Darnold and Seahawks are looking to continue strong season against Cousins and struggling Falcons

Seattle (9-3) at Atlanta (4-8)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, Fox.

BetMGM NFL Odds: Seahawks by 7.

Against the spread: Seahawks 9-3; Falcons 5-6-1

Series record: Seahawks lead 13-9.

Last meeting: Seahawks beat Falcons 34-14 on Oct. 20, 2024, in Atlanta.

Last week: Seahawks beat Vikings 24-0; Falcons lost at New York Jets 27-24.

Seahawks offense: overall (9), rush (18), pass (9), scoring (3).

Seahawks defense: overall (6), rush (2), pass (11), scoring (3).

Falcons offense: overall (17), rush (9), pass (18), scoring (26).

Falcons defense: overall (15), rush (25), pass (8), scoring (17).

Turnover differential: Seahawks minus-4; Falcons plus-4.

Seahawks player to watch

Linebacker Ernest Jones IV is coming off a career game. He had a season-high 12 tackles and two interceptions, one of which he returned 85 yards for the first touchdown of his career, in the shutout of the Vikings. Jones, who suffered a knee injury on Nov. 2 and missed games on Nov. 9 and Nov. 23, appears to be fully healthy and back to being the anchor of Seattle’s defense.

Falcons player to watch

The Falcons are leaning on running back Bijan Robinson. Robinson has responded by ranking second in the NFL with 1,589 scrimmage yards, trailing only Christian McCaffrey’s 1,655. Robinson’s 132.4 scrimmage yards per game leads the league. Robinson had 23 carries for 142 yards and a touchdown and five catches for 51 yards against the Jets. It was the second time in three games Robinson had 23 carries after he had as many as 20 carries in only one of the first nine games this season. Robinson has shown no sign of being drained by the workload. He averaged 6.2 yards per carry last week. Seattle’s tough run defense could encourage the Falcons to create more opportunities to get him the ball in the open field as a receiver.

Key matchup

Seattle running back Kenneth Walker III and the Falcons’ run defense. Walker has run for at least 56 yards in each of his past four games, and five of his past six. Atlanta, meanwhile, has allowed 131.2 yards per game on the ground. Only six teams have allowed more rushing yards per game than the Falcons.

Key injuries

Seahawks: WR Tory Horton (shin) was placed on injured reserve two weeks ago. DT Jarran Reed (wrist, thumb), G Anthony Bradford (elbow) and WRs Cody White (abdomen) and Dareke Young (quadricep) were full participants during Wednesday’s practice. Walker (glute), TE A.J. Barner (knee, shoulder), S Julian Love (hamstring), DE Rylie Mills (knee) and S Ty Okada (oblique) were limited participants.

Falcons: WR Drake London has missed two straight games with a knee injury and did not practice on Wednesday. S DeMarcco Hellams (hamstring), DL Brandon Dorlus (groin) and DL David Onyemata (foot) also were held out Wednesday.

Series notes

The Falcons have won two NFC divisional playoff home games against Seattle: 36-20 on Jan. 14, 2017 and 30-28 on Jan. 13, 2013. Seattle has won three of the past four games in the series. The visiting team has won the past four games. The Seahawks are 8-4 all time against the Falcons in Atlanta. Seattle earned a 30-13 home win in the first game between the teams on Nov. 7, 1976, It was the first of four straight wins by the Seahawks in the series.

Stats and stuff

The Seahawks have nine wins in their first 12 games for the first time since 2019. Seattle went 10-7 last season and hasn’t had a losing season since 2021 under Pete Carroll. … The Seahawks are 5-3 against NFC foes this season, including 2-1 on the road… Seattle’s 26-0 shutout of Minnesota last week was its first since it beat Chicago 26-0 on Sept. 27, 2015. … WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who leads the NFL in receiving yards this season, was held to a season-low two catches for 23 yards last week. His 1,336 yards are 194 more than George Pickens, the NFL’s second-leading receiver. … Jones has a career-high five interceptions this season, tied for second most in the NFL. … The Seahawks have 40 sacks, good for fourth in the NFL, while the offense has allowed just 15. … Seahawks K Jason Myers has made 15 of his past 16 field-goal attempts, with the lone miss from 61 yards during a Nov. 16 loss to the Rams. He is 28 for 33 overall this season. … The Falcons’ most recent home win came almost two months ago, 24-14 over Buffalo on Oct. 13. … Falcons edge rushers James Pearce Jr. and Jalon Walker each have five sacks to lead NFL rookies. Dorlus, a second-year player, has six. … S Xavier Watts is the only NFL rookie with three interceptions. … Robinson has joined LaDainian Tomlinson as the only players with at least 55 receptions and 1,450 scrimmage yards in each of his first three seasons. … TE Kyle Pitts set a season high with 82 receiving yards on seven catches last week. … The Falcons were 10-6 in 2017 and have since had seven straight losing records. A loss Sunday would secure an eighth straight losing season. … QB Kirk Cousins has passed for three TDs with one interception in two starts, with a 1-1 record, since Michael Penix Jr. was lost for the season to a knee injury.

Fantasy tip

Sam Darnold could be a questionable fantasy start. Darnold has had a fine first season with the Seahawks, but he’s been scuffling as of late. He has only two touchdowns with four interceptions over his past three starts. Darnold was sacked a season-high four times by the Vikings. The Falcons have the third-most sacks in the NFL with 41 and could be poised to add to that total.

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