The Atlanta Falcons meet the Seattle Seahawks at 4:35 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 13, 2017, in the NFC Divisional Playoffs at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. These are the matchups to watch:
Seahawks CB Richard Sherman vs. Falcons WR Julio Jones: Jones dominated Sherman in the regular-season meeting, with seven catches for 139 yards and touchdowns. Sherman will not have free safety Earl Thomas to help with Jones in combination coverages. Jones is coming back from a toe injury and should be close to 100 percent healthy for the game.
Seahawks MLB Bobby Wagner vs. Falcons RB Devonta Freeman: Wagner was a force in the previous meeting, with 14 tackles as the Seahawks held the Falcons to 52 yards rushing, their second-lowest total of the season. Wagner led the NFL in tackles, with a franchise-record 167. Freeman rushed 12 times for 40 yards, and Tevin Coleman was held to 10 yards on five carries. Freeman rushed for 1,079 yards and averaged 4.8 yards per carry while scoring 11 touchdowns. With a late 24-23 lead the Falcons couldn't run out the clock, were forced to throw and had an untimely interception.
Seattle RT Garry Gilliam vs Falcons DE/OLB Vic Beasley: Gilliam successfully moved to tackle during his senior season at Penn State. He signed as an undrafted free agent in 2014 and became a starter in 2015. "Beasley has four multiple-sack games that account for 11 of his 16 sacks, and all of them came against subpar tackles that have an average PFF rating for the season of 56.8," according to Pro Football Focus. "Beasley was good this year, but not as good as his sack total suggests."
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