Levi’s Stadium – Seattle, WA
Kickoff: Monday, 8:25 p.m. ET
Line: Seattle -2.0, Total: 45.0

The Falcons and Seahawks will be fighting for positioning in the NFC when the teams meet in Seattle on Monday.

Atlanta is coming off of a big win over Dallas, as the team won 27-7 in what was pretty much a must-win situation. The Falcons have now won two of their past three games and really are going to need to find a way to win this one. If they were sitting at 5-5 heading into next week then it would be hard for them to be too excited about their playoff hopes. As for Seattle, the team just defeated Arizona 22-16 as a six-point road favorite. The Cardinals played with most of their top offensive players injured, so it wasn’t really too impressive. The Seahawks had previously lost at home to the Redskins, so they were still happy to get a win in that game. One thing favoring Seattle in this game is the fact that the Falcons are just 5-16 ATS versus teams with a completion percentage of 61% or better over the past three seasons. The Seahawks also happen to be 12-3 ATS in home games after allowing 75 or fewer rushing yards in two straight games since 1992. Seattle is, however, extremely banged up in the secondary, as both CB Richard Sherman (Achilles) and S Kam Chancellor (Neck) are out for the season.

The Falcons are going to be feeling good about their chances of winning on Monday, as they’re facing a Seattle defense that is nowhere near full strength right now. That means that QB Matt Ryan and WR Julio Jones could be in for a huge day here. Ryan has thrown for just 13 touchdowns and has a lousy eight picks this year, but he has been a bit better lately. Over the past three weeks, Ryan has thrown for six scores with only two picks. The Falcons need him to continue to take care of the ball, which is something that he also seems committed to doing at this point. And all Ryan really needs to do in the passing game is just find ways to get the ball to Jones. Jones has been one of the best receivers in football over the past few years, but he has been having a down year. He has only one touchdown this season, but that means that he’s probably due for a couple of scores the rest of the season. Look for him to really thrive here, and don’t be shocked if he finds the end zone. Defensively, the Falcons need to get some pressure on Wilson. They don’t really need to focus much on the Seahawks’ running game, so that should help.

The Seahawks defense is not going to be as good as it once was, as Sherman and Chancellor are a huge part of what this team does. Still, Seattle should be able to find a way to win games moving forward. When needed, QB Russell Wilson is capable of leading his offense to victories in shootouts. Over the past four games, Wilson has thrown for 11 touchdowns and only three interceptions. The Seahawks will need to just continue to open up the playbook and allow him to make plays. This is no longer a ground-and-pound team, so the Seahawks just need to accept that and play more like they did in a 41-38 victory over the Texans three games ago. That means that guys like WR Doug Baldwin and TE Jimmy Graham would have more opportunities to make plays, and that is something that the Seahawks are going to make sure happens. Both guys are extremely tough to cover and should be in for big games on Monday. And on defense, the Seahawks will need to get more pressure on Matt Ryan in this one. They aren’t going to have the same coverage in the secondary as usual, so they have to make Ryan uncomfortable in the pocket.