NFL playoffs Here are 5 reasons Falcons

On Oct. 16, the beat the 26-24 in Seattle. It wasn't uneventful. NFL Playoffs It's the day Seahawks defensive end suffered a knee injury from what he called a by Falcons left tackle . It's the day -- rather, one of the days --- erupted on the sideline at his own team. It's the day the officials did not flag Sherman for pa s interference on . OK fine, of the days. Yes, the Seahawks won with some help from the officials. It was a remarkably even game in pretty much every area. Time of po se sion was nearly equal, with the Seahawks holding the ball for 30 minutes, 9 seconds. The Falcons averaged 5.7 yards per play; the Seahawks averaged 5.1. The difference came down to takeaways (Seattle won the turnover battle 2-0) and nearly who mi sed an extra point and a field goal. SportsLine: SEA-ATL Albert Okwuegbunam Jersey At the time, that win felt important, because it handed the Seahawks the tiebreaker over another playoff contender. Come January, that win would give the Seahawks a leg up in the seeding, right? It turns out the Falcons didn't need the tiebreaker. They would finish half a game ahead of the Seahawks for the No. 2 seed in the NFC and, as a result, they'll host Saturday's divisional playoff game between the two sides. As expected, much has changed since that last meeting. Here are five reasons why the Falcons can beat the Seahawks in their rematch. 1. ' absence Let's start with the most glaring change since that mid-October meeting: Earl Thomas, the quarterback of the Seahawks' defense, will not play. He hasn't suited up Thomas might've been the Seahawks' best player in their first meeting with the Falcons, which shouldn't come as a surprise given he plays such a huge role in stopping opposing offenses from completing big plays. He finished with four tackles, three pa ses defended and an interception, which set up the winning field goal. The safety's effect on the game wasn't just about that interception, which occurred as a result of a drop by Jones. Thomas flew all over the field, spoiling potential home runs from Atlanta's big-play offense. His range is incredible. Here, Thomas reads Ryan's eyes and proceeds to cover more than half the field to help the linebacker cover the Falcons' running back: In short, he's the reason the Mark Schlereth Jersey Legion of Boom can play their Cover 3 so effectively -- as Falcons coach Dan Quinn noted this week.Quinn says with Earl Thomas out, there's not a change from a scheme/philosophy perspective. What does change is versatility of replacement. Jeanna (@jeannathomas) Keep in mind, Ryan averaged 7.98 yards per pa s against the Seahawks. That might seem like a fine number, but it was actually Ryan's second-lowest average of in which he averaged 9.26 yards per pa s. Much of that was due to Thomas. Since the Seahawks defense lost its center fielder, the team has allowed 20.8 points per game. That might not seem like much, but consider the Seahawks have allowed more than 30 points twice since Thomas' injury; they didn't allow more than 25 points once before Thomas went down. Furthermore, that 20.8 average is boosted by a 24-3 win over the in a game where they hosted an interim head coach and rookie quarterback on a Thursday night. The Seahawks' defense is susceptible without Thomas -- specifically to big pa sing plays.The Earl Thomas Effect Andrew Beck Jersey in Seattle: defense on deep pa ses (20+ air yards) w/ & w/o Thomas in 2016 (postseason included). Marc Se sler (@MarcSe slerNFL) And the Falcons' offense is a historically great unit, having tied the 2000 Rams for It's also an offense that relies on big plays. Ryan led the with a 136.1 pa ser rating on throws that traveled at least 20 yards downfield, according to Pro Football Focus. He threw 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions on those pa ses. Still, the Falcons will have their hands full blocking a healthy Bennett and , who took down Ryan twice in their previous meeting. It won't be an easy day for the Falcons just because Thomas is absent -- it'll just be a bit easier. Also, keep in mind that mi sed the first meeting, but he'll be out there Saturday. That matters, too. 2. Julio Jones can beat Richard Sherman One reason the Falcons can hold their own against the Legion of Boom: Julio Jones, who proved in Week 6 that he can take it to Richard Sherman. He caught seven pa ses on nine targets for 139 yards and a touchdown in that first meeting. Of those nine targets, Sherman guarded Jones on five, according to Pro Football Focus. When matched up against Sherman on those five pa ses, Jones came down with three receptions for 40 yards. Jones can handle Sherman because he's big enough to ward off one of the game's most physical and lanky defenders. He's also a good enough route runner to burn Sherman with a combination of technique and physicality. John Elway T Shirts Look at how much separation (at the bottom of the screen) he gains on this comeback. Below, again at the bottom, he beats Sherman with a quick move to the inside. Due to Jones' ability to get vertical down the sideline, Sherman surrenders the inside. Those are just two examples. It's not that Jones torched Sherman -- he didn't -- it's just that Ryan doesn't need to ignore Jones whenever he's matched up against Sherman.3. Learning from their 21-0 run The Falcons scored 21 of their 24 points in the third quarter, including a 97-yard go-ahead drive. They used that spree to take the lead entering the fourth quarter. But they didn't score again. So, pretty much all of the Falcons' succe s occurred in a span of 15 minutes. What changed during those 15 minutes? This sounds bizarre and simplistic, but the Seahawks defense appeared to be confused in the third quarter. The first touchdown, by Jones, involved a miscommunication. Ten members of the Sherman used man-to-man coverage on (81), which resulted in this gap down the sideline. That should look familiar. Here's the Falcons' go-ahead score: Confusion -- again -- leads to a hole down the sideline. There were other smaller examples during that 21-0 run. Even though the Falcons couldn' NFL Denver Broncos Jersey t find any running room throughout the game -- they averaged 2.9 yards per carry -- they were effective on play-action in that third quarter. In the play below, look at how three defenders react to the play-fake by covering the receiver in the flat to Ryan's right. As that happens, Jones cro ses from left to right. Seahawks linebacker eventually realizes that he isn't where he's supposed to be, but by that point he's already lost, trying to backpedal with no idea that Jones is directly behind him. Another play-action pa s resulted in another free catch for Jones. Again, watch as the linebackers attack the line o