Stat Explainer

NFL Predictions 2026: Every Game, Frozen Before Kickoff, Graded After

A transparent Elo model states a probability for every game. The numbers lock when published, the results get attached as they happen, and the running grade stays on this page all season - hits, misses, and all.

By C. B. Zakarian · Updated Sep 15

This page is a ledger, not a tout sheet. Before each week the model — a fully-stated walk-forward Elo that reads nothing but final scores — publishes a win probability for every game. Those numbers freeze at publication (the JSON is served raw, CSV here), results attach as games finish, and the scoreboard below keeps the season-long grade. It knows nothing about rosters, injuries, or quarterbacks — which matters — and it will be wrong roughly one game in three, because in its 16-season backtest that is exactly how often it was wrong. This is not betting advice; for why beating the closing line is a different and harder claim, see how accurate the spread actually is.

The scoreboard

10 of 16 decided games called correctly (62.5%), Brier score 0.2251 across 16 graded games (0.25 = coin flip; lower is better). The 16-season backtest averaged 64.7% and 0.2205 — judge us against that.

Week 2

Locked Sep 15. Probabilities are the model's, stated from each side's rating; the favorite shown is simply the side above 50%.

KickoffGameElo (away/home)Model favoriteResult (pending)
Sep 17 (Thu)Detroit Lions at Buffalo Bills1567 / 163666% BUF
Sep 20 (Sun)Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons1400 / 145664% ATL
Sep 20 (Sun)Cincinnati Bengals at Houston Texans1497 / 158669% HOU
Sep 20 (Sun)Cleveland Browns at Tampa Bay Buccaneers1405 / 147266% TB
Sep 20 (Sun)Green Bay Packers at New York Jets1513 / 139061% GB
Sep 20 (Sun)Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears1579 / 155453% CHI
Sep 20 (Sun)New Orleans Saints at Baltimore Ravens1432 / 157976% BAL
Sep 20 (Sun)Philadelphia Eagles at Tennessee Titans1587 / 132178% PHI
Sep 20 (Sun)Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots1531 / 158464% NE
Sep 20 (Sun)Jacksonville Jaguars at Denver Broncos1580 / 157856% DEN
Sep 20 (Sun)Las Vegas Raiders at Los Angeles Chargers1382 / 149672% LAC
Sep 20 (Sun)Miami Dolphins at San Francisco 49ers1428 / 159477% SF
Sep 20 (Sun)Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals1683 / 143077% SEA
Sep 20 (Sun)Washington Commanders at Dallas Cowboys1453 / 143955% DAL
Sep 20 (Sun)Indianapolis Colts at Kansas City Chiefs1443 / 154370% KC
Sep 21 (Mon)New York Giants at Los Angeles Rams1441 / 158075% LA

The season so far, week by week

Week 1

KickoffGameElo (away/home)Model favoriteResult
Sep 9 (Wed)New England Patriots at Seattle Seahawks1593 / 167568% SEASEA 13–10
Sep 10 (Thu)San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Rams neutral site1559 / 161558% LASF 27–7
Sep 13 (Sun)Atlanta Falcons at Pittsburgh Steelers1470 / 151663% PITPIT 20–13
Sep 13 (Sun)Baltimore Ravens at Indianapolis Colts1553 / 146955% BALBAL 41–23
Sep 13 (Sun)Buffalo Bills at Houston Texans1616 / 160655% HOUBUF 36–31
Sep 13 (Sun)Chicago Bears at Carolina Panthers1529 / 142658% CHICHI 59–37
Sep 13 (Sun)Cleveland Browns at Jacksonville Jaguars1420 / 156675% JAXJAX 34–10
Sep 13 (Sun)New Orleans Saints at Detroit Lions1435 / 156473% DETDET 31–30
Sep 13 (Sun)New York Jets at Tennessee Titans1362 / 135055% TENNYJ 23–10
Sep 13 (Sun)Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Cincinnati Bengals1488 / 148056% CINCIN 33–27
Sep 13 (Sun)Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Chargers1394 / 153174% LACARI 26–14
Sep 13 (Sun)Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings1536 / 155660% MINMIN 39–22
Sep 13 (Sun)Miami Dolphins at Las Vegas Raiders1459 / 135159% MIALV 27–13
Sep 13 (Sun)Washington Commanders at Philadelphia Eagles1458 / 158173% PHIPHI 24–22
Sep 13 (Sun)Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants1461 / 141951% NYGNYG 28–20
Sep 14 (Mon)Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs1613 / 150858% DENKC 31–10

Current ratings, all 32

post-2025, after 33% preseason regression toward 1505 — the scale is relative (average ≈ 1505); a 100-point edge at a neutral site is about 64%. The same numbers, ranked with movement and tiers, live on the power rankings page.

The rules this page lives by

  • Frozen means frozen. A published probability is never edited. Rebuilds can only attach results.
  • A missed week stays missed. If a week's numbers weren't published before kickoff, that week shows no predictions — there is no such thing as a retroactive forecast.
  • The bad weeks stay up. The season grade includes every game the model got wrong, on the same page, forever.
  • Same engine everywhere. The script that generated the backtest is byte-for-byte the one that generates these numbers.

Sources: nflverse public game log bundled at data/games.csv; the model and ledger are generated by the site's build (nfl_elo.py) with no hand-entered numbers anywhere.

Nothing here is betting advice, and no number on this page predicts any single game. Sports betting is legal only in some jurisdictions and only for adults (21+ in most U.S. states). If betting stops being entertainment, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER. Read the full disclaimer.