Week 3 of the 2023 NFL season will begin with a Thursday night matchup between the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. Calif.

The Giants and 49ers are historic NFC rivals, and they have met eight times in postseason play, with each team winning four times. While the Giants may not be a high-quality team so far this year, that may not matter on Thursday given the history between these two squads.

The last time they faced off back in 2020, the Niners had their way with New York, 36-9. They’re 2-0 right now and in “Super Bowl or bust” mode, while the Giants are 1-1 after Week 2’s big comeback win against the Arizona Cardinals and are simply looking to build on last year’s unexpected success.

Here are five bold predictions we feel will come to pass during this Thursday night tilt:

5. Christian McCaffrey will rush for at least 100 yards

McCaffrey, the Niners’ star running back, is off to an amazing start this season. He has notched at least 116 rushing yards in both of his games, and he is comfortably leading the entire NFL in rushing yards with 268 while sitting in third place with 6.4 yards per carry.

The Giants have had trouble defending the run to start the year. On Sunday against Arizona, they allowed James Conner, who has never reached the 1,000-rushing-yard mark in a single season, to run for 106 yards. Overall, they rank 26th in rushing yards allowed and next-to-last in rushing touchdowns given up.

4. Daniel Jones will complete at least one pass of over 30 air yards

Jones may not be one of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks. But people in the Tri-state area feel he has the ability to develop into a good or even a Pro Bowl-level signal-caller very soon.

Against the Cardinals, he shined like a diamond, especially in the second half when New York overcame a 20-0 deficit to win 31-28. For the game, he completed 26 of 37 passes for 321 yards and two touchdowns, and he also contributed 59 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.

Early in the third quarter, he had a 58-yard completion to rookie wide receiver Jalin Hyatt. While San Francisco has one of the NFL’s best defenses, its secondary can be a bit vulnerable when opponents attack via the long ball, as the Los Angeles Rams showed during the first half of its Week 2 game against them.

3. Brock Purdy will not throw a single interception

Purdy, the 49ers’ starting quarterback, has taken the league by storm ever since being forced to take over under center in Week 13 of last season. He has been praised for his poise, calm demeanor, ball security and ability to make quick, accurate reads, especially against the blitz.

In 10 starts including last season’s playoffs, he has thrown 16 touchdown passes and two interceptions. In fact, he has gone six consecutive games without throwing a single pick.

New York hasn’t forced a single turnover yet this year, and it hasn’t even notched one sack yet. Purdy could end up feeling fairly comfortable for most of this contest, especially given the fact he has 10-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro First Team left tackle Trent Williams protecting him.

2. Nick Bosa will record at least two sacks

Bosa and the 49ers agreed to a big five-year contract extension worth $170 million just in time for him to suit up for Week 1. He has been quiet to start the year, but the fact that he has to be accounted for by opposing offensive linemen has opened things up for other members of the Niners’ front seven.

Jones has already been sacked 10 times in the first two games of the schedule. The Giants’ offensive line has been a big question mark, and star running back Saquon Barkley is out with an ankle injury, which means there will be lots of pressure on Jones to make things happen himself.

1. The 49ers will beat the Giants by at least 10 points

If Barkley were playing, the Giants would’ve been able to make this a competitive ballgame — at least for an extended stretch, as the Rams did in last week’s game versus San Francisco. Although their comeback in Week 2 was impressive, it came against the Cardinals, an awful team many feel is or should be tanking in order to draft University of Southern California quarterback phenom Caleb Williams.

The Niners will play the Cardinals themselves in Week 4, which means their first real test likely won’t come until Week 5 against their arch-rivals, the Dallas Cowboys.