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NFC Championship Round Preview: San Francisco 49ers at Atlanta Falcons

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Matchup: San Francisco 49ers at Atlanta Falcons

The San Francisco 49ers and Atlanta Falcons meet in a battle between the two top seeds in the NFC, both teams vying for a spot in the Super Bowl.

3 Keys to Victory for the Falcons

—Play clean, efficient football on both offense and defense
A big reason the 49ers took down the Packers was because Green Bay allowed San Francisco to make it an ugly affair in the Candlestick Park dirt. The 49ers love to play hard-nosed, ground-and-pound style football, running with Frank Gore and Colin Kaepernick on offense and gang tackling at the line of scrimmage on defense. Atlanta needs to set the tone early and use the Georgia Dome’s turf to its advantage, playing high-flying, Falcons football.

–Get the crowd involved early
Sure, 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was able to succeed with all of Candlestick Park behind him, but it’ll be a different story in the Georgia Dome. Under the lights and the roof, the sound will reverberate and the Falcons are hoping to shake young Kaepernick early on. For that to happen, Atlanta needs to either strike first or come out strong, proving they’re the true No. 1 seed.

—Get the ball deep to Roddy White and Julio Jones
The only place where the 49ers aren’t completely stacked defensively is in the secondary, where a solidly above-average group of defensive backs hopes to stop Roddy White and Julio Jones. That won’t happen. White and Jones are so physically gifted that having a quarterback like Matt Ryan to get them the ball makes this Falcons team nearly impossible to stop.

3 Keys to Victory for the 49ers

—Feed Frank Gore early on
The 49ers are at their best when the zone read option is working to peak efficiency, but that doesn’t happen unless San Francisco can establish Frank Gore as a rushing threat. When defensive ends crash hard on Gore, Colin Kaepernick can run free and make plays. Whether it’s under center or from shotgun, San Francisco has to gash Atlanta early on with Frank Gore up the middle.

—Get to Matt Ryan
Linebacker Aldon Smith is a special player with a bevy of pass-rushing moves and he’ll be able to beat Atlanta’s offensive line off the ball. The Falcons want to get the ball down the field, but Matt Ryan will have to check to quicker, shorter passes if he feels the heat coming. Smith could be a huge factor in this game.

—Never say never
Last week, the Falcons almost succumbed to the Seahawks when Seattle pulled off a late comeback, despite a two-score deficit. Atlanta lets other teams hang around and if they start to put points on the board early, San Francisco can’t allow them to just run it up without a fight. Falcons fans can’t feel safe in this game until the final second runs out.

Nachmany Football’s prediction: Falcons 35-24

The buck stops here for Jim Harbaugh and his sophomore signal-caller. While San Francisco had success at home in the Divisional Round, the Falcons are at home this time and have scarier weapons than the Packers. Be on the lookout for Tony Gonzalez, who is playing in his last NFL season and wants a Super Bowl ring. 49ers wideout Michael Crabtree is playing with a looming sexual assault case over his head and he could be distracted, which would play a big part in the end of his team’s season.

NFL Divisional Round Preview: Seattle Seahawks at Atlanta Falcons

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Matchup: Seattle Seahawks at Atlanta Falcons

The Seahawks and Falcons will meet in a game that stands to determine one of the two teams to play for the NFC championship.

3 Keys to Victory for the Seahawks

—Get Marshawn Lynch and Russell Wilson to have a huge day running the football

Marshawn Lynch had 141 yards and one TD in the Seahawks’ first playoff game against the Redskins. For Seattle to come away with a win in Atlanta, he will need to be very effective. When Lynch gets involved, the Seahawks tend to get their offense rolling. With him being so effective on offense it opens up the passing game for signal caller Russell Wilson. Wilson had 489 yards on the ground in the regular season and hopes to have another great day running the football this weekend using the read option.

—Shut down Julio Jones and Roddy White

The Seahawks have a great secondary led by CB’s Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner. The key match-ups of the game are Sherman on White and Browner on Jones. Jones and White are two of the most prolific WR’s in the NFL and the secondary of the Seahawks defense needs to shut them down to have a fighting chance to win this matchup.

—Get rookie Russell Wilson going early

Russell Wilson has had an outstanding season for the Seahawks. Throwing for 3,118 yards, amassing 26 touchdowns and completing 64.1% of his passes, he has been a huge element to Seattle’s offensive success. The rookie has to play well away. At the Georgia Dome, it will be tough for him to get going. Wilson needs to complete short, high percentage passes early in the game to boost his confidence so he can stand back in the pocket with poise to make successful reads.

3 Keys to Victory for the Falcons

—Shut down the Seahawks rushing attack

Seattle averaged 161.2 yards on the ground during the regular season. The ability for Seattle to pick up decent yardage on 1st and 2nd down through the run game allows them to be successful on 3rd down and short. In addition, the run opens up the Seahawk playbook because when they get into 3rd and short-medium range they can either run, or pass. Atlanta will need to frustrate them by shutting down the run on the early downs and forcing Russell Wilson to throw the ball and force bad decisions on 3rd and long.

—Get Tony Gonzalez into the mix

Tony Gonzalez had 930 yards and 10 touchdowns in the 2012 regular season. Matt Ryan needs to complete short, quick throws to his TE to get himself rolling. Falcons will need to look for Gonzalez over the middle for solid gains and first downs. With the attention of the Seahawks defense on star receivers like Julio Jones and Roddy White, look for Gonzalez to have a huge day for the Falcons.

—Get after Russell Wilson

The Falcons had 29 sacks as a defensive squad this season. John Abraham and company need to get after Wilson to be successful. Sending pressure at the rookie QB will force him to make quick reads and rush his progressions. If the Falcons bring enough pressure on 3rd down and contain Wilson in the pocket, they will be fine this weekend.

Nachmany Football Prediction: Seattle Seahawks 24-17

The Seahawks have too powerful of a running game to be stopped by Atlanta’s 20th ranked rush defense. The Falcons defense lets up 123.2 rushing yards per game and expect to see Seattle rush for at least 150 yards. Seahawks secondary will not be beat and I predict they will hold White and Jones to 150 yards combined. Pete Carroll and the Seahawks are hungry for another win and have not lost since Week 12. Don’t expect to see them drop one to the Falcons on Sunday.