luckadjusted
NFL Week 3 · 2026

NFL · Week 17 2026 · Sunday, January 3

Bills vs Dolphins prediction and pick

Our Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins pick: Bills by 9.1, 75% to win. The forecast starts from what each team’s play has been worth once the luck is adjusted for, adds last season, who starts at quarterback and who is out hurt, and home field. No betting information goes in.

An early look, 14 weeks ahead: it sharpens as the game comes up. Updated every day until kickoff, then frozen and scored. After the game this page shows who deserved to win.

Why the curves are so wide: luck. Even with both teams’ strength known exactly, one game’s bounces, kicks, calls and sequencing move the final margin by about ±12.1 points (one standard deviation, measured from every play since 2019). These forecasts carry ±13.4, so about 81% of the width is that luck; the rest is what nobody knows yet about the teams. That is why a 7-point favorite still loses about 3 times in 10.

Bills at Dolphins

Sun, Jan 3, 1:00 pm ET · Hard Rock Stadium

Bills by 9.1 · 75% to win

Show as a table
OutcomeChance
Bills win75.4%
Dolphins win24.6%
Middle 50%: Bills by 18 to Bills by 150%
Middle 90%: Bills by 31 to Dolphins by 1390%
Middle 95%: Bills by 35 to Dolphins by 1795%
Exactly Bills by 37.5%
Exactly Dolphins by 35.5%
Exactly Bills by 75.5%
Exactly Bills by 145.2%
Exactly Bills by 104.4%
P50
Half of games like this end between Bills by 18 and Bills by 1.
P90
9 in 10 between Bills by 31 and Dolphins by 13.
P95
19 in 20 between Bills by 35 and Dolphins by 17.
Where the forecast comes from
This season, adjusted for luckBills+6.3
Last seasonBills+3.3
Home fieldDolphins+2.3
QuarterbacksBills+1.9

The season so far

TeamRecordCoin-flip winsLuck in wins
Bills 3–0 2.4 +0.5
Dolphins 0–3 0.3 −0.6

Coin-flip wins: the wins each team’s games were worth with only the kicks, bounces, drops and calls re-rolled, the record adjusted for luck. Luck in wins: actual wins minus what the play was worth.

Bills vs Dolphins: questions and answers

Who will win Bills vs Dolphins?

Our forecast picks the Bills, with 75% to win; the Dolphins win 25% of the time.

What’s the spread for Bills vs Dolphins?

Our spread: Bills −9.1. The betting line isn’t out yet. Ours uses no betting information, so where the two differ is where our read of the teams differs from the market’s.

When is Bills vs Dolphins?

Sunday, January 3, 2026, at 1:00 pm ET, at Hard Rock Stadium.