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NFL · Week 1 · 2026 Final

Cardinals at Chargers

Sun, 13 Sep 2026 · 20:25 UTC
Arizona Cardinals logo
Arizona
Cardinals
No games yet
26
@
Los Angeles Chargers logo
Los Angeles
Chargers
No games yet
14
Los Angeles Chargers to win 71% win probability · projected 19–26 · Strong

Result & Grading

Published before kickoff, graded after. No edits, no quiet deletions.

Final score
26–14
ARI at LAC
Our pick
LAC ✗
Missed
Margin error
19.4
points from our projection
Against the spread
Covered ✓
vs line of LAC −10.0

Pre-Game Win Probabilities

From the engine's power ratings, adjusted for home field and rest, then mapped through the margin distribution. Not a blend of the market — this is our own number.

ARI 29%
LAC 71%
Projected score
19–26
ARI at LAC
Projected margin
+7.4
home perspective
Projected total
45.2
combined points
Confidence
Strong
published before kickoff

Engine vs The Line

We agree with the market on the winner. The margins may still differ.

8th Day Engine
Los Angeles Chargers
by 7.4 points · total 45.2
Closing line
Los Angeles Chargers
by 10.0 points · total 47.5

Matchup Facts

Venue and rest come from the schedule feed and feed directly into the model; surface and weather are context we show but don't yet model.

Venue
SoFi Stadium
Roof
Dome
Surface
Matrixturf
Rest · ARI
7 days
Rest · LAC
7 days
QB · ARI
Jacoby Brissett
QB · LAC
Justin Herbert

How The Model Sees It

Our rating has Los Angeles Chargers as the stronger side by 149 rating points, which on its own is worth about 6.0 points on the scoreboard (ARI 1,375, LAC 1,524).

Home field adds 1.4 points to LAC — a measured figure from our backtest, not the traditional three, because home advantage in the modern NFL is considerably smaller than it used to be.

That lands on a projected margin of +7.4, and running that through the historical spread of actual results against projections gives Los Angeles Chargers at 71%.

The closing line agrees on the winner, making Los Angeles Chargers favourite by 10.0 against our 7.4.

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