NFL 2026

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20,000 simulations of the real 272-game 2026 schedule and the full playoff bracket, through to Super Bowl LXI - a ratings model built from three seasons of scoring margins, replaying real results as they land, and predicting every game with the market alongside.

points-v2 ยท blended (weight 0.45, DraftKings futures, 32 teams) ยท updated 2026-08-02 ยท preseason

The race for Super Bowl LXI

Share of simulated seasons each team lifts the Lombardi Trophy.

1Buffalo Bills8.8%
2Los Angeles Rams7.5%
3Baltimore Ravens7%
4Detroit Lions6.9%
5Seattle Seahawks6.9%
6Philadelphia Eagles5.7%
7Denver Broncos5.1%
8Houston Texans5.1%
9Kansas City Chiefs4.3%
10Green Bay Packers4.1%
11New England Patriots4%
12San Francisco 49ers3.9%
13Los Angeles Chargers3.6%
14Jacksonville Jaguars3.5%
15Tampa Bay Buccaneers2.6%
16Cincinnati Bengals2.6%
17Minnesota Vikings2.3%
18Chicago Bears2.3%
19Indianapolis Colts2.3%
20Pittsburgh Steelers2.3%
21Dallas Cowboys2.1%

The next games, called

Win probability for the home side from the model and the posted line, blended 50/50 into the pick. Every prediction is frozen when first published and graded against the final score below.

DateGameModel (home)Market (home)Pick
Thu, Sep 10New England Patriots at Seattle Seahawks59%60%Seattle Seahawks
Fri, Sep 11San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Rams60%60%Los Angeles Rams
Sun, Sep 13Chicago Bears at Carolina Panthers45%43%Chicago Bears
Sun, Sep 13Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Cincinnati Bengals54%60%Cincinnati Bengals
Sun, Sep 13New Orleans Saints at Detroit Lions67%70%Detroit Lions
Sun, Sep 13Buffalo Bills at Houston Texans50%46%Buffalo Bills
Sun, Sep 13Baltimore Ravens at Indianapolis Colts46%40%Baltimore Ravens
Sun, Sep 13Cleveland Browns at Jacksonville Jaguars67%71%Jacksonville Jaguars
Sun, Sep 13Miami Dolphins at Las Vegas Raiders51%60%Las Vegas Raiders
Sun, Sep 13Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Chargers70%80%Los Angeles Chargers
Sun, Sep 13Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings51%46%Green Bay Packers
Sun, Sep 13Washington Commanders at Philadelphia Eagles65%63%Philadelphia Eagles
Sun, Sep 13Atlanta Falcons at Pittsburgh Steelers60%59%Pittsburgh Steelers
Sun, Sep 13New York Jets at Tennessee Titans55%59%Tennessee Titans
Mon, Sep 14Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants48%43%Dallas Cowboys
Tue, Sep 15Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs54%59%Kansas City Chiefs

How the model is doing

Every game prediction above is frozen the moment it is published. Once the season kicks off, this section keeps the running score: how many picks landed, and the model's Brier score against the betting line's - in public, win or lose.

Every team, every outcome

Expected wins and the odds of each landing spot, division by division.

AFC EastxWDivisionPlayoffsConferenceSuper Bowl
Buffalo Bills10.052.3%70.9%15.6%8.8%
New England Patriots9.131.7%53.6%8.1%4%
Miami Dolphins6.99.1%19.9%1.3%0.6%
New York Jets6.56.9%15.9%0.9%0.3%
AFC NorthxWDivisionPlayoffsConferenceSuper Bowl
Baltimore Ravens10.146.5%70%13.2%7%
Cincinnati Bengals8.823.4%47.6%5.5%2.6%
Pittsburgh Steelers8.520.9%44.3%5%2.3%
Cleveland Browns7.29.2%23.3%1.2%0.5%
AFC SouthxWDivisionPlayoffsConferenceSuper Bowl
Houston Texans9.437.7%58.8%9.9%5.1%
Jacksonville Jaguars9.031.3%52.8%7.2%3.5%
Indianapolis Colts8.523.8%43.8%4.8%2.3%
Tennessee Titans6.67.3%16.8%0.8%0.3%
AFC WestxWDivisionPlayoffsConferenceSuper Bowl
Denver Broncos9.434.7%59.2%9.9%5.1%
Kansas City Chiefs9.332.3%56.8%8.5%4.3%
Los Angeles Chargers8.927.1%50.9%7.3%3.6%
Las Vegas Raiders6.55.9%15.6%0.8%0.3%
NFC EastxWDivisionPlayoffsConferenceSuper Bowl
Philadelphia Eagles9.847.1%64.6%11.2%5.7%
Dallas Cowboys8.422.7%39.4%4.5%2.1%
Washington Commanders7.917.3%31.9%2.9%1.2%
New York Giants7.412.9%25.2%2%0.9%
NFC NorthxWDivisionPlayoffsConferenceSuper Bowl
Detroit Lions10.240.9%68.8%13.4%6.9%
Green Bay Packers9.325.3%52.9%8.3%4.1%
Minnesota Vikings8.717.9%42.5%4.9%2.3%
Chicago Bears8.516%39.3%4.9%2.3%
NFC SouthxWDivisionPlayoffsConferenceSuper Bowl
Tampa Bay Buccaneers8.737.4%49.1%5.8%2.6%
New Orleans Saints8.227.1%39%3.2%1.1%
Atlanta Falcons7.621.3%31.5%2.4%1%
Carolina Panthers7.014.2%22.1%1.7%0.6%
NFC WestxWDivisionPlayoffsConferenceSuper Bowl
Los Angeles Rams10.036.2%64.9%13.5%7.5%
Seattle Seahawks9.935.4%64.2%12.9%6.9%
San Francisco 49ers9.324.8%53%7.8%3.9%
Arizona Cardinals6.33.7%11.9%0.7%0.3%

Beat the Model

Back the calls the simulator is least sure about - your Super Bowl champion, a dark horse into the playoffs, and a favourite to fall - and see whether you out-predict it across the season.

Play Beat the Model: NFL

How the model works

Each team's rating starts from its scoring margin per game over the last three regular seasons (2025, 2024, 2023), recency-weighted and shrunk hard toward the mean (ร—0.55) - NFL form carries over far less than fans assume. On top of the stats sits the market: Super Bowl futures for all 32 teams, de-vigged and mapped onto the points scale through the model's own rating-to-title-odds curve, blended in at weight 0.45. The stats know what teams have done; the futures know what the market knows now - quarterback moves, rosters, a champion's continuity - that margins cannot see. This season's real results fold into the rating as they land. Every remaining game on the actual schedule is simulated as a point-spread probability (home advantage 1.6 points, margin sd 13.4), with each simulated season drawing every team's rating from a distribution (ฯƒ 2.5 points). Division winners, the seven seeds and the full bracket play out inside every simulation; division tie-breaks are approximated by record then head-to-head. Weekly picks blend the model with the posted line 50/50 and are graded against final scores above. Where the blend still disagrees with the futures alone, that gap is the interesting part.