·September 22, 2022·3 min read

Tale of the Tape: Falcons Visit Seattle for Epic Pillow Fight

Get ready, Seattle. Mykal Walker, Ta’Quan Graham, and Drake London are coming to town, and they’re bringing Hell with them. Now, it might be more Hell in the sense that it will be agonizing to watch than intimidation, but it will be Hell nonetheless. Two of the NFLs least talented rosters clash on Sunday in Lumen Field when the 0-2 Falcons battle the 1-1 Seahawks.

There will be plenty of murmurs in the stadium as fans turn to each other and ask, “Who is that?” Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota is one of the most recognizable names for the Falcons because he played at University of Oregon, not because he is good at football.

Atlanta can at least claim they have been competitive in both games, nearly pulling off an epic comeback against the Rams, losing 31-27 after trailing 31-10 in the 4th quarter. They blew a 26-10 lead in the 4th quarter the prior week against the Saints.

Seattle looked like a contender for the top pick in the draft against the 49ers as all phases of the team looked mostly awful. They appear toothless on offense and defense. If they do not win this game, they may not win more than five the whole season.

The way this works: Each offense will be pitted against the opposing defense and compared on an array of key statistical attributes based on their respective rank in the NFL. The tables that follow show the rank of each unit for each of these categories.

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Seahawks Offense vs Falcons Defense

Falcons key advantages on defense

The Falcons biggest advantage on defense is that they are facing the Seahawks offense. By points or yards, the Seahawks are one of the worst offenses in football, having scored zero points in the last 1.5 games. Atlanta may need to spend extra practice time preparing for the vaunted wildcat formation from Seattle where they have a running back throw a pass directly to a defender. Don’t drop it!

Atlanta has gotten decent play from their secondary, and picked off a few passes. They also have Grady Jarrett, who is a load in the middle of their defensive line.

Seahawks key advantages on offense

The Falcons defense is one of the worst in the NFL, so something has to give. Seattle needs to be able to run the football in order for Geno Smith to be effective. They will have a better chance against the Falcons than they did against the 49ers or Broncos.

Falcons Offense vs Seahawks Defense

Falcons key advantages on offense

Seattle considers tackling optional on defense, which can really help an offense. Atlanta can choose to run straight ahead and has a good shot of continuing to move forward until they trip or hit a wall. Seattle has demonstrated no pass rush whatsoever to this point, and has been terrible at stopping the run. Not a great combo.

Atlanta does feature Kyle Pitts, who is one of the up-and-coming young tight ends in the league. He will get to matchup with arguably the worst linebacker group in the NFL. Start him in fantasy if you have him.

Seahawks key advantages on defense

Tough to say. The best hope here is that the Seahawks faced two very good offensive lines and now have a chance to breakthrough for more impactful plays against a more flawed Falcons line. This might be one of the worst offensive lines in football. Darrell Taylor better get a sack or two here.