Atlanta Falcons (5-4 SU, 3-6 ATS) vs. Seattle Seahawks (6-3 SU, 3-6 ATS)
NFL Week 11
Date/Time: Monday, November 20, 2017 at 8:30 P.M. ET
Where: CenturyLink Field
TV: ESPN
by Jerbeek, Expert Football Handicapper, Predictem.com
Point Spread: Atl +3/Sea -3
Over/Under Total: 45
The Atlanta Falcons will travel to CenturyLink field to take on the Seattle Seahawks in Week 11 Monday Night football action. Atlanta is struggling to get back to the playoffs to defend their NFC title from last year. The Falcons are in 3rd place in the NFC South trailing both the New Orleans Saints and the Carolina Panthers. They also trail the Seahawks for the 2nd wild card spot by 1 game so this game is a very important for playoff implications for both teams. Seattle is currently in 2nd place in the NFC West trailing the surprising Los Angeles Rams by 1 game. Atlanta is coming off a home win against the Dallas Cowboys by a score of 27-7 and the Seahawks defeated the Arizona Cardinals on the road in week 10 by a score of 22-16. Seattle has won 5 of their last 6 games.
The Falcons started the started the season with 3 straight victories but have since struggled to keep pace with the Panthers and Saints. They lost 4 out of 5 games when their offense struggled and only averaged 17 points per game over that stretch. Atlanta has had trouble matching the offensive success of 2016. Some of those struggles can point back to QB Matt Ryan who had a career year last year with a QB rating of 117 but has dropped back to his career average of 94 this season. The Falcons have still had success running the ball with DeVonte Freeman and Tevin Coleman switching things up as they have averaged 4.5 yards per carry. Freeman was injured last week with a concussion and it appears Atlanta will be playing without him in week 11. Julio Jones is once again the leading receiver for the Falcons with 715 yards but he has only found the end zone once so far and has also had several critical dropped passes.
The Falcon defense was great against the Cowboys as they registered 8 sacks and held the Cowboys to 7 points and 233 total yards. On the season the Falcons have held teams to 5.2 yards per play which is .3 yards below the average of the teams they have faced. The defense has been pretty consistent as they have given up 20 points in 3 games and 23 points in 3 games so I would assume the Seahawks will score right around 20 points in this game.
The Seattle offense puts a lot on QB Russell Wilsons plate because they do not block well; however, some of their best plays are when Wilson scrambles around and then finds a receiver downfield. The rushing attack has been almost non existent except for when Wilson takes off and scrambles. Wilson has been looking more to TE Jimmy Graham the past few weeks and Graham has responded with 6 touchdowns in the last 5 games and has become a big weapon in the Seahawks arsenal.
The Seahawks are known for a tough defense and a great home field advantage. In the winning streak the Seahawk defense has played very well outside of one game where they were unable to stop Deshaun Watson and the Houston Texans. If you remove that game from the total the Seahawks have only allowed 16 points per game. The Seahawks lost CB Richard Sherman last week with a torn Achilles so there may be some adjustment there but the Seahawks have overcome many injuries in the past and should be able to figure out a way to cope with this loss as well.
Jerbeeks Pick to Cover the Point Spread: This is huge game for both of these teams and both teams have defenses that have been playing very well lately. As I said earlier I would expect the Seahawks to score 20 points and I also think they will win the game so my predictions is Seattle 20, Atlanta 17. My recommendation is to play the under the total of 45 on this game. Bet your pick for this game using your credit card at an online bookie where it WILL work for deposits and where you’ll receive a generous 50% signup bonus on your first deposit of $100 to $250! (Example: Deposit $250 and they’ll give you an extra $250 FREE!) Find this great offer at Bovada Sportsbook.