National Football League
Atlanta 30, Seattle 28
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, January 13, 2013
Where: Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia
Temperature: Dome
Head Official: Walt Coleman
Attendance: 70366


Falcons 30, Seahawks 28: Matt Bryant kicked a 49-yard field goal with eight seconds to play and host Atlanta withstood blowing a 20-point lead to advance to next Sunday's NFC championship game.

Matt Ryan rescued the top-seeded Falcons (14-3) from a stunning defeat, completing passes of 22 yards to Harry Douglas and 19 to Tony Gonzalez to set up Bryant's 17th career winning kick after Marshawn Lynch's 2-yard run had put Seattle ahead with only 31 seconds to play.

Ryan threw for 250 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions but had to overcome a magnificent performance by Seahawks rookie Russell Wilson, who threw for a career-high 385 yards and directed four touchdown drives in the second half as Seattle erased leads of 20-0 and 27-7.

Michael Turner rushed for 98 yards to help Ryan earn his first win in four postseason appearances and send the Falcons into next week's conference championship game against No. 2 seed San Francisco in Atlanta.

The Falcons seemingly put the game out of reach when Ryan threw a 5-yard scoring toss to Jason Snelling for a 27-7 lead with 2:11 left in the third. Wilson brought Seattle back by scoring on a 1-yard run and throwing a 3-yard TD pass to tight end Zach Miller to cut the deficit to 27-21 with 9:13 to play.

The Seahawks, who had their six-game winning streak snapped, got the ball with three minutes to play and Wilson quickly moved them 61 yards in seven plays before Lynch bulled in for the go-ahead score.

Wilson also rushed for 60 yards and a score but Ryan had the perfect response to improve to 34-6 in his career at the Georgia Dome.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Wilson shattered the rookie playoff passing record of 335 yards set by Sammy Baugh in 1937. ... Ryan's third scoring pass was the sixth of his career in the postseason, eclipsing the franchise record held by Steve Bartkowski. He also tied the team's single-game record shared by Chris Chandler and Chris Miller. ... Seahawks TE Zach Miller suffered an ankle injury in the first quarter but returned to make eight catches for 142 yards - both season highs. ... Falcons DE John Abraham, the team's sack leader with 10, aggravated an ankle injury in the third quarter and left the game.

Top Game Performances
Rushing
Seattle   Atlanta
Russell Wilson Player Michael Turner
7 Attempts 14
60 Yards 98
8.6 Avg Yards 7.0
1 Touchdowns 0
17 Long 33
Receiving
Seattle   Atlanta
Zach Miller Player Roddy White
8 Receptions 5
142 Yards 76
17.8 Avg Yards 15.2
1 Touchdowns 1
34 Long 47
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Seattle 491 123 368 4 0 2 0.0 0
Atlanta 417 167 250 3 3 1 2.0 1
Upcoming Games
  • Atlanta will play their next game at home against San Francisco. The Falcons have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.