The Seattle Seahawks will make back to back east coast road trips as they compete in the NFC Divisional round playoff against the Atlanta Falcons in an NFL pro football game on Sunday afternoon. Kick off time from Atlanta is scheduled for 1PM Eastern Time with national television coverage provided by FOX.
The betting odds opened up in this NFL playoff game with the home team Atlanta Falcons favored by –2 1/2 points with an over under line of 45 ½ points. Early money has shown on the side of the road underdog Seahawks as Atlanta is now favored by -2 points. The over under line has moved up a ½ point to a current line of 46 points.
The teams last met in the 2011 regular season with the Falcons posting the 30-28 road win at Seattle as a -6 point betting favorite. The game went over 39 ½ points. NFL Trend: Seattle Seahawks are 5-1 ATS in their past six games.
Seattle has now won six straight games after their 24-14 road win last Sunday afternoon in the NFC Wildcard game against the Washington Redskins as a -3 point betting favorite. The game ended under 45 points. The Seahawks showed great poise in this game as they overcome a 14-0 deficit after one period in a hostile road environment. After allowing the two scores the Seahawks defense clamped down and allowed the Redskins a total of just 203 offensive yards. Seattle is the fourth ranked defense in the NFL by allowing just 306 yards a game. The team pushes across nearly 26 points a game and allows 15 points. Rookie quarterback Russell Wilson completes 64% of his passes with 26 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He has thrown just two interceptions in his past nines. In the win against the Redskins Russell Wilson completed 15 of 26 passes with 187 yards and a touchdown.
The Atlanta Falcons concluded play in the regular season with the best record in the NFC Conference at 13-3. The team went 7-1 straight up at home. Their only home loss came in a meaningless week seventeen defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 22-17 as a -3 point betting favorite. The Falcons offensively live by the pass because they are the 29th worst running team in football by running for just 87 yards a game. Atlanta doesn’t possess a Super Bowl profile as they are a bottom third defense in the three major categories in total yards allowed, rushing and passing yards allowed per game this season. That explains why the Falcons are such a short favorite. Falcons head coach Mike Smith is 0-3 in his three playoff games with his current team. Quarterback Matt Ryan completed 68% of his passes with 32 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Ryan has thrown just one pick in his past five games.
