The Falcons may well have destroyed the Cowboys last Sunday even with a healthy Tyron Smith, but injury very obviously played a role in the win, particularly with Adrian Clayborn putting up six sacks against Chaz Free and Byron Bell. Injuries could also play an important role in the outcome of Falcons-Seahawks, though probably not quite that dramatically.

Per Pete Carroll himself, the team is taking a wait-and-see approach with Kam Chancellor, one of the league’s premier safeties and a player who will be important for Seattle with Richard Sherman out and Byron Maxwell potentially having to come in contact with Julio Jones at some point. If he can’t go, the Seahawks would be down two borderline elite players in their secondary, which could be disastrous against a suddenly effective Falcons passing attack.

We still don’t know whether Seattle will have a fully healthy Duane Brown at left tackle, but we do know they continue to be one of the league’s most depleted, shaky teams at both running back and along the offensive line, which gives the defense yet another break after a surprising cakewalk game against Dallas. A full strength Seattle team is still one of the league’s most dangerous, but a weakened one is manageable for a Falcons team playing up to their potential. Of course, we can’t guarantee that.

Stay tuned for more injury updates, but with the Falcons looking pretty healthy outside of the unfortunate concussion for Devonta Freeman, it’s hard not to feel a little bullish today about this matchup.