The Tennessee Titans Week 3 game against the Las Vegas Raiders is a battle between two teams that came into the season with high expectations and aren’t meeting them yet. This is a must-win game for both AFC franchises, so let’s make some bold Titans Week 3 predictions ahead of this intriguing Titans-Raiders matchup.

Mike Vrabel and the Titans have lost in different ways in the first two weeks. The New York Giants ran all over them and won a close game. The Buffalo Bills threw it all over the yard and crushed Tennessee. Now the Titans face a dangerous and desperate Raiders team in this crucial contest.

The Raiders have also found multiple ways to lose in the first two weeks of the 2022 season. The team nearly made a 14-point comeback in Week 1 vs. the Los Angeles Chargers but fell short, then coughed up a 23-7 lead to lose to the Arizona Cardinals in overtime.

Neither one of these teams has looked good yet in 2022, but somebody has to come away with the win this week. With that in mind, here are three bold Titans Week 3 predictions.

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4. Treylon Burks continues to get better

The Tennessee Titans made their bed when it comes to the passing game in this year’s draft when they traded A.J. Brown. The team did pick up rookie wide receiver Treylon Burks from Arkansas with the first-round pick they got back, but it’s going to be a while (at best) before Burks turns into Brown.

Thus far, Burks has made some solid plays in 2022. He caught three balls for 55 yards in Week 1 and four for 47 yards in Week 2. His snap count also increased from 37% to 45% week to week.

In the Week 3 Titans-Raiders game, look for Burks to truly announce his presence in the NFL. The rookie’s seven catches for 102 yards lead the team in both those categories, and Ryan Tannehill needs to fully commit to a No. 1 guy if the Titans hope to salvage the season.

It’s sink or swim time for Tennessee, and the bold Titans Week 3 prediction for Treylon Burks is that he swims, with seven catches for over 100 yards and his first NFL touchdown.

3. The Titans defense continues to struggle

The Tennessee defense, which ranked sixth in the league in points allowed last season, has struggled so far in 2022. The unit gave up 164 yards rushing to Saquon Barkley in Week 1 and 317 yards passing and four TDs to Josh Allen in just three quarters in Week 2.

Getting lit up by Barkley or Allen isn’t something to be completely ashamed of. It’s happened to plenty of teams. Getting smoked like that in back-to-back weeks is a concern, though.

This week, in the Titans-Raiders game, the defense faces Derek Carr, Davante Adams, Hunter Renfrow, Darren Waller, and Josh Jacobs. The Raiders have all different ways to pick apart a defense, and, right now, the Titans’ are vulnerable.

The one hope is that the Raiders offense hasn’t figured it all out either yet this season. But in the end, they will eventually, and that could be bad news for Mike Vrabel’s defense this week.

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2. It’s panic time for Derrick Henry

The Curse of 370 is real.

The Curse of 370 is the widely-believed (and statistically backed-up) NFL theory that after a season of 370-plus carries, a running back’s career will never be the same. In 2020, Derrick Henry ran for a staggering 2,027 yards on his way to a Pro Bowl, All-Pro nod, and Offensive Player of the Year Award. And he did it on 378 carries.

The next season, Henry missed 15 games with a foot injury, and this year, he’s got 107 yards on 32 carries in two games. The superstar RB looks slow and plodding in a way he never has before.

If Henry can’t get it going against the Raiders, it is time for concern in Nashville.

The Raiders have an OK rush defense. They’ve only given up 144 rushing yards in two games, but neither of the teams they’ve played are big pound-the-rock squads. If Henry can’t manage at least 80 yards and a touchdown in the Week 3 Titans-Raiders tilt, it is absolutely time for Titans fans to worry.

1. Titans 17, Raiders 31

The final bold Titans prediction for Week 3 is not one that Titans fans will want to hear. However, when you look at how the Titans and Raiders have played in the first two weeks of the season, Las Vegas looks like a squad poised to figure it out, while Tennessee is still searching for answers.

Without a No. 1 WR and a dominant RB, what do the Titans have? They have a middling QB and an OK defense, and a good coach. That’s not a horrible foundation if you have those other pieces, but as is, it’s not enough to win consistently.

The Raiders will walk with relative ease in this matchup, and it will be gut-check time in Tennessee heading into an all-important Week 4 AFC South meet-up with the Indianapolis Colts.