Seahawks pull away from Falcons to end three-game slide

ATLANTA -- Geno Smith completed 18 of 28 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns, leading the visiting Seattle Seahawks to a 34-14 victory over the Atlanta Falcons Sunday. Kenneth Walker III rushed for a team-high 69 yards and a touchdown and DK Metcalf caught four passes for 99 yards and a score for Seattle (4-3), which snapped a three-game losing streak. The Seahawks' defense forced three fourth-quarter turnovers to ice the win. Metcalf was carted to the locker room during the second half with a knee injury, but Seattle coach Mike Macdonald said postgame that Metcalf "banged his knee a little bit" and "it doesn't look too bad" to Seahawks trainers. Kirk Cousins completed 24 of 35 passes for 232 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions, as Atlanta (4-3) had its three-game winning streak snapped. Bijan Robinson rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown in the loss. Trailing by 10, Atlanta took the opening possession of the second half 79 yards down the field, eating up 7:17 of clock before Cousins found Drake London for a 5-yard touchdown pass on fourth down. The ensuing Seattle drive was then prolonged by a third-down roughing the passer penalty on Atlanta linebacker Demone Harris, leading to Smith's 17-yard touchdown pass to Walker on the next play. That extended the Seahawks' lead to 24-14 with 3:18 left in the third quarter. After a Seattle punt, Boye Mafe strip-sacked Cousins, before Derick Hall returned the fumble for a 64-yard Seahawks touchdown with 12:46 left in the fourth. Atlanta then turned the ball over for its second time in as many possessions, as Cousins was intercepted by Julian Love, who returned it to the Seattle 41-yard line. The turnover set up Jason Myers' 59-yard field goal at the 7:10 mark. The trend continued on the next drive, with Coby Bryant intercepting Cousins, who was replaced by rookie Michael Penix Jr. for the final drive. Seattle took its opening drive 56 yards down the field, cracking the scoreboard first on Myers' 38-yard field goal with 10:05 left in the first quarter. After Younghoe Koo missed a 54-yard field goal attempt, Seattle's five-play, 56-yard scoring drive was stamped with Walker's 20-yard rushing touchdown, extending the Seahawks' lead to 10-0 with 9:52 remaining in the first half. Atlanta responded with a nine-play, 70-yard drive -- ignited by Robinson's 26-yard run -- resulting in Robinson's 5-yard scoring plunge at the 5:18 mark of the first half. Following punts from each team, the Seahawks drove 68 yards in 63 seconds, and Smith's 31-yard touchdown pass to Metcalf with four seconds left gave Seattle a 17-7 halftime lead. --Jack Batten, Field Level Media