2024 NFL Week 3 bold predictions: 49ers set single-game record for sacks; Panthers upset Raiders!

In the history of the NFL, no team has ever recorded more than 12 sacks in a single game (five teams have hit 12 on the dot). Until Sunday. The “Gold (Pass) Rush” is going to absolutely breeze through the Rams’ injury-ravaged offensive line, where it’ll find an immobile Matthew Stafford still seeking an open receiver (with Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp inactive). It’s a perfect storm. Nick Bosa, Leonard Floyd, Javon Hargrave and Fred Warner all log multiple sacks as the Niners break the record.

Can’t get much bolder than this: The Panthers will shock the Raiders in Vegas. In his one start for Carolina a year ago, Andy Dalton threw for 361 yards, which is somehow more than Bryce Young had in his past three starts, going back to Week 18 of last year. Dalton improves to 5-0 vs. the Raiders all time by injecting some life into a Panthers team that badly needs it, pulling off a stunner.

Sunday’s Chargers-Steelers meeting looks like an old-school slugfest. Both teams are relying on their defenses early in the season and those units are dominating, holding opponents to fewer than 10 points per game (Chargers, 6.5 ppg; Steelers, 8.0 ppg). Points will be hard to come by, causing this contest to go into overtime and ultimately end in a 13-13 tie.

Brian Flores’ defense has played inspired football in the first two games of the season. But if Minnesota thinks it can hit C.J. Stroud with the same pressure package it used to beat San Francisco last week, the Vikings are going to pay the price. I predict the second-year passer has a monster day with five touchdowns, leading the Texans to 40 points and a win.

Fantasy tight ends are down bad in 2024. Isaiah Likely has more points than Mark Andrews and Sam LaPorta combined. Travis Kelce has eight points total!

Last week, Jonnu Smith carried a large part of Miami’s passing game. With Skylar Thompson starting at quarterback, look for Mike McDaniel to get him some easy throws. Smith won’t have a big average depth of target, but he will get loaded up with opportunities, leading him to a top-three finish among tight ends in Week 3.

Through two weeks, rookie quarterbacks Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix have thrown a combined 196 pass attempts without a single passing touchdown — the most consecutive pass attempts by rookies without a scoring strike to begin a season in NFL history. Not only will that drought end this week, but all three newbies will notch at least one TD pass.