Some first impressions from our Seattle Times Sports team following the Seahawks' 36-20 loss to the Falcons in the Georgia Dome in an NFC divisional playoff game.
The Seahawks saw their season come to an end in the divisional round of the playoffs at the hands of an NFC South team for the second straight year, with the Falcons emerging with a 36-20 victory in the Georgia Dome on Saturday afternoon. (Last year, the Seahawks lost at Carolina.)
Here are some first impressions from our Seattle Times Sports team. Plenty more coverage and reaction to come at seattletimes.com/sports.
Bob Condotta: Ultimately, this was a flawed team that probably maxed out what it could do with no consistent running game and a defense that couldn’t overcome the loss of Earl Thomas.
Jayson Jenks: Ever since the Seahawks crushed Carolina in the first week of December, they’ve showed signs of being a flawed team. They got blown out on the road at Green Bay — their first loss by more than 10 points since 2011. They lost at home to Arizona, in a game that would have pretty much secured a first-round bye. They went to the wire against a San Francisco team that fired its general manager and coach. Turns out, all the flaws the Seahawks had revealed in the final four weeks of the season turned out to be fair and accurate.
Larry Stone: This game had a stark turning point on the penalty that negated a Devin Hester punt return to the 7 when the Seahawks were on the verge of going up 17-7. But beyond that, the Falcons looked like the superior team in every way and exposed the deficiencies that have haunted Seattle all year.