Monday Night Football Pick: Atlanta Falcons at Seattle Seahawks
Banged Up Atlanta and Seattle Go For It on MNF
The Atlanta Falcons (5-4 Overall, 3-2 Away) visit the Seattle Seahawks (6-3 Overall, 3-1 Home) tonight for a Monday Night Football matchup that anticipates a low-scoring affair. The Falcons are 2-3 for their last five while the Seahawks are 4-1. Both teams are coming off wins. Last week, Atlanta beat Dallas 27-7, while Seattle took down Arizona 22-16. The Falcons other victory was against the New York Jets. Losses were to Miami, New England, and Carolina. The one loss for Seattle was to Washington. Wins were against the Los Angeles Rams, New York Giants and Houston Texans. Our Atlanta plays Seattle 2017 Monday Night Football pick has this game even with the totals at 46.5.
Atlanta- Pluses and Minuses
The Falcon D has been solid, allowing 19.9 PPG. That’s been great. But their offense has been putting just 21.9 PPG on the scoreboard. That gives this team little margin of error when it comes to tight matchups like this one. QB Matt Ryan (66.6 COMP%, 13 TDs, 8 INTs, 15 SCKs) is not putting up big numbers. His top receiver, Julio Jones, is questionable for tonight’s game due to an ankle injury. Plus, dual-threat Devonta Freeman, the team’s leading rusher, is out. TE Austin Hooper and WR Mohamed Sanu, each with three TD catches, are ready to go. The primary rusher tonight will be the able Tevin Coleman. He’s averaging 4.8 YPA and has two TDs.
Atlanta’s deep backs have just two picks this season. The defense has notched 26 sacks and 10 forced fumbles with six recovered. On pass defense, Robert Alford has 11 PD, Deion Jones 75 tackles, five PD and one INT, and Keanu Neal 65 tackles and two FF. DE Adrian Clayborn leads the team with eight sacks.
Falcons Summary
- Freeman is out and Jones questionable
- QB Ryan is having a mediocre season
- Weak pass defense but solid sack potential
Seattle- Pluses and Minuses
The Seattle offense puts a few more points on the board than their opponent’s, as the Seahawks are averaging 23.4 PPG. Their defense is stingy, giving up 18.3 PPG. If it were not for QB Russell Wilson (62.7 COMP%, 19 TDs, 6 INTs, 23 SCKs), this Seattle team might not have a running game. Their number one running back, Chris Carson, is out at least until December, while RB Eddie Lacy may play tonight despite nursing a groin injury. Wilson has 51 carries for 290 yards and one touchdown. He’s averaging 5.7 YPA. Able receivers include wideouts Doug Baldwin (54 REC, 11.7 YPC, 3 TDs) and Paul Richardson (26 REC, 17.6 YPC, 5 TDs), and TE Jimmy Graham (31 REC, 9.1 YPC, 6 TDs), who may not play tonight due to an ankle problem. If Wilson can find them tonight, they will do some damage.
The Seahawk defense is not what it used to be but it is still very good. They have notched 25 sacks, 47 PD, eight INTs, and seven FF. They have recovered all of the fumbles they have forced. LB Bobby Wagner has been impressive, as he leads the team in tackles with 84 and also has 1.5 sacks, six TFL, five PD and one INT. CB Shaquill Griffin has 10 passes defended and DE Michael Bennet, who is questionable for tonight’s game, has 6.5 sacks and six TFL.
Seahawks Summary
- Running game has been weakened by injury
- Good group of receivers
- Overall fine defense
Three Major Takeaways
Our Atlanta plays Seattle 2017 Monday Night Football pick takeaways include:
- Both teams are banged up but edge goes to Falcons
- QB edge to Seattle
- Defensive edge to Seattle
Our Picks for Falcons and Seahawks Monday Night
First, we like the under in this game, as both defenses are pretty solid and both offenses have been weakened by injuries. In a game that’s even, we are going to take the Seahawks. That’s our Atlanta plays Seattle 2017 Monday Night Football pick for Nov 20. The game starts at 8:30 p.m. E.T.
Atlanta at Seattle Spread and Totals Picks: Seattle even and under 46.5
