Seahawks vs. Falcons, 2013 NFC Divisional Playoffs: Seattle cannot overcome deficit, mistakes

On Sunday afternoon, the Seattle Seahawks were dealt a gut-wrenching loss, falling short to the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome. It was a storybook season for the 'Hawks, who put forth a tremendous effort in 2012. They established themselves as competitors, and they will not be overlooked in the future.

But for now, the Pacific Northwest may be feeling a little blue about this one. Jason Bevens of Field Gulls had some thoughts about what went wrong for the 'Hawks:

Last week, Seattle spotted a pretty good team 14 points on the road. Today, they spotted a very good team 20 on the road. That is about as high of a deck as you can have stacked against you with any reasonable chance of overcoming it.

It's not like Seattle was getting dominated per se, it's just that Atlanta's drives were ending with points and Seattle's were ending with malfunction.

It seems that mental mistakes, as well as getting behind the eight-ball early, contributed to the Seattle loss. It's great that Russell Wilson and the 'Hawks have the ability to play from behind, but it was too much to ask in the divisional round of the playoffs.

It was youth, inexperience and mental errors that contributed to the loss for Seattle. They are not battle-tested in the playoffs, but based on the direction this team is headed, they will be sooner rather than later.