NFL WEEK 1

Model vs. Kalshi on all 16 openers

Week 1 markets live now

NFL EDGES

Live game edges — model vs. Kalshi, ranked

Gridiron Edge · 5-min refresh

NFL 2026

Power rankings, futures & win totals — all 32 teams

FOMC SEPT 16

Kalshi, Polymarket and futures disagree on the Fed

Decision Wed 2pm ET

COMBO EDGE

Correlation-aware Kalshi combos — free

Home/NFL/NFC North/Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears logo
Gridiron EdgeNFC North

Chicago Bears: 2026 Win Total & Market Edge

Board as of · prices live

The prediction-market read on the Bears: our 10,000-season simulation projects 8.8 wins in 2026 (13th of 32, Playoff tier; raw model 8.8), beside the live Kalshi win-total line. Full schedule, per-game win probabilities and NFC North standing below.

2026 win total: our model vs. Kalshi

Bears logo

Chicago Bears

NFC North · 10th power rating · Playoff
Kalshi live
8.8 projected wins
± 2.0 · 13th of 32
Kalshi market
9.28w
Ladder-implied wins
7 Oracles sim
8.78w
59.6% backtested
Divergence
-0.50w
Market higher

Model agrees with the market

Divergence is projected wins minus the ladder-implied market line, in wins — LOW on the one ladder every season-wins surface grades on (STRONG ≥2.0 · HIGH ≥1.5 · MODERATE ≥1.0); OVER / UNDER fires at ±2.0. Projected wins are the 10,000-season simulation mean; the raw model reads 8.8. No single rung sits near 50¢.

See all 32 teams on the win-totals board → Informational only — verify the market and trade responsibly.

📊 Deep-dive: Bears win total: the rare stay-away — Chicago can improve and still post a worse record

The consensus spread

Three independent estimates of the same season on one line: the expected wins implied by the live Kalshi ladder, our 10,000-season simulation, and EA’s Madden 27 simulation. Where they disagree is the whole signal.

0.50 wins of disagreement
8.78 Our sim
9.04 Madden 27
9.28 Kalshi
7.68.39.09.710.4

Both independent models sit on the same side of the market line — our sim at 8.78 and the Madden simulation at 9.04 against 9.28 implied wins. That is the cleanest version of this signal.

Madden and our model broadly agree on the Bears — 12th on talent against 10th on play-by-play.

Where the season actually lands

A point estimate cannot tell a trader whether to take a position — the full distribution against the contract line can. Bars are the Madden 27 simulation over 10,000 seasons; the dashed marker is the live contract.

Kalshi 9.28 01234567891011121314151617
40%
our probability
of clearing 9.28
Madden sim: 44%
-9.5pp vs a coin flip

Our probability from the 10,000-season simulation (mean 8.78 wins; raw model 8.84 ± 2.01). Bars: Madden 27 sim-2026, 10,000 iterations. Two methods, no shared inputs.

The Ladder — Bears

All ladders →

The season simulation at every Kalshi win-total rung, then the widest player-prop gap on this club this week. The rungs the market has not listed two-sided yet are drawn from the simulation alone.

BearsSeason winsLOCATIONBuy YES · 10+ wins
1+ wins9+ wins17+ wins
Widest gap
🔒
at 10+ wins
Market
🔒
Kalshi · P(YES)
PMP Model
🔒
display-calibrated

We think the median sits somewhere else than the market does.

RungMarketModelGap
1+ wins🔒outside rangethin
2+ wins🔒outside rangethin
3+ wins🔒outside rangethin
4+ wins🔒outside rangeYES
5+ wins🔒outside rangeYES
6+ wins🔒outside rangeYES
7+ wins🔒outside rangeYES
8+ wins🔒🔒🔒YES
9+ wins🔒🔒🔒YES
10+ wins🔒🔒🔒YES
11+ wins🔒outside rangeYES
12+ wins🔒outside rangeYES
13+ wins🔒outside rangeYES
14+ wins🔒outside rangeYES
15+ wins🔒outside rangeYES
16+ wins🔒outside rangeYES
17+ wins🔒outside rangethin

Rung-by-rung numbers are a Pro feature. Unlock Pro →

Caleb WilliamsPass TDsONE STRIKE PRICED
Widest gap
one strike priced
Market
Kalshi · P(YES)
PMP Model
display-calibrated

Our number is published at the called strike only; the market curves are complete.

RungMarketBooksModelGap
1+ pass TDs🔒YES
2+ pass TDs🔒YES
3+ pass TDs🔒YES

Rung-by-rung numbers are a Pro feature. Unlock Pro →

Colston LovelandReceptionsONE STRIKE PRICED
Widest gap
one strike priced
Market
Kalshi · P(YES)
PMP Model
display-calibrated

Our number is published at the called strike only; the market curves are complete.

RungMarketBooksModelGap
4+ rec🔒YES
5+ rec🔒🔒YES

Rung-by-rung numbers are a Pro feature. Unlock Pro →

Gold is our distribution, parchment is the Kalshi contract at each strike; the band between them is green where our probability is higher and purple where it is lower. We publish our number only where we have measured it to be calibrated, between 30% and 70%; rungs outside that range show the market only. A contract pays $1 if it settles YES, so a price in cents is an implied probability. Prediction markets carry risk; contracts can settle at $0.

Market edges

The season contract and the single game most likely to move it, graded on the same thresholds every other Gridiron Edge surface uses.

◆ LOW confidence 9.28 · Under

Season wins under 9.28

Our 10,000-season simulation projects 8.78 (raw model 8.84), the Madden 27 simulation 9.04, against 9.28 market-implied wins — a -0.50-win gap. LOW on the wins ladder (STRONG ≥2.0 · HIGH ≥1.5 · MODERATE ≥1.0); a side is flagged only at the 2.0-win STRONG rung, so the honest read is no position.

◆ MODERATE confidence Wk 1 · Away

Week 1 at Panthers

The truest coin flip on the schedule at 52%. Games this close are where a season win total is actually decided — and where a live in-week contract is most likely to be mispriced. Full read →

Informational only. Contracts can settle at $0 — verify the market and trade responsibly.

Power rating breakdown

Diverging from league average rather than four flat numbers, so a positive reads as a positive at a glance. Points per game.

Overall +1.4
Offense +2.0
Defense -1.1
Special teams +0.5

Overall +1.4 ranks 10th of 32 (Playoff tier). How Bears rank on the points scale → Re-weight the model yourself →

Methodology: DAEPA model docs → (59.6% backtested straight-up accuracy across 3,266 games, no market line used).

The season path

Seventeen weeks as a heat ribbon — the shape of the season in one glance, each cell linking to that game’s full read. The sortable table stays below it.

8.84 cumulative expected wins
Loss likelyWin likely— cumulative expected wins

Roster shape vs the league

Nine position groups against league average. Each axis is scaled on its own league range — a shared 0-100 scale flattens every roster into the same circle.

8 Quarterback 90
6 O-Line 82
26 Receiver 79
10 Tight End 84
16 Running Back 85
28 Pass Rush 79
6 Linebacker 79
16 Secondary 81
18 Special Teams 77

Dashed violet ring = league average. Number chip = rank of 32. Source: Madden 27 launch team composites (derived unit aggregates, no per-player data).

2026 schedule & model win probabilities

All 17 regular-season games. Our % is the DAEPA margin (power-rating differential + 2.5-point home-field) run through a Normal model, σ=14.4 — those 17 numbers sum to the raw model's 8.8 wins; the 8.8-win headline above is the 10,000-season simulation, which adds rating uncertainty (and fits its own home-field, 2.0) on top of these same ratings. Madden % is the same question asked of Madden 27 talent composites, a model that shares none of our inputs.

WeekOpponentH/AOur %Madden %
Wk 1at Carolina PanthersAWAY52%57%
Wk 2vs Minnesota VikingsHOME67%61%
Wk 4vs New York JetsHOME71%69%
Wk 5at Green Bay PackersAWAY39%46%
Wk 6at Atlanta FalconsAWAY48%48%
Wk 8at Seattle SeahawksAWAY32%43%
Wk 11vs New Orleans SaintsHOME67%65%
Wk 12at Detroit LionsAWAY40%35%
Wk 14at Miami DolphinsAWAY56%63%
Wk 15at Buffalo BillsAWAY37%40%
Wk 16vs Green Bay PackersHOME52%57%
Wk 17vs Detroit LionsHOME54%46%
Wk 18at Minnesota VikingsAWAY54%50%

Bears player props vs the Kalshi line

Our projection against the live Kalshi contract. Every prop is an “X or more” contract that pays $1 if the player gets there, so the price of the side we call, in cents,is the market’s implied probability — the edge is the gap between that and ours, in percentage points. Closest strike to our projection first.

Bears player props vs the Kalshi line — our odds against the Kalshi price of the called side, on the strike closest to our projection
PlayerContractCallOur oddsMktEdgeTier
Caleb WilliamsQB2+ pass TDsover 1.5NOPro subscribers onlyPro subscribers onlyPro subscribers onlyHIGH
Colston LovelandTE5+ receptionsover 4.5NOPro subscribers onlyPro subscribers onlyPro subscribers onlySTRONG
Colston LovelandTE50+ rec ydsover 49.5NOPro subscribers onlyPro subscribers onlyPro subscribers onlySTRONG

All 54 player-prop edges for Week 1Locked numbers are Pro.

Bears props: where the market prices are

The market’s prices, not ours: each Kalshi strike beside the sportsbook consensus read at the same line, and where the cheaper price for each side actually is. A gap is a price difference, not a call — the Oracle calls above are the opinion.

Bears props: where the market prices are — Kalshi mid vs sportsbook consensus per strike, widest gap first
PlayerPropKalshiConsensusGapBest price
Colston LovelandTECHI v CAR50+ rec yds53.5¢51%+2.1¢over · DK 52.6¢under · Kalshi 48.7¢
Caleb WilliamsCHI v CAR1+ pass TDs80.0¢Kalshi only
Caleb WilliamsQBCHI v CAR2+ pass TDs49.0¢Kalshi only
Caleb WilliamsCHI v CAR3+ pass TDs21.5¢Kalshi only
Caleb WilliamsCHI v CAR175+ pass yds75.5¢off-ladderKalshi only
Caleb WilliamsCHI v CAR225+ pass yds54.5¢off-ladderover · FD 53.3¢under · Kalshi 47.7¢
Caleb WilliamsCHI v CAR300+ pass yds12.0¢off-ladderover · Kalshi 15.9¢
Caleb WilliamsCHI v CAR350+ pass yds5.5¢off-ladderover · Kalshi 6.4¢

See all 16 priced prop strikes on the board →+ 41 listed on Kalshi, not yet priced.

Bears player pages

All players →

One page per player: every Kalshi strike, the sportsbook consensus at the same threshold, the season projection and the measured range.

NFC North ladder

Projected wins across the division, leader in gold — and four internal reads a click away.

Lions 9.8 +2.5 Packers 9.6 +3.0
Bears 8.8 +1.4
Vikings 7.2 -2.6

Model has the Bears 3rd in the NFC North. Division hub →

10,000-season simulation

How it works →

Our own preseason board, played across the real 2026 schedule 10,000 times with the league's actual tiebreaker procedure. The projection above is the middle of this; these are the odds around it. The sim fits its own home-field (2.0 points, from played games) — a separate fit from the +2.5 the game model uses on matchup pages.

Sim average wins

8.8

10,000 seasons · 40% reach 10+

Make playoffs

45%

22% win 6 or fewer

Win division

23%

6% take the 1 seed

Win Super Bowl

3.5%

12th of 32 · 7% reach it

The Bears draw a 0.517 opponent win rate — the 2nd-hardest schedule in the league.

10,000 simulated seasons on our preseason power ratings. Real NFL tiebreakers, real 2026 schedule. No injuries, no in-season roster change, no market prices.

Madden 27 outlook

Full board →

A second opinion, built from Madden 27 launch ratings alone and played across the real 2026 schedule 10,000 times. It knows nothing about our own model — which is what makes the disagreement worth reading.

Madden rank

12

81.7 composite · QB 90

Simulated wins

9.0

44% reach 10+

Playoffs

46%

21% win division

Super Bowl

3.2%

SoS 0.499 (19th hardest)

Madden and our model broadly agree on the Bears — 12th on talent against 10th on play-by-play.

Madden-only inputs — no injuries, no in-season roster change, no market prices. Average error on a season win total is 2.27 wins, so the distribution is the product, not the mean. The 10,000-season simulation →

Bears 2026 — frequently asked

What is the Chicago Bears win total for 2026?

The Kalshi KXNFLWINS-27 ladder implies an expected 9.3 wins for the Bears in 2026. Our 10,000-season simulation on our DAEPA power ratings projects 8.8 wins — a 0.5-win agreement with the market (LOW on our wins ladder).

Where do the Bears rank in our 2026 power ratings?

The Bears sit at a +1.4-point power rating — 10th of 32 — in the Playoff tier. That rating (offense +2.0, defense -1.1, special teams +0.5) is the input behind every Bears prediction-market edge we publish.

Can you trade Chicago Bears games on Kalshi?

Yes. Kalshi is a CFTC-regulated exchange that lists Bears season win totals (KXNFLWINS), individual game winners (KXNFLGAME, which for 2026 opened months ahead of kickoff), plus division, conference and Super Bowl champion markets — available to traders in all 50 states. You take a yes/no position that settles at $1 or $0.

What division are the Bears in for 2026?

The Bears play in the NFC North, alongside Lions, Packers, Vikings. Our model has them projected 3rd in the NFC North on 8.8 expected wins.

Trade Bears markets on Kalshi →Kalshi NFL hub →All 32 win totals →Full 18-week schedule →

Get Bears edges + the daily NFL prediction-market read — free to your inbox.

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

Every NFL team

Prediction markets carry risk. Contracts can settle at $0. Informational only — not financial advice. Trade responsibly.

More Bears markets