Week 3’s Sunday slate of games will come to a close at Denver’s Empower Field as the Broncos welcome the Rams to the Mile High city for what very well could be a Super Bowl LXI preview.
The Broncos enter Sunday night fresh off of a much-needed win over the Jaguars in Week 2. After falling down 13–3 in the second half, Denver was able to rattle off 17 unanswered points against Jacksonville’s defense. Thanks to a rushing touchdown from rookie running back Jonah Coleman in the fourth quarter, the Broncos were able to come away from the weekend with a 20–17 win and a 1–1 record.
As for the Rams, they also come into this one 1–1 after taking down the Giants last Monday night with relative ease. Matthew Stafford found his MVP-winning mojo—throwing for 327 yards and four touchdowns—while fellow 30-plus-year-olds Davante Adams and Aaron Donald came up big, too.
While it’s obviously still early, it’s certainly possible that these two teams could face off in the big game next February. For now, though, here are three bold predictions for Broncos vs. Rams on Sunday night.
Tyler Badie will score his first touchdown since 2022
Despite being just two games into the 2026 season, the Broncos are already dealing with an abundance of injuries at the running back position. Both J.K. Dobbins and Jonah Coleman left Sunday’s game against the Jaguars with hamstring and ankle injuries, respectively, and RJ Harvey is still dealing with a hamstring that kept him out of Denver’s Week 2 win.
Enter Tyler Badie, the 26-year-old depth special-teamer who ran the ball once and caught two passes for 28 yards in relief of Dobbins and Coleman last week.
Badie has boomeranged on and off of Denver’s roster since signing with the club in December 2022. He made his NFL debut in Week 18 of that season, catching a 24-yard touchdown pass from Russell Wilson. To date, it remains the only touchdown Badie has scored in his four-year NFL career.
That said, with the Broncos’ backfield hurting, Badie could very well see a significant workload Sunday night. I’m predicting he’ll make the most of it, and find the end zone for the first time in nearly four years.
MORE: NFL Week 3 Picks From the MMQB Staff
Aaron Donald will log his first sack since 2023
Donald made his long-awaited return to game action last Monday night after signing back with the Rams at the tail end of training camp. In his first appearance since 2023, the 35-year-old played 32 snaps, recording three tackles—including one for a loss—and one pressure while posting a pass-rush win rate of 27.8%.
Welcome back, Aaron Donald 😤
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) September 22, 2026
(via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/X00O31nmkf
“I’m a little sore right now,” Donald said with a smile on his face when asked how he felt after the Rams’ win over the Giants last week. “But it felt good to be back out there, get that first game under my belt. It felt like as it started going on it kind of slowed down towards the third and fourth quarter. Got it under my belt. Officially back playing football.”
With his feet now under him, it’s time for Donald to show why he’s a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
While the Broncos do have one of the better offensive lines in the NFL—and Los Angeles’s defensive line will miss Myles Garrett for at least three more games—I’m predicting Sunday night will be a coming out party for Donald, where he’ll log his first sack since the 2023 season.
The Rams will show that their showing in Australia was a fluke, and beat the Broncos by two scores
The Rams got off to a bad start this season. After attempting to make a flash trip Down Under and win a football game, they instead lost to the division-rival 49ers and had some wondering whether the superteam they built this offseason was all for naught. Last Monday however, they reminded everyone why they’re one of the best teams in the league.
The Broncos, meanwhile, have posted a 15–3 record at home since Bo Nix’s rookie season in 2024 and seemed to get themselves back on track last Sunday after their ugly Week 1 loss to the Chiefs.
This one is shaping up to be an epic, good-on-good battle between two of the league’s best. That said, I’m predicting the Rams will pull away in the end, beating the Broncos 28–17 to improve to 2–1 on the season.
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