luckadjusted
NFL Week 3 · 2026

NFL · Week 18 2026 · Sunday, January 10

Bears vs Vikings prediction and pick

Our Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings pick: Bears by 0.5, 52% 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, 15 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.

Bears at Vikings

Sun, Jan 10, 1:00 pm ET · U.S. Bank Stadium

Bears by 0.5 · 52% to win

Show as a table
OutcomeChance
Bears win51.6%
Vikings win48.4%
Middle 50%: Bears by 10 to Vikings by 850%
Middle 90%: Bears by 23 to Vikings by 2190%
Middle 95%: Bears by 27 to Vikings by 2695%
Exactly Bears by 38.2%
Exactly Vikings by 38.0%
Exactly Bears by 75.0%
Exactly Vikings by 74.8%
Exactly Bears by 103.5%
P50
Half of games like this end between Bears by 10 and Vikings by 8.
P90
9 in 10 between Bears by 23 and Vikings by 21.
P95
19 in 20 between Bears by 27 and Vikings by 26.
Where the forecast comes from
Home fieldVikings+2.3
This season, adjusted for luckBears+1.5
Last seasonBears+0.8
QuarterbacksBears+0.6

The season so far

TeamRecordCoin-flip winsLuck in wins
Bears 2–1 2.7 −0.3
Vikings 3–0 1.4 +1.3

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.

Bears vs Vikings: questions and answers

Who will win Bears vs Vikings?

Our forecast picks the Bears, with 52% to win; the Vikings win 48% of the time.

What’s the spread for Bears vs Vikings?

Our spread: Bears −0.5. 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 Bears vs Vikings?

Sunday, January 10, 2026, at 1:00 pm ET, at U.S. Bank Stadium.