Seahawks vs. Falcons Odds
The second round of the NFL Playoffs get started today when the Atlanta Falcons play host to the Seattle Seahawks at 4:35PM ET.
According to the oddsmakers at BetDSI, the Falcons are favored at home today, as they are getting odds of -4.5 points against the Seahawks. The over/under total for the contest is listed at 51.5 points. Atlanta opened as a 3.5-point favorite, but the spread quickly jumped to 4.5 points. It hit a peak of 5 points during the week but settled in at 4.5. The public wagers for the game are with Atlanta, as the Falcons are getting 58 percent of the bets as the favorite. These two met this season, with Seattle getting a 26-24 win at home on Oct. 16.
The Seahawks are coming off an impressive 26-6 win over the Detroit Lions in last week’s playoff action. Seattle covered the spread in the win to move to 9-8 against the spread for the season. The Seahawks are also 9-8 with the over. Seattle’s defense gives up just 17.5 points per game for the year and only 313.5 yards per game, but the Seahawks had their struggles prior to last week’s win. Earl Thomas suffered a broken leg weeks ago and the secondary hasn’t been quite as dominant since. During the regular season, Seattle forced 19 turnovers and had 42 sacks. They had three sacks in last week’s win over the Lions as well. Offensively, Seattle averages 22.4 points per game. They have a nice boost from Thomas Rawls and the run game against the Lions as he rushed for 161 yards and a touchdown. On the season, Seattle only averaged 104 rushing yards per game. Russell Wilson was 23 of 30 passing last week for 224 yards and two touchdowns.
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The Falcons closed the regular season on a four-game win streak to win the NFC South at 11-5 and earn the No. 2 seed in the NFC. Atlanta was 10-6 against the spread this season and an impressive 13-2-1 with the over. The reason for the overs was the Atlanta offense, which is one of the best in the NFL. The Falcons averaged 33.8 points and 415.8 yards per game this year, highlighted by a pass game that put up nearly 300 yards per game. Matt Ryan is among the MVP candidates after throwing for 4,944 yards with 38 touchdowns and seven interceptions this season. Julio Jones remains one of the league’s best receivers with 83 catches for 1,409 yards and six touchdowns. Defensively, Atlanta wasn’t the best this year, allowing 25.4 points and 371.2 yards per game. However, the unit was much better over the later stages of the season. The development of rookie safety Keanu Neal really gave the defense a lift. He had 106 tackles during the year and forced five fumbles. Neal suffered a concussion in the last game against the Saints and is listed as questionable for today. Atlanta also finally found its pass rusher in Vic Beasley, who had a league-high 15.5 sacks in 2016.