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.