5 things to know before tonight’s Falcons at Seahawks’ kickoff

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan will face Seahawks defense for the third time since last October.

Credit: Jonathan Ferrey

Credit: Jonathan Ferrey

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan will face Seahawks defense for the third time since last October.

Here are five things to know before tonight's Falcons at Seattle Seahawks game at 8:30 p.m. at CenturyLink Field.

1.CLOSING IN ON JOHNNY UNITAS: Quarterback Matt Ryan eclipsed the 40,000 yard pass mark against Dallas. He became the fastest player in league history to reach the mark in his 151st game. He has 40,073 yards entering the Seattle game.  Ryan is likely to pass the legendary Johnny Unitas. He needs just 167 passing yards to move to No. 18 and past Unitas' 40,239 yards passing.

2. NO FREEMAN: The Falcons will be without running back Devonta Freeman, who's in the league's concussion protocol. He was not expected to play, but was officially ruled out on Saturday.

3. NO CHANCELLOR: Seattle safety Kam Chancelllor has a stinger and has been declared out. The Seahawks will also be without cornerback Richard Sherman, who suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in their last game against the Cardinals.

4. SERIES HISTORY: This will be the 16th regular season meeting. Seattle leads the series 10-5and won last season's regular season matchup 26-24.

5. MIDDLE HEAT: Falcons defensive tackles Grady Jarrett and Dontari Poe are the only pair of defensive tackle teammates ranked in the top 10 for most quarterback pressures. Poe ranks ninth with 20 and Jarrett ranks 10th with 19, according to profootballfocus.com. Cincinnati's Gene Atkins leads the league with 43.