Falcons playoff schedule: Atlanta will host the Seahawks in the Divisional Round

As anticipated, the Seattle Seahawks dispatched the Detroit Lions without any great difficulty. That means the #2 Atlanta Falcons will face the #3 Seahawks next Saturday in the Divisional Round.

The Falcons and Seahawks offer up a good matchup. Seattle’s a defense-first team with a strong ground game and competent-to-good passing attack, while Atlanta has the league’s best offense and a defense that is...well, not the best in the NFL. The last time these two teams met, the Seahawks rallied to win narrowly, but that was with Earl Thomas on the field and on the road in Seattle. Atlanta should be healthier and within the cozy confines of the Georgia Dome, which will hopefully be enough to make a difference in this matchup.

Frankly, this is the matchup I wanted out of all potential possibilities, and I don’t mean that as a major slight. Seattle’s just not as en fuego as Green Bay, and while the Giants might be the preferable matchup overall, there’s no chance the Falcons will get them next weekend. I believe Atlanta can beat the Seahawks this year, and we’ll have to hope I’m right about that.

We’ll study this matchup in detail this week, so stay tuned.