ATLANTA — Matt Ryan looked very much like an MVP, and the Atlanta Falcons are headed to the NFC championship game.
Ryan threw for 338 yards and three touchdowns, leading the Falcons to a 36-20 victory against the Seattle Seahawks in the divisional round Saturday.
Atlanta will face the Dallas Cowboys or Green Bay Packers, who meet Sunday in the NFC’s other divisional game.
“It feels good,” said Ryan, who came in with a 1-4 record in the playoffs. “I think we executed really well across the board. We weren’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, we made some mistakes. But consistency for the entire day was really, really good. I was proud of the way we played.”
After the Seahawks zipped down the field for a touchdown on the opening possession, Atlanta’s young defense largely shut down Russell Wilson & Co. the rest of the way.
Ryan and the high-scoring Falcons took it from there – getting a huge boost from a holding penalty that wiped out an 80-yard punt return by Devin Hester.
Ryan hooked up with Julio Jones on a 7-yard touchdown and Tevin Coleman for a 14-yard score before finishing off the Seahawks with a 3-yard toss to Mohamed Sanu in the corner of the end zone with just under four minutes remaining.
Jones made life miserable for Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman, who got away with an apparent pass interference penalty on Jones when the teams met in the regular season, preserving a 26-24 victory.
Jones was targeted eight times, coming up with six receptions for 67 yards.
For only the fourth time in their 51-year history, the Falcons (12-5) will be playing for the conference title and a spot in the Super Bowl.
They made their only Super Bowl appearance during the 1998 season, falling to Denver in John Elway’s final game, and lost in the NFC title game during the 2004 and 2012 seasons.
The Seahawks (11-6-1) couldn’t follow up a dominating win over Detroit in the opening round, the game turning dramatically on a holding penalty in the second quarter that wiped out Hester’s return to the Atlanta 7.
Instead of having first-and-goal and a chance to extend a 10-7 lead, Seattle was backed up to its 7. After Thomas Rawls had a 3-yard loss, Wilson attempted to drop back for a pass.
One problem: right guard Rees Odhiambo stepped back onto Wilson’s foot, sending Wilson tumbling down in the end zone.
Ben Garland fell on Wilson for a safety that turned the momentum Atlanta’s way.
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