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NFL · Week 1 · 2026 Final

Bears at Panthers

Sun, 13 Sep 2026 · 17:00 UTC
Chicago Bears logo
Chicago
Bears
No games yet
59
@
Carolina Panthers logo
Carolina
Panthers
No games yet
37
Chicago Bears to win 59% win probability · projected 24–21 · Lean

Result & Grading

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

Final score
59–37
CHI at CAR
Our pick
CHI ✓
Correct
Margin error
19.0
points from our projection
Against the spread
Covered ✓
vs line of CHI −3.0

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.

CHI 59%
CAR 41%
Projected score
24–21
CHI at CAR
Projected margin
-3.0
home perspective
Projected total
45.7
combined points
Confidence
Lean
published before kickoff

Engine vs The Line

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

8th Day Engine
Chicago Bears
by 3.0 points · total 45.7
Closing line
Chicago Bears
by 3.0 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
Bank of America Stadium
Roof
Outdoors
Surface
Grass
Temperature
89°F
Wind
2 mph
Rest · CHI
7 days
Rest · CAR
7 days
QB · CHI
Caleb Williams
QB · CAR
Bryce Young

How The Model Sees It

Our rating has Chicago Bears as the stronger side by 110 rating points, which on its own is worth about 4.4 points on the scoreboard (CHI 1,538, CAR 1,427).

Home field adds 1.4 points to CAR — 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 -3.0, and running that through the historical spread of actual results against projections gives Chicago Bears at 59%.

The closing line agrees on the winner, making Chicago Bears favourite by 3.0 against our 3.0.

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