3 & out: Takeaways as Seahawks escape Falcons rally

Seahawks corner back Richard Sherman breaks up a long pass meant for Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones on fourth down in the fourth quarter at CenturyLink Field, Sunday, Oct. 16, 2016. Seahawks corner back Richard Sherman breaks up a long pass meant for Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones on fourth down in the fourth quarter at CenturyLink Field, Sunday, Oct. 16, 2016. Photo: GRANT HINDSLEY, SEATTLEPI.COM Photo: GRANT HINDSLEY, SEATTLEPI.COM Image 1 of / 131 Caption Close 3 & out: Takeaways as Seahawks escape Falcons rally 1 / 131 Back to Gallery

The Seahawks' Week 6 matchup with the Atlanta Falcons was billed as a clash of strength on strength.

Coming into the game with the league's No. 1 defense, Seattle hoped to slow down a Falcons squad that entered play Sunday with the league's top offense, which averaged 457.9 yards per game -- or 60 yards more than the second-place Dallas Cowboys.

The matchup more than lived up to its billing.

Following a first half dominated by the Seahawks, the Falcons stormed back after the break to set up a thrilling decisive quarter. But after Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan's desperation heave to wide receiver Julio Jones fell incomplete -- despite protests from Falcons head coach Dan Quinn, who badly wanted a pass interference call on cornerback Richard Sherman -- Seattle escaped with a 26-24 victory.

The Seahawks sit alone and unchallenged atop the NFC West at 4-1, though injuries suffered on both sides of the ball Sunday might prove costly moving forward. Here are our three big takeaways.

1. Rushing Ryan

Seattle came into the game shorthanded on the defensive line, with end Frank Clark (hamstring) and tackle Quinton Jefferson (thumb) out due to injury. It didn't show.

The Seahawks defensive line went after Ryan from the opening whistle, constantly applying pressure and hitting him eight times in the first half. Rookie Jarran Reed notched his first career sack, but it was Cliff Avril who came up with the first big play of the game when he stripped Ryan of the ball inside Atlanta's 10-yard line with just over two minutes left in the first quarter.

It was one of Avril's two sacks on the day.

After Tony McDaniel recovered the ball at the Falcons' 8-yard line, and running back Christine Michael made Atlanta pay for the turnover, running the ball in for the score on the next play to put Seattle up 7-0.

The Seahawks ended the day with four sacks and 13 quarterback hits, including five alone from Michael Bennett.

"I think we got to (Ryan) a lot," head coach Pete Carroll said after the game. "He was tough and hung in there and came back, just like the great pro that he is, but the pass rush was really on fire."

2. Dirty Birds dominate third

A mark of a good team is being able to adjust at halftime, and the Falcons did just that. After compiling just 86 yards in the first half -- and trailing 17-3 in a hostile environment on the road -- Atlanta came out on fire in the second.

Their first drive of the third quarter went 75 yards in nine plays, ending with a 36-yard touchdown pass from Ryan to Jones. After a three-and-out from the Seahawks, Ryan led Atlanta 79 yards in just eight plays, punctuating the drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Mohamed Sanu that tied the score at 17.

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The Falcons kept attacking on their third and final drive of the quarter, which started at their own 3-yard line after an ill-advised fair catch by Eric Weems. After moving out of the shadow of their own end zone, Ryan hit tight end Levine Toilolo for a 46-yard touchdown after what appeared to be a blown coverage by the Seattle offense.

After the game, a steamed Sherman said the Falcons' two long touchdown passes were results of miscommunication by Seattle's defense.

"It was a blown coverage, and we should never give them points when we could've stopped them and held them to nothing," he said. "They scored on blown coverages. The one to Sanu was a great play, but the other two were blown coverages."

The third-quarter was all Atlanta, who racked up 252 yards and 21 points in order to take a 24-17 lead with 15 minutes remaining.

3. Earl to the rescue

After the third quarter, the Falcons held all the momentum. Seattle blew an opportunity to draw within four points when a bad snap led to a missed 27-yard field goal by Steven Hauschka, but after that the Seahawks defense reasserted itself.

The unit forced an Atlanta punt on the next drive, and the Seahawks offense came back to life on the next drive, which ended with Michael's second touchdown of the game. Hauschka's missed extra point meant the Seahawks still trailed 24-23, but that's when two Legion of Boom stalwarts combined to make the game's decisive play.

Thomas -- who had three plays when he separated Falcons receivers from the ball -- came up with an interception at midfield after a ball from Ryan was tipped by Jones, the intended receiver, and Sherman.

"It was one of those 'Angels in the Outfield' type plays where you didn't see the angel," Thomas said afterward, "but the ball popped right into my hands."

Hauschka hit a 44-yard field goal on the ensuing drive that put Seattle up with just over two minutes to play, and the Seahawks defense was able to force incompletions on Ryan's last four pass attempts -- including the no-call on Sherman on Atlanta's final play -- to preserve the win.

Visit seattlepi.com for more Seattle Seahawks news. Contact sports reporter Stephen Cohen at stephencohen@seattlepi.com or @scohenPI.