Week 4 2024 bold predictions: Packers hand Vikings first loss no matter who QB is, Andy Dalton goes off again |Max Sporty|

Week 4 got off to an anticlimactic start with a quarterback Dak Prescott’s Dallas Cowboys winning their 13th consecutive start against the New York Giants in a 20-15 road win.

That run of dominance is tied for the second-longest winning streak by a quarterback against a single opponent since at least 1950 with San Francisco 49ers Hall of Famer Steve Young (13 wins in a row against the Rams) and the GOAT Tom Brady (13). wins in a row against the Bills). Only Miami Dolphins Hall of Famer Bob Griese has a longer winning streak against a single squad with 17 wins in a row against the Bills.

The result of Thursday night was quite predictable. Let’s pivot from that game to five unlikely things that could happen in Week 4. Here are this week’s five bold predictions for the remaining slate of games this week.

Will Jordan Love be back for the Packers? It doesn’t matter. Green Bay hands Vikings first loss of 2024

The Minnesota Vikings are 3-0 and riding high on back-to-back wins against the 2023 NFC champion San Francisco 49ers (23-17 in Week 2) and the 2023 AFC South champion Houston Texans (34-7 in Week 3) going into their first matchup of 2024 with the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.

Much of their success comes from what defensive coordinator Brian Flores and his unit do: they lead the NFL with 16 sacks and 54 quarterback pressures entering Week 4. That’s a tough defense to crack. The Packers will do that and hand Minnesota their first loss whether or not Jordan Love is healthy enough to return to play after suffering an MCL sprain. He was a limited practice participant this week.

What is one of the easiest ways to slow down an aggressive pass rusher? Don’t allow them to pass rush at all by hitting them in the face running the ball. That’s something Packers head coach Matt LaFleur has made a focus of his offense the last two weeks with Love on the sidelines. Green Bay’s 612 rushing yards this season are the most by a team in its first three games since the 2019 Baltimore Ravens totaled 650 in their first three games. That Ravens team broke the NFL single-season team record for rushing yards in a season with 3,297.

Tennessee Titans dropout Malik Willis has filled the void left by Love’s absence admirably in wins against the Colts and Titans the past two weeks. His 9.8 yards per pass attempt and 9.5 yards per carry both lead the NFL since Week 2 among players with a minimum of 12 attempts for each category. Willis is just the fourth player in the last 50 years to lead the league in both categories in a two-week span along with Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts in 2022, Titans quarterback Steve McNair in 1997 and Eagles quarterback Randall Cunningham in 1987. The Packers also have used motion at the highest rate of any team in the NFL, 85.3%. That’s a tool that helps a quarterback identify what a defense is doing pre-snap, and no one has even done it at a rate of 80% or higher — Sean McVay’s Los Angeles Rams are the next closest team with a 76.2% swing rate. .

Defensively, the Packers will have to deal with a quarterback in Sam Darnold, who is coming off the best game of his career with four passing touchdowns and no interceptions in a 34-7 win against the Texans. Darnold’s discipline and ball security will be tested in Week 4 against a Green Bay defense that leads the league with nine sacks through the first three weeks of the season, seven of which are interceptions. New defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley has the Packers playing a much more aggressive brand of football than his predecessor Joe Barry: the Packers had seven interceptions in all of 2023, a total they already matched, and just 18 takeaways last season, a Green Bay figure. is already half way to reach.

Hafley’s unit put on a masterclass in Week 3 on the road against the Tennessee Titans, racking up eight sacks (one shy of the Packers’ single-game record), three sacks and a pick-six of Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander. Free-agent safety Xavier McKinney also deserves a lot of credit for the Packers’ hot start: he leads the NFL with three interceptions, which is a higher figure than the two catches for 23 yards he’s allowed in coverage this season. Green Bay hasn’t had a safety this dynamic since Nick Collins roamed around for their Super Bowl XLV championship game in 2010.

Oh, and if Love plays on Sunday, that’s a clear advantage for the Packers. LaFleur and Love mocked Flores’ defense in Week 17 last season, throwing for 256 yards and three touchdowns on 24 of 33 passing in a 33-10 Packers road win over the Vikings on New Year’s Eve.

Andy Dalton, Panthers push Bengals to 0-4

In his first start in a year, Andy Dalton became the first quarterback to throw for 300 or more yards (319) and three or more touchdowns (three) in a game that NFL season in Carolina’s 36-22 road win at the Raiders in a Week. 3. He will now start against his former team, the Cincinnati Bengals, the squad for which he is the all-time leader in passing touchdowns with 204.

Dalton’s connection with Diontae Johnson yielded the best day of the six-year vet’s career as he totaled 122 receiving yards. Johnson accumulated more targets (14), catches (8), receiving yards (122), and touchdowns (1) in Week 3 than he did in the first two games this season combined with 2023 first-overall quarterback Bryce Young starting.

Carolina faced a Bengals defense in Week 4 that surrendered 38 points, 22 first downs, three touchdowns in three red zone drives and three quarter down conversions in as many attempts in a 38-33 loss to the Washington Commanders and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. Opponents are completing 75% of passes against the Bengals this season, tied for the second-highest rate allowed in the NFL entering Week 4.

If Dalton beats the Bengals, Cincinnati will be 0-4 this season. The last time the Bengals started 0-4, Andy Dalton was their starting QB (2019, started season 0-11). Andy Dalton started 13 games last season, the Bengals started 0-4 (CIN finished 2-14 in 2019, lost first 11 games). Time is a flat circle, and Dalton will have a hand in the Bengals going 0-4 again.

Jalen Hurts throws multiple passing TDs, no interceptions against Buccaneers strong pass defense

One might think that this bold prediction is a little malicious. That might be fair, but these are the facts: Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has thrown an interception in seven straight games, the longest such streak by an Eagle since Ty Detmer in 1996. His 26 touchdown passes since 2023 are also the most in the NFL. .

Pains of not throwing interceptions would legitimately qualify as audacious, especially on the road against this stingy Tampa Bay Buccaneers pass defense. Opponents have thrown two interceptions against them and have yet to throw a touchdown against head coach Todd Bowles’ unit. That’s the best touchdown-to-interception ratio allowed in the NFL this season.

Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert is coming off the best game of his career in Philly’s Week 3 win at the Saints, recording 10 catches for 170 yards in a game. He continues the groove with Hurts and gets into the end zone while his quarterback is going cold turkey due to his turnover addiction this week.

Chargers upset Chiefs *if Justin Herbert plays*

The Los Angeles Chargers fell to 2-1 in Week 3 thanks to a 20-10 loss against the now-3-0 Pittsburgh Steelers. That result was heavily impacted by Chargers Pro Bowl quarterback Justin Herbert leaving the game in the third quarter with an ankle injury and not returning.

That game was tied at 10 until Herbert left, but Los Angeles could only run 10 plays for eight yards after Herbert left midway through the third quarter. They punted on all 3 drives. If Herbert, who was limited in practice Wednesday and Thursday this week with the ankle injury, can suit up Sunday, the Chargers will snap the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs’ nine-game winning streak.

Head coach Jim Harbaugh’s squad has been strong defensively, ranking third in scoring defense (11.0 PPG allowed) and sixth in rushing defense (91.7) this season. That group will face a Chiefs team that is begging for someone to beat them during their nine-game winning streak as they have the smallest margin of victory in a 9-0 stretch in NFL history (+54).

Major 9-game winning streak, including playoffs

* Smallest margin of victory (+54) in a 9-0 stretch in NFL history

Future Hall of Fame tight end Travis Kelce continues to ride the struggling bus inn 2024 with just eight catches and 69 receiving yards this season. That amounts to his fewest catches and receiving yards in any three-game span in his career. The soon-to-be 35-year-old, Kelce’s birthday is Oct. 5, has totaled 21 catches for 157 yards and no touchdowns in his last six regular-season games, which marks six games in a row of fewer than 50 receiving yards, the most long streak of his career. Kelce also has nine consecutive games without a receiving touchdown. This is also the longest such streak of his career.

Kansas City doesn’t get away with Kelce and the Chiefs offense struggling against Herbert and Harbaugh’s stingy defense in a stunning, upset loss.

Seattle Seahawks go into Detroit, upset Lions on ‘Monday Night Football’

The Seattle Seahawks are currently 3.5-point road underdogs against the Detroit Lions this week, but they will leave Ford Field with a win. Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald, who coordinated the NFL’s No. 1 defense with the Baltimore Ravens in 2023, has the Seahawks almost as stingy right away.

They lead the NFL in pass defense (132.3 passing yards per game allowed) while ranking second in total yards per game allowed (248.7) and fourth in third down conversion rate allowed (26.1%). Combine that elite level defense with what Pro Bowl wide receiver DK Metcalf does, and that’s a recipe for success. The two-time Pro Bowler has more than 100 yards and a receiving touchdown in consecutive games, tied for the longest such streak in team history. Metcalf breaks the record with his third in a row against an inexperienced group of Lions cornerbacks, helping lead Seattle to victory.