September 30, 2026

NFL Predictions for Week 4

Team Ratings for Week 4

The basic method is described on my Department home page.
Here are the team ratings prior to this week’s games, along with the ratings at the start of the season.

Current Rating Rating at Season Start Difference
Seahawks 10.98 12.03 -1.10
Jaguars 7.04 4.17 2.90
Patriots 6.70 8.11 -1.40
Bills 6.67 4.81 1.90
Rams 4.63 6.16 -1.50
Vikings 4.51 2.79 1.70
Broncos 4.20 4.07 0.10
Bears 3.63 1.18 2.50
49ers 3.47 0.63 2.80
Lions 2.43 5.20 -2.80
Ravens 2.30 2.53 -0.20
Texans 2.07 5.51 -3.40
Chiefs 1.80 -1.34 3.10
Bengals 1.41 0.39 1.00
Steelers -0.01 -0.43 0.40
Colts -1.11 -0.74 -0.40
Raiders -1.45 -5.72 4.30
Chargers -1.99 1.16 -3.10
Eagles -2.22 0.73 -3.00
Saints -2.43 -3.38 0.90
Cowboys -2.48 -3.42 0.90
Packers -2.76 1.72 -4.50
Falcons -2.90 -1.39 -1.50
Browns -3.08 -2.50 -0.60
Giants -3.12 -2.38 -0.70
Panthers -3.74 -4.66 0.90
Commanders -3.92 -4.65 0.70
Buccaneers -4.37 -3.95 -0.40
Cardinals -5.90 -7.49 1.60
Jets -7.20 -9.84 2.60
Dolphins -7.63 -3.99 -3.60
Titans -9.06 -8.81 -0.20

 

Performance So Far

So far there have been 48 matches played, 28 of which were correctly predicted, a success rate of 58.3%.
Here are the predictions for last week’s games.

Game Date Score Prediction Correct
1 Packers vs. Falcons Sept 25 14 – 35 4.50 FALSE
2 Bills vs. Chargers Sept 28 24 – 16 8.90 TRUE
3 Browns vs. Panthers Sept 28 21 – 18 -0.30 FALSE
4 Lions vs. Jets Sept 28 31 – 24 10.70 TRUE
5 Colts vs. Texans Sept 28 19 – 17 -5.20 FALSE
6 Jaguars vs. Patriots Sept 28 35 – 6 -5.30 FALSE
7 Dolphins vs. Chiefs Sept 28 10 – 24 -7.70 TRUE
8 Giants vs. Titans Sept 28 12 – 7 6.30 TRUE
9 Steelers vs. Bengals Sept 28 30 – 27 -3.10 FALSE
10 Commanders vs. Seahawks Sept 28 33 – 31 -18.60 FALSE
11 49ers vs. Cardinals Sept 28 36 – 30 10.70 TRUE
12 Buccaneers vs. Vikings Sept 28 16 – 23 -9.60 TRUE
13 Cowboys vs. Ravens Sept 28 31 – 34 -5.50 TRUE
14 Saints vs. Raiders Sept 28 27 – 35 1.80 FALSE
15 Broncos vs. Rams Sept 28 30 – 26 -2.10 FALSE
16 Bears vs. Eagles Sept 29 27 – 7 2.70 TRUE

 

Predictions for Week 4

Here are the predictions for Week 4. The prediction is my estimated expected points difference with a positive margin being a win to the home team, and a negative margin a win to the away team.

Game Date Winner Prediction
1 Browns vs. Steelers Oct 02 Steelers -3.10
2 Commanders vs. Colts Oct 05 Colts -2.80
3 Ravens vs. Titans Oct 05 Ravens 11.40
4 Bills vs. Patriots Oct 05 Patriots -0.00
5 Bears vs. Jets Oct 05 Bears 10.80
6 Bengals vs. Jaguars Oct 05 Jaguars -5.60
7 Texans vs. Cowboys Oct 05 Texans 4.50
8 Giants vs. Cardinals Oct 05 Giants 2.80
9 Eagles vs. Rams Oct 05 Rams -6.80
10 Buccaneers vs. Packers Oct 05 Packers -1.60
11 Vikings vs. Dolphins Oct 05 Vikings 12.10
12 Raiders vs. Chiefs Oct 05 Chiefs -3.30
13 49ers vs. Broncos Oct 05 Broncos -0.70
14 Seahawks vs. Chargers Oct 05 Seahawks 13.00
15 Panthers vs. Lions Oct 05 Lions -6.20
16 Saints vs. Falcons Oct 06 Saints 0.50

 

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David Scott obtained a BA and PhD from the Australian National University and then commenced his university teaching career at La Trobe University in 1972. He has taught at La Trobe University, the University of Sheffield, Bond University and Colorado State University, joining the University of Auckland, based at Tamaki Campus, in mid-1995. He has been Head of Department at La Trobe University, Acting Dean and Associate Dean (Academic) at Bond University, and Associate Director of the Centre for Quality Management and Data Analysis at Bond University with responsibility for Short Courses. He was Head of the Department of Statistics in 2000, and is a past President of the New Zealand Statistical Assocation. See all posts by David Scott »

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