Scoring updates

Final score: Falcons 36, Seahawks 20

The Seahawks were moving the ball again, but a long catch by Paul Richardson was overturned after replay showed the ball hit the ground. Then, Deion Jones picked off a Russell Wilson pass that was tipped by about three different players — and maybe wasn’t an interception at all.

The Falcons hung on to the ball for the rest of the game and are moving on to play the Cowboys or Packers in the NFC Championship.

Fourth quarter (3:21): Falcons 36, Seahawks 20

Seattle isn’t going away quietly. Devin Hester returned the kickoff for 78 yards, and on the very next play, Russell Wilson dropped in a 31-yard touchdown pass to Doug Baldwin.

Even worse for the Falcons: Julio Jones left and hasn’t returned with a foot injury.

Fourth quarter (3:40): Falcons 36, Seahawks 13

The Falcons’ defense has found different ways to harass Russell Wilson. He’s been sacked three times and has been hurried a whopping 17 times so far. Brian Poole lowered the boom on him, and then, in what should be the dagger, Ricardo Allen picked him off.

The Falcons turned the interception into a 46-yard scoring drive when Matt Ryan threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Mohamed Sanu.

Fourth quarter (14:57): Falcons 29, Seahawks 13

Against a blitz, Matt Ryan fired the ball to Devonta Freeman, who picked up 53 yards on a fun juke-and-run play. Atlanta hit a 31-yard field goal on the first play of the final quarter.

Third quarter: Falcons 26, Seahawks 13

Seattle’s drive stalled, but a punt turned into a first down due a Falcons penalty. The Seahawks added a field goal, putting up their first points since early in the second quarter.

Third quarter (9:12): Falcons 26, Seahawks 10

Matt Ryan and the Falcons’ offense picked up right where they left off. On their first drive of the second half, they moved down the field with ease. Devonta Freeman punched it in from the 1-yard line for his first touchdown of the game.

Things got chippy between the two teams, and Michael Bennett and Ryan Schraeder nearly came to blows.

Halftime: Falcons 19, Seahawks 10

Atlanta started on its own 1-yard line, but that didn’t make any difference for an offense that’s firing on all cylinders. Matt Ryan hooked up with Tevin Coleman for the 14-yard touchdown to put the Falcons up by nine with just under a minute left in the first half.

Second quarter (6:06): Falcons 12, Seahawks 10

The Falcons got the ball back after the safety and turned it into their first lead of the game when Matt Bryant knocked a 35-yard field goal through.

Second quarter (9:24): Seahawks 10, Falcons 9

After Devin Hester’s age-defying 80-yard punt return was called back due to a hold, the Seahawks started on their own 7-yard line. Thomas Rawls lost 3 yards on the first play, and then Russell Wilson fell on his butt in the end zone for a safety.

Second quarter (11:20): Seahawks 10, Falcons 7

Paul Richardson, who seemingly came out of nowhere last week with a couple of dazzling catches, got another nifty grab. He made a heads up play when he kept running all the way to the end zone, but the touchdown was overturned on replay when Richardson was ruled down by contact.

Seattle settled for a 33-yard field goal on the drive.

Second quarter (14:14): Seahawks 7, Falcons 7

The Falcons answered right back, mixing in runs from Tevin Coleman and Devonta Freeman and catches by Julio Jones for a 75-yard drive. Matt Ryan connected with Jones for a 7-yard score that was the same play that led to Malcolm Butler’s interception in Super Bowl XLIX.

On that Falcons’ drive, Jones recorded three catches for 27 yards and the touchdown.

First quarter: Seahawks 7, Falcons 0

The Seahawks put together a clinical drive on their first possession of the game. The 14-play, 89-yard drive ended when Russell Wilson found Jimmy Graham for a 7-yard touchdown.

Kickoff: The game began with an incredible saxophone national anthem by Mike Phillips.

Before the game

Matt Ryan’s transcendent 2016 made him an MVP frontrunner. He’ll have to keep that torrid pace to dispatch the Seahawks on Saturday and push the Falcons to their first NFC Championship game since 2012.

Ryan put together the best season of his nine-year career, earning first-team All-Pro honors in the process. He posted personal records in just about every meaningful statistical category, including completion percentage, passing yards, yards per attempt, touchdown passes, and quarterback rating. He was a monster, and paired with another monster (wideout Julio Jones), he turned the Atlanta offense into the league’s deadliest aerial attack.

He’ll go up against a stout Seattle passing defense, though it will be without one of its most important players. All-Pro safety Earl Thomas will miss the playoffs after breaking his leg in early December. In the four regular season games after he went down, the Seahawks went 2-2. After holding opponents to just 15.2 points per game with Thomas in the lineup, they gave up 24.5 without him to round out the regular season.

But Seattle stabilized in time to rout the Lions to open up the playoffs. The Seahawks limited Matthew Stafford to just 205 passing yards and zero touchdowns in a 26-6 beatdown of Detroit. Their run defense was even better, albeit against an underwhelming opponent. Zach Zenner and company gained just 49 yards on the ground.

While Detroit’s run game faltered in the Wild Card round, Seattle’s shined. Thomas Rawls looked like Marshawn Lynch’s heir apparent, churning out tough carries en route to 161 yards and a touchdown. He could be the weapon the Seahawks need to upset the Falcons — Atlanta’s run defense ranks 26th in the league in terms of yards per attempt allowed.

Seattle will also need a big game from Russell Wilson, who wrapped up his worst regular season as a pro in 2016. He posted career lows in passer rating and TD:INT ratio but still managed to lead his team to a 10-5-1 record and an NFC West title. He’s had a bad habit of getting stuck in neutral this season — the Seahawks have recorded five games in which they’ve scored 12 points or less.

His team put up 26 in a regular season showdown with Atlanta, but it wasn’t the Seattle offense people were talking about after that game. Instead, it was a controversial no-call on Richard Sherman that allowed the Seahawks to escape with a two-point victory. The Falcons will be fighting for revenge on Saturday when they host a hobbled secondary facing the league’s top quarterback.

Pregame reading

Earl Thomas’ absence could be the difference in Seahawks vs. Falcons rematch (SB Nation)

Matt Ryan wasn’t afraid of the Seahawks’ defense even with Earl Thomas in the lineup (Field Gulls)

Luke Willson’s blocking is the unsung hero of the Seahawks’ offense (Field Gulls)

The Seattle offensive line could be a liability in Saturday’s matchup with the Falcons (The Falcoholic)

How have the Seahawks changed since beating the Falcons in Week 6? (The Falcoholic)

Seahawks are underdogs vs. Falcons and it has worked out well for them recently (SB Nation)

Seahawks' offensive line will be a problem against the Falcons (SB Nation)

The Seahawks are about to find what the hell they are (SB Nation)

Julio Jones isn’t looking for revenge in rematch against Richard Sherman (SB Nation)

The Falcons don’t know what to expect from their young, untested defense (SB Nation)