MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

Falcons too much for Wilson's heroics

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3), pressured by Atlanta’s Vic Beasley, completed 26 of 42 passes for 258 yards and 2 touchdowns in the Seahawks’ 34-31 loss to Atlanta on Monday night.
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3), pressured by Atlanta’s Vic Beasley, completed 26 of 42 passes for 258 yards and 2 touchdowns in the Seahawks’ 34-31 loss to Atlanta on Monday night.

SEATTLE -- Matt Ryan threw a pair of touchdown passes, Adrian Clayborn returned a fumble 10 yards for a score, and the Atlanta Falcons held off a late rally to beat the Seattle Seahawks 34-31 on Monday night.

Atlanta stayed in the hunt for an NFC playoff spot thanks to its second consecutive victory and handed Seattle a second consecutive home loss.

Ryan threw TDs to Mohamed Sanu and Levine Toilolo, while Tevin Coleman added a 1-yard TD run on Atlanta's opening possession. But it was Clayborn's fumble return that helped break the game open early in the second quarter and gave Atlanta a 21-7 lead. He scooped up a loose ball after Russell Wilson was crunched by Takk McKinley and Courtney Upshaw.

"I think we're moving in the right direction. We keep proving we can finish games and beat guys. We have to take the momentum and keep rolling with it," Clayborn said.

Seattle attempted a late rally down by 11 points. Wilson hit Doug Baldwin on a 29-yard TD with three minutes left, and Seattle got in range for a long field goal attempt by Blair Walsh in the closing moments, but his 52-yard attempt with two seconds left came up short and Atlanta escaped with the victory.

Wilson again was the entirety of Seattle's offense, throwing for 258 yards and 2 touchdowns, and running for another 86 yards and a TD.

But it was an awful night for the Seahawks, filled with more injuries and questionable decisions by Coach Pete Carroll. He called for a fake field goal late in the first half rather than attempting a 35-yard kick. He also made a questionable challenge in the fourth quarter that didn't go his way and left Seattle with just one timeout.

"As it does, it comes down to some critical situations and we've got to come through and make some plays and make the conversion that we needed and didn't quite get it done," Carroll said.

That lack of timeouts came back to haunt Seattle on the final drive when seconds ticked away and rather than running one more play, Walsh was sent out to attempt the 52-yard kick. His long for the season is 49 yards.

Seattle played a game for the first time since the end of the 2010 season without Richard Sherman. His streak of 99 consecutive starts in the regular season was snapped because of a torn Achilles tendon suffered against Arizona. The Seahawks were also without safety Kam Chancellor because of a neck injury, leaving their vaunted secondary with several new faces.

Ryan was more than happy to pick on a defense without those anchors. He was 19-of-27 passing for 195 yards and rarely faced pressure. Seattle had one sack, and the Falcons went 9 of 14 on third-down conversions.

Sanu made a great one-handed grab for a 2-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Ryan found Toilolo on a 25-yard TD in the third quarter to give Atlanta a 31-20 lead. Matt Bryant added a 19-yard field goal with 3:49 left to put the Falcons ahead by 11.

Sports on 11/21/2017

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