A pair of NFC squads looking to stay out of the basement of the conference will clash on Sunday as the Atlanta Falcons take on the Seattle Seahawks. Join us for our NFL odds series, where our Falcons-Seahawks prediction and pick will be made!
Even though Seahawks fans were on cloud nine after spoiling Russell Wilson's return to the Emerald City in Week 1, Seattle came back to reality after they were demolished by San Francisco 27-7 after Jimmy Garoppolo was inserted into the game following Trey Lance's injury. With too much inconsistency from Geno Smith and this Seattle offense, can the Seahawks right their wrongs and improve to 2-1 overall?
After back-to-back gut-wrenching losses that were both lost by a combined five points, the Falcons are in must-win mode after quickly falling behind with an 0-2 record. Nevertheless, there have been some bright spots for a team that entered the 2022 season with not a whole lot of expectations coming into it. With a tremendous opportunity ahead of them to get their first win of the campaign, do the Falcons have what it takes?
Here are the Falcons -Seahawks NFL odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NFL Odds: Falcons-Seahawks Odds
Atlanta Falcons: +1 (-112)
Seattle Seahawks: -1 (-108)
Over: 41.5 (-114)
Under: 41.5 (-106)
Why The Falcons Could Cover The Spread
Without a doubt, the Falcons will be faced with a deafening challenge when they head to Seattle to do battle with the Seahawks and what should be a raucous fan base that is eager to give their team a major home-field advantage. Nevertheless, even though Atlanta is 0-2, they look far from one of the worst teams in football. In fact, the Falcons have had their opportunities but have squandered them in deflating fashion, as they gave it an incredible comeback effort that fell just short against the Rams a week ago while they also narrowly lost to the Saints by a single point in the opening contest of Atlanta's season.
Despite a disappointing start to the season, the Falcons are confident that they can head into Seattle and get a hard-earned spread-covering victory out on the road. With that being said, expect Atlanta to try to make a statement by being able to run the ball early and often. On paper, these are a pair of teams that are largely the same. If the Falcons can establish some sort of running game, that will make life a whole lot easier for Marcus Mariota and set up the play-action pass.
Additionally, the Falcons need to start off strong defensively and stop the Seahawks from running the ball as well. This is a defense that has struggled mightily, as Atlanta has allowed opposing offenses to score 29.0 PPG through their first two contests. Without a doubt, Atlanta needs to figure out this unit and a matchup versus a pedestrian Seattle squad provides the perfect opportunity for this defense to get right.
Why The Seahawks Could Cover The Spread
After riding high in a dramatic victory versus Denver on Monday Night Football, the Seahawks came back to Earth in a big way as they disappointed in a big way last week against a Jimmy G-led Niners crew. Coming into the season, many experts and analysts predicted that the Seahawks would struggle to move the football on offense, and that is exactly what happened last weekend. Against San Francisco, Seattle only mustered up 216 yards of offense and turned the ball over three times. With that being said, the Seahawks cannot afford to give the ball away and provide the Falcons with scoring opportunities.
Not to mention, but which version of Geno Smith will we see ahead of this weekend's matchup between two teams with birds for mascots? Ever since the second half of the Broncos game, Smith has looked like the backup quarterback that he has been in recent years past. If the former first-round pick back in 2013 can't establish a rhythm early on, it would not be a surprise of Seattle made a quarterback change and called upon Drew Lock to rejuvenate a stagnant offense.
Last and certainly not least, Seattle should have a major advantage in stopping the run game of the Falcons. A year ago, the Seahawks finished eighth in the league in stopping the run and through their first two games of the season, they possess the ninth-best rush defense in all of football. If Seattle can force the QB Marcus Mariota to third and long after stuffing the run, then the Seahawks will be able to get off of the field and keep their defense fresh in order to cover the spread.
Final Falcons-Seahawks Prediction & Pick
While this NFC matchup might not be as prestigious as some other slated games on this NFL Sunday, it should still be a competitive one. However, this one will come down to which quarterback will lead his team to more scoring chances. At the end of the day, put your faith and trust in Marcus Mariota to make the necessary plays to lead his team to victory and cover the spread by doing so.
Final Falcons-Seahawks Prediction & Pick: Falcons +1 (-112)
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