By Tiffany Williams –
At Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, the Falcons hosted the Seahawks and got bulldozed 37–9 in a game that slipped out of their hands fast. Seattle walked in looking like a playoff team; Atlanta looked like it was still in warmups. Sam Darnold sliced through the Falcons’ defense with 20-of-30 passing for 249 yards, three touchdowns, one interception, and a 111.7 rating. He wasn’t pressured, wasn’t rattled, and wasn’t touched enough to matter.
Seattle’s run game didn’t need to be explosive—just steady. Zach Charbonnet led with 46 yards, Velus Jones Jr. added 32, and Kenneth Walker III chipped in 29 as Seattle posted 129 rushing yards. Jaxon Smith-Njigba embarrassed Atlanta’s secondary with 92 yards and two touchdowns. Rashid Shaheed threw in 67 more. Even Cooper Kupp found the end zone on a light workload. It felt like every Seattle skill player got to take a turn torching the Falcons.
Atlanta’s offense never got out of neutral. Kirk Cousins went 15 of 30 for 162 yards with two interceptions and a 38.5 rating. It was disjointed, off rhythm, and borderline unwatchable. Bijan Robinson was the lone bright spot with 86 rushing yards and eight receiving, but even he lost a fumble. Tyler Allgeier contributed but couldn’t change the momentum. Kyle Pitts Sr. put up 90 yards, but the rest of the receiving production barely moved the needle.
Defensively, the Falcons had scattered flashes but nothing sustained. A.J. Terrell Jr. had eight tackles and Mike Hughes grabbed an interception, but Seattle stayed in cruise control. The two sacks Atlanta managed didn’t slow anything. Special teams added some spark—Deven Thompkins posted 121 kick return yards—but nothing translated into touchdowns.
The entire game flipped on the second-half kickoff. Rashid Shaheed blasted through the coverage unit for a 100-yard touchdown that sucked the energy out of the stadium instantly. From there, Seattle piled on. Darnold orchestrated an 88-yard touchdown drive ending in a 28-yard strike to Smith-Njigba. Jason Myers drilled another field goal, and suddenly it was 23–6 with Atlanta showing no signs of life.
The Falcons opened the fourth with a field goal, but Seattle answered with two more touchdown passes from Darnold—one to Cooper Kupp, another to Smith-Njigba—to finish the rout. By that point, fans were streaming for the exits, and the Seahawks were simply polishing their stat sheet.
The numbers confirm exactly what the eye test screamed. Seattle outgained Atlanta 365–274 and averaged 6.3 yards per play to the Falcons’ 4.4. Seattle converted six third downs; Atlanta converted one. Seattle scored two red-zone touchdowns; Atlanta went 0-for-4. Seattle turned it over once; Atlanta gave it away three times. The Seahawks held the ball longer, hit harder, and executed better in every facet.
Seattle’s defense, led by Ernest Jones IV’s 11 tackles and picks from Devon Witherspoon and Nick Emmanwori, smothered the Falcons when it mattered. Special teams buried them—Shaheed logged 148 kick-return yards and Jason Myers went 3-for-3 on field goals and 4-for-4 on extra points. It was domination from kickoff to kneeldown.
And then there’s Atlanta. Zane Gonzalez scored all nine of their points. No touchdowns. No momentum. No answers. The Falcons didn’t just lose—they were exposed. If this is the identity they bring into the rest of the season, the spiral has only just begun.
Sports Insider Daily 