Here are the grades for the Falcons from their 34-31 victory over the Seahawks before a crowd of 69,026 at CenturyLink Field on Monday.
The Falcons improved to 6-4 and the Seahawks dropped to 6-4.
The Falcons trail the Saints (8-2) by two games with six to play in the NFC South race. The Panthers (7-3), also ahead of the Falcons, had a bye this week.
The Falcons were not in the clear until Seattle’s 52-yard field goal attempt by Blair Walsh came up short.
Matt Ryan’s streak of 65 games of passing for at least 200 yards was snapped.
Run offense: Running backs Tevin Coleman and Terron Ward were stuffed for most of the game, but came up with some tough yards in the fourth quarter. Ward had a dazzling 17-yard run and Coleman nearly scored from three yards out to ice the game. He was ruled stopped at the half-yard line and Matt Bryant followed with a 19-yard field goal to make it a two-score game with under four minutes to play. Early, the Falcons kept running toss sweeps, but Seattle's defense slipped the cut blocks and pummeled the ball carries. Coleman, who was making his fourth NFL start, was held to nine yards on 10 carries in the first half. Ward had two carries for one yard. It was only the 10th time in 35 NFL games that Coleman carried the ball 10 or more times in a game. In the end, Coleman rushed 20 times for 43 yards. Ward rushed six times for 31 yards. Grade: B-minus
Pass offense: The Seahawks were determined to defend Falcons All-Pro wide receiver Julio Jones and that left things open for Mohamed Sanu and Justin Hardy to do some damage early. Sanu drew a pass interference call on cornerback Jeremy Lane to set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Coleman on the opening drive. It was just the third time this season the Falcons scored on their opening drive and first time since the third game of the season against the Lions. After a cornerback Desmond Trufant intercepted Russell Wilson, Ryan tossed a 2-yard touchdown pass to Sanu. It became the first time this season the Falcons scored touchdowns on their first two drives of the game. Tight end Levine Toilolo made a nice catch for a 25-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Ryan completed 19 of 27 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns. Jones had five catches for 71 yards. Grade: B-minus
Run defense: The run defense was stout, but received a scare when safety Keanu Neal temporarily left the game in the first quarter. He returned on the following series. The Seahawks used Mike Davis, Eddie Lacy and J.D. McKissic to run the ball. Davis, the former Stephenson High and South Carolina standout, had a 13-yard gain before leaving with a groin injury. Russell Wilson did some damage on his scrambles. Grade: B
Pass defense: The Falcons had two big turnovers in the first half from their pass defense. Trufant intercepted a wild pass from Wilson on the Seahawks' first possession. Early in the second quarter, rookie defensive end Takkarist McKinley sacked Wilson, defensive tackle Courtney Upshaw popped him to force a fumble and Adrian Clayborn scooped it up and raced in for a 10-yard touchdown. While playing a dime defense, defensive back C.J. Goodwin was called for tripping on third down to keep Seattle's first touchdown drive alive. Robert Alford was called for a pass interference call in the third quarter. The Falcons gave up a five-play, 75 yards and two-point conversion. Doug Baldwin was wide open on a 29-yard touchdown pass. Baldwin caught the touchdown between Alford and Neal. Grade: B
Special teams: Bosher, who was on the injury report with a left ankle injury last week, first punt was a 39-yarder with 5.16 seconds of hang time. It wasn't returnable. With the score 21-10, Andre Roberts muffed the kickoff and it was recovered by Seattle's Tedric Thompson at Atlanta's 11-yard line. The Seahawks turned the miscue into a touchdown to make it 21-17. Bryant added a 44-yard field. Grady Jarrett sniffed out a fake field goal with :07 seconds left. The kickoff coverage unit had a hard time with Tyler Lockett. He had kickoff returns of 57, 37, 39, 39 and 25 yards. Grade: D
Coaching: For a key game, the Falcons came out on fire. The offense scored on its first two drives for the first time this season. The scored on their first drive of the third quarter for the second week in a row. The defense created two turnovers and scored on one. The Falcons didn't adjust quickly enough in the run game and kept running toss sweeps that they were not able to execute the blocking. Also, the specials teams knew Lockett was perhaps the most dangerous returner in the league, but they kept kicking the ball to him. Grade: B-minus
Next up: The Falcons (6-4) will host the Buccaneers (4-6) in a key NFC South game at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
