When the Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks meet, it's usually an extremely entertaining and close affair. ESPN's prediction panel expects the matchup to play out similarly when the two Bird teams meet again on October 20.

ESPN's Kalyn Kahler and Eric Moody predicted the Falcons would beat the Sehawks on Sunday. The final member of the jury, Seth Walder, picked the Seahawks to win.

All three analysts predicted a final score within a touchdown.

ESPN's Falcons vs. Seahawks prediction:

Kahler's choice: Falcons 28, Seahawks 21
Moody's selection: Falcons 31, Seahawks 27
Walder's choice: Seahawks 28, Falcons 27
FPI forecast: Atlanta, 58.2% (average 3.1 points)

Kahler and Moody predict the Falcons' results this season to be 3-2. Walder is 2-3. Falcons fans might find that encouraging since Walder was the only one on the panel who didn't pick Atlanta to beat Seattle.

Walder incorrectly predicted that the New Orleans Saints would beat the Falcons in Week 5, which is why he is one game behind Kahler and Moody. None of the panelists made a prediction for the Falcons-Buccaneers matchup, as their weekly article does not include Thursday night games.

You don't have to be much of a prognosticator to see that the Falcons-Seahawks battle is coming. Three of their last four meetings have come within a touchdown.

The Falcons defeated the Seahawks 27:23 in their final match of the 2022 season. However, Seattle has left Mercedes-Benz Stadium with a win the only two times they have played on the relatively new field.

The Falcons haven't beaten the Seahawks at home in the regular season since 2007. However, the Falcons defeated the Seahawks in Atlanta in the postseason in January 2013 and 2017.

Seattle always has a 12-9 lead in the series.

While Walder may not have expected the Falcons to close the gap on this record in the series, Atlanta fans can still be excited by his bold prediction for the game.

“Falcons OLB Matthew Judon will record at least 1.5 sacks against QB Geno Smith,” Walder wrote. “Judon will have the advantage of going up against Stone Forsythe, who ranks 63rd in pass block win rate out of 66 tackles.”