Halftime Observations: Offense Shines as Seahawks Build 17-7 Lead vs. Falcons

While they haven't been able to slow down Bijan Robinson, a Ken Walker-led Seahawks offense scored on three out of five possessions to snag an early lead.

Oct 20, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf (14) can not make a catch in the end zone defended by Atlanta Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell (24) during the first quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

With both teams leaning heavily on their ground and pound attacks, the Seattle Seahawks scored on three of their five possessions, including a 31-yard touchdown catch by DK Metcalf inside a minute to play, to take a 17-7 halftime lead into the break at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Playing efficient ball from under center, Geno Smith connected on 15 out of 19 passes for 181 yards, including a quartet of 20-plus yard completions. Capping off a two-minute drill with no timeouts left, in the aftermath of an intentional grounding call against him, the veteran gunslinger fired a missile into the end zone to Metcalf, splitting a pair of defenders in coverage to extend the advantage to 10 points with only four seconds left on the clock.

However, none of Smith's explosive completions may been more important than a 28-yard hookup with Noah Fant on 3rd and 7 early in the second quarter. Facing a seven-man blitz, he exquisitely evaded multiple rushers, climbed the pocket to his right, and dumped it off to the tight end with tons of green in front of him to extend the drive and move the chains.

Two plays later, following splendid blocks on the right side by rookies Christian Haynes and Mike Jerrell, Ken Walker III bolted outside and rocketed past a pair of oncoming tacklers to extend Seattle's advantage to 10-0 early in the second quarter. Listed as questionable coming into the game due to an illness, the explosive back has rushed for 45 yards on six carries, taking full advantage of a porous Falcons run defense that ranked 26th entering Sunday.

Unfortunately, the Falcons enjoyed even more success on the ground against a Seahawks defense that didn't show any improvements after a 10-day break. Bijan Robinson rushed for 80 yards on 11 carries in the first half, ripping off a 28-yard run moments before powering through safety Julian Love to score a touchdown and cut Seattle's advantage to 10-7. Tyler Allgeier also had a 24-yard run and finished the half with 37 yards on just four carries.

With those struggles said, Seattle forced a pair of punts and came through with a stop in Atlanta territory early in the second quarter, leading to a missed field goal by Younghoe Koo. Overall, the Falcons have been held to 189 total yards of offense and converted only two out of five third down attempts in the first two quarters.

Leading the charge, defensive tackle Leonard Williams produced his second sack of the season late in the half, bringing down Kirk Cousins two plays before the Falcons were forced to punt. Safety Coby Bryant also made several nice tackles in space, leading the team with six stops in the half replacing injured Rayshawn Jenkins in the starting lineup for the Seahawks.

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