3 ways the Seahawks can avoid being embarrassed against the Falcons

There are just five games left for the regular season, and every playoff contender, like the Seattle Seahawks (9-3), can’t afford a mistake. The Seahawks will go on the road to take on the Atlanta Falcons (4-8) on Sunday.

This game has the potential to be a bounce-back performance for the Seahawks after three difficult weeks. It also has the potential to be a trap game, where they may find themselves in an upset.

This season has been a disaster for the Falcons, who have lost six of the last seven games played. They are a team that has encountered several injuries in developing position groups. There are still areas that can give the Seahawks some trouble.

The offensive line continues to regress

Last Sunday, Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ plan to constantly confuse Seattle's offensive line and determine who to block. The Seahawks’ offensive line allowed seven tackles for loss, four sacks, and five quarterbacks.

The Vikings gave the Falcons a blueprint on how to get the Seahawks’ offensive line thrown off from allowing quarterback Sam Darnold to find a passing play from a clean pocket. This Falcons’ defense loves to blitz as they are third in the league in sacks accounted for this season, with 41.

The Seahawks have allowed 15 sacks through 12 games this season, but there have been several times when the backfield has been penetrated by poor play of the offensive line. This includes the run game, especially along the interior.

It isn’t just right guard Anthony Bradford who has been guilty of playing in rough cases. The entire offensive line has to be more alert and responsive when making blocking decisions.

Sam Darnold has to ensure he is getting better, not worse

Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold calls a play at the line of scrimmage. — Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) calls to teammates on a third down play during the third quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. | Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Darnold’s darkhorse MVP campaign took a hard hit in Week 11 as he threw four interceptions in the 21-19 Week 11 road loss to the Rams. He still led the Seahawks to a near comeback win over their divisional rivals. Since the entire Seahawks team was flat in the Week 12 win over Tennessee, and the offensive line was poor against the Vikings.

Darnold has recorded a QBR of 50 twice within the first nine games of the season. In each of the last three games, Darnold hasn’t been above 41.6.

There have been different reasons why Darnold hasn’t produced the same high numbers he had before the game versus the Rams. Darnold and the Seahawks have to play through the obstacles and potentially stop making excuses as to why the offense is limited.

Darnold is going to be put under a microscope every game, but it is starting to become noticeable how easy it can be for him to be thrown off a solid path in a game. He’ll have to be the tough leader of the offense in order for negative talk and worry to be smashed.

Seahawks’ defense have to take advantage of limited offense

There have been hopeful moments for the young and talented Falcons’ offense this season. Instead, the Falcons’ offense has been hit hard by injuries and has been averaging 20.3, which is 26th in the league. Atlanta lost quarterback Michael Penix Jr. for the season, and now they will face the Seahawks’ defense without star wide receiver Drake London.

The Seahawks are coming off their best performance of the season by shutting out the Vikings, creating four turnovers, including a pick-six, and holding them to only 162 total yards. They can’t follow that up by allowing Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins and running back Bijan Robinson to have their best performances this season.

The Seahawks aren’t great at covering tight ends this season. Cousins is going to attempt to beat the Seahawks’ defense with quick passes to tight end Kyle Pitts and Robinson. If the Seahawks allow multiple drives to push through the short-to-mid-range passing plays consistently, the Seahawks could be in a tough fight in the fourth quarter.

The offensive line continues to regress

Sam Darnold has to ensure he is getting better, not worse

Seahawks’ defense have to take advantage of limited offense

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