tennessee Titans 34-10 on Sunday. Buffalo is 2-2 on the road this season, while Seattle is 2-2 at home.