Sunday afternoon, the Seattle Seahawks will travel Georgia to take on the #1 seed Atlanta Falcons. This NFC Divisional round game will feature two of the better young quarterbacks in the game, Matt Ryan and Russell Wilson.
For Matt Ryan, this game represents another chance for him to prove his status as an elite quarterback who can win the big game. Like Peyton Manning before him, Ryan has been hurt by great regular season statistics and early playoff exits. However, Manning was able to overcome his playoff woes by putting the Colts on his back and winning Super Bowl XLI. Is Matty Ice capable of doing the same?
This season, Ryan was an extremely efficient passer. He completed 68% of his passes for 4,719 yards and 32 touchdowns. He had a total QBR of 74.5 and passer rating of 99.1 However, despite his team’s 7-1 home record, Ryan didn’t play his best football inside the Georgia Dome. Of Ryan’s 14 interceptions, 9 of them were at home. Ryan’s passer rating at home was 25.1 points lower than on the road (111.3 compared to 86.2). With home field advantage throughout the playoffs, they are going to need Ryan to play better on his home turf if they expect to make a Super Bowl caliber run.
With that being said, the Seahawks and rookie quarterback Russell Wilson have had a sensational season. They finished 11-5 and earned a wild card bid. Russell Wilson completed 64.1% of his passes for 26 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions. However, despite all of their success, the team and Wilson struggled mightily on the road. All five of Seattle’s losses were on the road, where Wilson’s play was average at best (9 touchdowns, 8 interceptions and a 83.1 passer rating).
If the Seahawks are going to make a legitimate Super Bowl run, they will need to play like they did last week at FedEx Field. Down 14-0 in the first quarter, Wilson led the Seahawks to 24 unanswered points and a wild card victory. He finished the game 15-26 for 187 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions.
Like most playoff games, expect this game to come down to quarterback play. Can Matt Ryan change his reputation and win his first playoff game? Or will Russell Wilson and the Seahawks prove they can win big on the road?
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