With Sunday’s victory over the Seahawks, the Falcons became one of the final four teams in the playoffs.  Atlanta thoroughly dominated the Seahawks in the first half to a tune of 20-0.  The second half was a different story.  The offense fell apart completely, scoring only 6 points while Seattle clawed there way back into the game.  Russell Wilson led his team back from the 20 point deficit to take the lead with under a minute left in the game.  It looked over at that point with Atlanta finding a way to blow another playoff game.  Matt Ryan seemed likely to lose in the playoffs for their 4th time in 5 years.  That was until Ryan rallied his troops and took his team down the field in only two plays to get Matt Bryant into field goal position.  Bryant nailed the field goal to give Atlanta the lead back.  The only problem was that Mike Smith’s horrible clock management left over 10 seconds left on the clock.  That is not a whole lot, but in a playoff game when you could have milked the clock down to zero, you cannot leave anytime left on the clock.  What happened next almost led to the biggest let down in Falcons football history.  An attempted squib kick hit the front line of the Seahawks kick return team, giving them the football around the 50 yard line.  Russell Wilson had one or two plays to bring the Seahawks into field goal position.  He couldn’t get it done, but the fact that he came so close is a bit concerning.

Still, it is the playoffs.  Anything can happen and every game will be against the top competition.  Matt Ryan got it done in the end and Tony Gonzalez finally won his first ever playoff game.  Now the Faclons are only one game away from the Super Bowl.  The best part, they get to continue this ride at home.  Home field advantage can be absolutely crucial in the playoffs, especially when you are playing an elite team in the 49ers.  San Francisco is making their second straight trip to the NFC Championship game under Jim Harbaugh.  The big difference between this years team and last years is that Colin Kaepernick is the new QB under center.  In a surprising move by Harbaugh, he went with the guy who has never started an NFL game over Alex Smith who had great success under Harbaugh.

Kaepernick adds a whole new dimension to the 49er’s offense.  The comparison brought on all week has been to Cam Newton based on the Falcons struggles against the other young QB.  Atlanta saw Newton at his best this year, as he ran all over them as well as beat them through the air.  Carolina very nearly beat the Falcons twice this year despite struggling against everyone else in the NFL.  Newton was the primary reason for that, which is concerning.  Russell Wilson is another dual threat QB that played fairly well against the Falcons.  He very nearly led Seattle back from huge deficits last week.  Kaepernick dominated the Packers last week.  He put on one the greatest performances in the NFL history at the QB position.  He accounted for 4 scores, two in the air and two on the ground.  He will be a serious challenge for Mike Nolan’s defense.

The big game will be this Sunday at 3.  Expect a hard fought battle with Matt Ryan going against another elite defense in the NFC.  He was able to put up 30 points against a strong Seattle secondary, but he will have to do it again against one of the bet front sevens.  Ryan will likely be under a lot more pressure this game with Jutin Smith and Aldon Smith rushing the edges.  It won’t be an easy task, but Ryan needs to beat the best to be the best.

The Seahawks defeated the Redskins on Sunday and not have the luxury of heading to Atlanta to face the Falcons.  Seattle is one of the hottest teams in the NFL with 6 straight wins and 8 in their last 9 games.  Seattle has been extremely impressive this year on the shoulders of Marshawn Lynch and rookie Russell WIlson.  The offense has come on strong as of late that included a three game stretch in which they averaged 50 points per game.  This has be a point of concern for Atlanta whose defense has been up and down much of the year.  Statistically, the defense is below average, but has improved lately.

The bigger matchup has to be the Falcons offense against the Seahawks fierce defense.  More specifically, Matt Ryan and his receiving corps against the elite cornerback duo of Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner.  Ryan has been elite QB all year.  He made the Pro Bowl over the likes of Eli Manning, Tony Romo, and Drew Brees among others.  The problem is that he has never had success in the playoffs.  He won’t have an easy task this week which leads to an extremely interesting matchup.  It is true battle of strength against strength.  Julio Jones and Roddy White may be the best 1-2 combo at WR and Seattle’s corners may share the same honor at their position.

The concerning part is that Atlanta has shown almost no sign of a running game all year.  Seattle should be able to drop back several in coverage to limit the effectiveness of Ryan.  Seattle on the other hand has a well balanced offense led through their running game.  Marshawn Lynch has resurrected his career with Seattle and has shone in playoff appearances.  Everyone remembers his incredible run against New Orleans two years ago, and he shredded the Redskins defense last week.  He has had problems with ball security though, so that may be a point of attack for the Falcons defense.

Ultimately, the Falcons should be favorites in this game.  Seattle has a lot of talent, but also some weaknesses at some key positions.  They are very inexperienced when it comes to the playoffs and led by a rookie Quarterback.  Then again, Russell Wilson has won more games in the playoffs in his career than Matt Ryan.

Photo by: Zuma Press/Icon SMI

Atlanta plays the first Saturday Night Game of the season when the travel to Ford Field to take on the Lions.  The Falcons can clinch home field advantage throughout the playoffs if they win this game or their next one, so they are in a pretty good place.  They obviously would like to win this one to take away any pressure.  Whether or not they would rest some starters would become a topic of debate, but I’ll leave that until it is a done deal.  Detroit has been a major disappointment this season after making the playoffs last year.  They currently stand at 4-10 on the year and last place in the NFC North.  Currently riding a 6 game losing streak, they are coming off a 38-10 slaughtering by the Cardinals.  Yes, they lost by 28 to the Arizona Cardinals.  Needless to say, they have hit rock bottom with that loss.

Still, Detroit can be a dangerous team.  They have the best WR in the entire league in Calvin Johnson.  While the play of his teammates has been lacking, Johnson hasn’t skipped a beat. In fact, with 1667 yards on the year, he is likely to break Jerry Rice’s single season receiving yard record.  With Matt Stafford throwing for over 4000 yards already, the Lions have the top passing offense in the league in terms of yards.  So why aren’t they winning games?  Well they aren’t scoring as much as they should.  Despite his yardage total, Stafford has thrown for only 17 scores this year.  Considering he has 629 passes, that is not a very good percentage.  They have also lost a lot of tight games.  7 of their 10 losses have come by 7 or less points.  A lot of these games they have fallen behind early, only to begin a comeback attempt that falls just short.  A major key for Atlanta should be to start quick, because the Lions offense can put up points in bunches.

The Lions don’t have much at all to play for, but the Falcons can’t allow that to be a factor.  They have to play them just like they did the Giants last week, and not like they played the Panthers the week before.  With the playoffs right around the corner it is important for them to be on top of their game.  They will get a week of rest after week 17 so they need to play their hardest at least in this game.  Look for Atlanta to be a tight contest against the underperforming Lions.

Photo by: Rich Kane/Icon SMI

A matchup of NFC division leaders should be a very interesting game.  Matt Ryan and the Falcons are coming off a loss to the Panthers last week and despite their NFC best record has not gotten a lot of respect around the league.  They have rarely blown out teams, which has lead to most people in the national media to see the 49ers or Packers, or even this Giants team to be favorites to represent the NFC in the playoffs.  They can put that to bed by beating the Giants today.  New York is coming off a dominating performance against the Saints, putting up 52 points on their defense.  Atlanta should fare better than that, but they have to be worried about this Giants passing attack.

An interesting change for the Giants is at the RB position.  Forced to the bench for most of the year, David Wilson will make his first career start against the Falcons.  With Bradshawn and Andre Brown injured, Wilson is forced into the lineup.  That may not be a bad thing for New York though.  Wilson is extremely talented and proved that last week against the Saints.  He will be in  for a bigger test today, but will get every opportunity to prove himself.

As for Atlanta, they can clinch the NFC South with this win, although that is basically a lock.  They could also clinch home field advantage with a win and GB and SF loss.  Unlikely, but the Falcons do still have a lot to play for.  Atlanta will look to rebound from an embarrassing loss to the Panthers which should lead to a great game against the Giants today.