Rematch has plot twists
Seattle, Atlanta have changed since first game
As with any rematch, there are certainly things that both teams learned about each other the first time around.
Then again, so much will be different when the Atlanta Falcons host Seattle in an NFC divisional playoff game Saturday.
Especially for the Seahawks.
Seattle found a running game in its playoff opener, and quarterback Russell Wilson appears as healthy as he’s been all season.
Yet the defense looks a lot less imposing without safety Earl Thomas, out for the season with a broken leg.
Most significantly, this game will be at the Georgia Dome, costing the Seahawks perhaps the most imposing homefield advantage in the National Football League. A 26-24 victory over the Falcons in Week 6 was at the Link.
“We’ve got the best fans in the world,” said Wilson, no doubt mindful that Seattle is 8-1 at home this season but just 3-4-1 on the road. “We don’t take that for granted.”
In addition to having the fans on their side for the rematch, the Falcons look a bit different on the field.
The young defense, with as many as four rookie starters, has grown up considerably over the latter part of the season, even after a season-ending injury to its best cornerback, Desmond Trufant.
Vic Beasley, in particular, established himself as one of the league’s most dominant pass rushers.
“Both teams now are a better version of themselves than when we played back then,” said Falcons coach Dan Quinn, a former defensive coordinator in Seattle.
The Atlanta offense has been on point all season. Led by quarterback Matt Ryan, one of the leading contenders for MVP, the Falcons (11-5) romped to the NFC South title and a first-round bye behind the league’s highest-scoring offense, averaging nearly 34 points a game.
Ryan has been especially accurate on his deep throws, an area of vulnerability for the Seahawks without their star safety. In the first meeting, Thomas had one of just seven interceptions Ryan threw all season.
“His accuracy is phenomenal,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. “He puts it in all of the right spots.”
Houston at New England: The Houston Texans face an enormous challenge against the New England Patriots on Saturday night.
The Texans are 1-7 against the Patriots. They are winless in New England all time, including a shutout loss earlier this season when Tom Brady was out because of a suspension.
The Patriots enter the game as 16-point favorites over the visiting Texans — just the sixth time since 1966 that a team has been favored by at least 15 points in a playoff game.
In the five previous occasions only one underdog — the New York Jets in Joe Namath’s Super Bowl guarantee — won the game.
New England says it isn’t taking anything for granted in the divisional-round matchup against the NFL’s top-ranked defense.
But how does Houston, which lost, 27-0, in Week 3 to a Patriots team without Brady, go about beating a team that is one of the biggest favorites in playoff history?
“The first thing that jumps out, you have to protect the ball. If you are going to beat the Patriots, you can’t have any turnovers,” Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler said.
“If you have turnovers, you are giving Tom additional chances to score points ... and that’s never going to be good for your football team.”
That will be easier said than done against a Patriots defense that has been creating turnovers at a high rate during the team’s seven-game win streak.