Atlanta Falcons vs Seattle Seahawks Box Score on Dec 19, 2010

Matt Ryan completed 20 of 35 passes for 174 yards and three touchdowns Sunday as the Atlanta Falcons defeated the host Seattle Seahawks 34-18.

The Falcons (12-2) extended their winning streak to eight games and opened a two-game lead in the NFC South over the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints (10-4) with two games to play.

New Orleans, which lost at Baltimore 30-24 on Sunday, travels to Atlanta next week.

The Falcons had already clinched a playoff berth before the game when Philadelphia rallied from a 21-point, fourth-quarter deficit to post a 38-31 road victory over the New York Giants. Atlanta holds a two-game lead over New Orleans and the Eagles in the battle for home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

Leading 17-10 at halftime, the Falcons converted two interceptions and a fumble by Seattle's Matt Hasselbeck into 17 third-quarter points. Hasselbeck completed 10 of 17 passes for 71 yards, two interceptions and no touchdowns before being replaced by Charlie Whitehurst late in the third quarter. Whitehurst finished 8 of 16 for 83 yards and no touchdowns.

Despite the loss, Seattle (6-8) remained tied for first place in the NFC West thanks to Kansas City's 27-13 victory in St. Louis on Sunday. The Seahawks host the Rams on Jan. 2 in the regular-season finale.

Roddy White had led Atlanta with seven receptions for 65 yards and a touchdown while Michael Jenkins had three catches for 48 yards and a score. Jason Snelling also had a touchdown catch.

Michael Turner rushed for 82 yards on 25 carries for Atlanta, which improved to 6-2 on the road and 9-1 against NFC opponents. The Seahawks fell to 4-3 at home with the loss.

Marshawn Lynch led Seattle with 60 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. Mike Williams, who missed last week's loss at San Francisco due to an ankle sprain, had eight catches for 66 yards.