Falcons, Seahawks will be without key stars

That’s a lot of missing talent.

The Falcons are chasing the Saints (8-2) after their overtime win over the Redskins Sunday and the Panthers (7-3 on their bye week) in the NFC South. The Seahawks can tie the Rams (7-3), who were defeated by the Vikings Sunday, in the NFC West with a victory.

The winner will also get the head-to-head playoff tiebreaker advantage.

Tevin Coleman will replace Freeman in the starting lineup for the Falcons.

Bradley McDougald, who started 31 games with the Buccaneers over the past two seasons, will start at strong safety for Chancellor and Jeremy Lane will take over for Sherman.

Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones is going to miss going up against Sherman, who suffered a season-ending Achilles injury last week.

“We always have a good time,” Jones said of the individual matchup. “He’ll try to stay on me the whole game a lot of times. Guys start playing me, and then get off, have help and Sherman’s not one of those guys. He comes out and competes every play, just man up.”

Last season, Jones has seven catches for 139 yards and one touchdown in a 26-24 regular-season loss in Seattle on Oct. 16.

In a second meeting, Jones has six catches for 67 yards and a touchdown in the 36-20 victory in the NFC divisional playoff round.

Jones admits that Seattle has a unique home-field advantage.

“It’s very different,” Jones said. “The 12th man they have out there, the fans are very loud."

The Seahawks have a plus-6 turnover ratio, which is sixth in the league. Jones thinks the crowd noise contributes to that stat.

“It’s one of those things about keeping all 11 guys on the same page at the same time due to the crowd noise,” Jones said. “Offensively, if you get off the ball later than normal, obviously ... then you’re in trouble already.

“The defensive ends and whatever they’ve got going on being able to penetrate and get pressure upfield, they can create turnovers and put a lot of pressure and stress on the quarterback to make him get the ball out of his hands quickly.”

Seattle has won five of the last six games.

The Falcons are trying to build on their most complete game of the season, a 27-7 win over Dallas.

"We can build off it because we did a lot of great things in the game but we’ve got to continue to keep building, and don’t take anything for granted," Jones said. "We had success last week and we’ve got to continue to keep building on those things to keep getting better.”

The Falcons declared Freeman, a two-time Pro Bowler, out Saturday. Although the news was expected, it became official on the league-required injury report. Punter Matt Bosher (left ankle) and linebacker Duke Riley (knee) are questionable for the game.

Freeman left Sunday’s game against the Cowboys after being tackled by linebacker Anthony Hitchens on the Falcons’ second play from scrimmage.

Freeman was in in the concussion protocol in August and went through the league’s five-step process. He left practice Aug. 13 and did not return until Aug. 27. Freeman also suffered a concussion against the Colts in November of 2015.

With Freeman down, Coleman (20 carries for 83 yards) and Terron Ward (nine for 23) combined for 106 yards rushing on 29 carries in the win over the Cowboys.

“We all want to get him back as soon as possible, when he’s ready,” Falcons offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian said of Freeman.

The Falcons were pleased that Coleman held up carrying the full load against Dallas.

“When you’re a running back or a receiver you want to get those touches, as many as you can get,” Sarkisian said. “So, I was really proud of Tevin when he got his opportunity to show what he can do.”

Coleman will be making his fourth NFL start. His 20 carries against Dallas tied his career high. It was only the ninth time in 34 NFL games that Coleman carried the ball 10 or more times.

“He ran the ball well,” Sarkisian said. “He played a complete game. We feel very confident and comfortable in Tevin."

Ward is a dependable backup and key special teams player.

The referees played a role in the regular-season meeting last year in Seattle. An apparent pass interference on Sherman was not called when he pulled Jones to the ground.

Both teams have had issues with penalties this season.

Falcons coach Dan Quinn and his staff have been working to cut down their untimely penalties.

They had a touchdown and an interception nullified because of penalties against the Cowboys. On a Desmond Trufant interception, linebacker/defensive end Vic Beasley jumped offside. On Coleman’s fourth quarter 25-yard touchdown run, wide receiver Mohamed Sanu was called for offensive holding. The Falcons have had other turnovers nullified by penalties this season. It’s a concern.

“Those are ones that you don’t get a second chance,” Quinn said.

The Falcons have committed 57 penalties for 506 yards. Seattle has committed 94 penalties for 780 yards, which was second in the league behind the Jets.

“One of the areas that we are really trying to dial in on is special teams,” Quinn said. “Specifically in punt return. If you go around the league, there has been a number of returns for touchdowns or long returns that have come back because of push in the back or a grab. It’s been an emphasis for the officials this year.”

The Falcons are dealing with issues of both mental and physical mistakes.

“We recognize there are going to be some aggressive fouls, but pre-snap (fouls) you can live without,” Quinn said. “We are coaching those as a team and we always trying to get those corrected.”

Beasley’s was a pre-snap foul, while Sanu was aggressively blocking.

“When they get you, like us in the case of the interceptions that have been nullified or a return like in the New York game where there was a foul, they are game-changers,” Quinn said.