Seahawks Stay Atop NFC West With Week 3 Win Vs. Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons (0-2) head to the "Emerald City" to play the Seattle Seahawks (1-1) Sunday in Week 3 at Lumen Field with a 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff.

Atlanta rallied back from a 28-3 second-half deficit (hehe) Sunday at the Los Angeles Rams but ended up losing 31-27. However, the Falcons covered as 10-point road underdogs vs. the Rams in Week 3.

Seattle lost 27-7 in Week 3 to the 49ers in San Francisco as 9-point road 'dogs. The Seahawks had 157 fewer total yards, 11 fewer first downs, three more turnovers and possessed the ball for nearly 17 minutes less.

That said, we're riding with the SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (-110) at DraftKings Sportsbook since they have a quarterback, coaching, personnel and situational edge over the Falcons in this spot.

Betting Deets (DraftKings)

Falcons Are Getting Way Too Much Love For Still Losing

Falcons QB Marcus Mariota celebrates with teammates at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

There aren't moral victories in professional sports. Atlanta is still 0-2 despite covering in a 27-26 loss to the New Orleans Saints in Week 1 and the Rams Sunday.

Saints-Falcons Week 1 was a divisional matchup in Atlanta and the Falcons don't have chumps on their roster. But, Atlanta choked that game away, allowing 17 unanswered NOLA points in the final 11:12 of regulation.

The Falcons could've won last week's loss vs. the Rams. They didn't yet Atlanta is getting bet like it beat L.A. Nearly 80% of the money at DraftKings Sportbook is on the Falcons, per VSIN.

This one-way action towards Atlanta has moved Seattle from a 3-point favorite on the opener to the Falcons as slight favorites. The Seahawks were 4-point favorites on the world-opener during the preseason.

This is far too big of an overreaction by the market. Atlanta only covered vs. L.A. in Week 2 because the Rams took their foot off the gas and allowed the Falcons in the backdoor.

Sure, the Seahawks got dump-trucked by the Niners Sunday. San Francisco QB Jimmy Garoppolo returning to the huddle for an injured QB Trey Lance gave the Niners a jolt.

Also, the 49ers are more talented than the Seahawks anyways and came into Week 2 angry after getting upset by the Chicago Bears in Week 1.

But, the Seahawks upset the Denver Broncos 17-16 in Seattle as 6.5-point home underdogs. If we are being fair, it's a good thing the Seahawks split their first two games as big 'dogs.

Seattle's ML has heavier juice than Atlanta's at one of the sharpest oddsmakers in the world, Pinnacle Sportsbook. Aka the sharp play in this game is the Seahawks, seemingly.

Pete Carroll's Schtick

Seahawks head Coach Pete Carroll looks on from the sidelines (Justin Berl/Getty Images).

Regardless of what we thought about the Seahawks entering this season, Seattle is 1-1 and Carroll can sell that to the locker room. Crazy things happen every season in the NFL.

The Seahawks winning the NFC West this season with Geno Smith as their quarterback wouldn't be the craziest thing to happen in Seattle under Carroll. Remember when the Seahawks won their division with a 7-9 record in Carroll's first season in Seattle (2010)?

More importantly, the Seahawks are historically profitable in similar situations as their Week 3 matchup vs. the Falcons.

Seattle is 29-10 overall at home following a loss with a +6.9 margin of victory (MoV) in the Carroll era. The Seahawks are 14-1 with a +18.3 MoV in those spots vs. teams with a losing record. The old football coach will rally Seattle's locker room to bounce back at home Sunday.

Seahawks Have More Talent On Offense

Seahawks QB Geno Smith passes during the 2nd quarter against the Denver Broncos at Lumen Field in Seattle. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Again, it's early but Smith has looked good for Seattle through two weeks. Smith is Pro Football Focus's (PFF) sixth-highest graded quarterback out of 34 eligible quarterbacks. He leads the NFL in completion percentage over expectation (CPOE) at +8.9%, per NFL's Next Gen Stats.

Falcons QB Marcus Mariota is PFF's 23rd-best graded quarterback and has a slightly below-average CPOE at -0.5%. Also, Seattle's WRs — D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett — are better than Atlanta's pass catchers: TE Kyle Pitts and rookie WR Drake London.

Atlanta RB Cordarrelle Patterson is a badass but isn't the NFL a quarterback-driven league? Well, Smith throwing to Metcalf and Lockett has more upside than Mariota and whatever he's doing.

Go to DraftKings Sportsbook and BET the SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (-110) on the ML.

Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook as of Thursday, Sept. 22 at 12:20 a.m. ET