∅ Empty Set Football
Week 3 · 2026 regular season

Minnesota Vikings at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Sun, Sep 27, 4:05 PM ET

Win probability

Who wins

Each side's chance to win before kickoff. The darker part of each bar is the home team's share.

ESF model
MIN 73% TB 27%
Market
MIN 52% TB 48%

Spread: TB +1 (negative means the home team is favored). Moneylines: MIN −118 / TB −102 from betmgm. Market = the median of 6 US books' win probabilities after removing the bookmaker's margin (the vig); spread = the most common line. As of Sep 27, 1:27 AM ET.

Betting lines
The ESF model

What drives the number

ESF's forecast uses one input per team, its CAP win pct entering the game, plus an allowance for home field.

TeamCAP win pct
entering week 3, higher is better
League rank
1 = best
MIN Minnesota Vikings · away 0.86 6th
TB Tampa Bay Buccaneers · home 0.07 27th
ESF: TB wins at home
27%
Home team's chance to win this game.
Two average teams
56%
Home team's chance when both teams are at the league average (0.50). The rest over 50% is home field.

logit(home win) = 0.143 + 1.649 × home CAP win pct − 1.430 × away CAP win pct

A logistic regression fit on 2010–2025 regular-season games (3,906 games), refit before each season.

CAP yards per attempt · entering week 3

Unit matchups

Each offense against the defense it faces. Offense: higher is better. Defense (yards allowed): lower is better. Ranks are out of 32; 1 is best.

Pass: MIN offense vs TB defense
−0.4725th
Even
+0.5225th
Rush: MIN offense vs TB defense
−0.3227th
Edge
TB
−0.0116th
Pass: TB offense vs MIN defense
−0.3420th
Edge
MIN
−0.586th
Rush: TB offense vs MIN defense
−0.1924th
Edge
MIN
−0.593rd

Values are fading averages (half-life 7 of the team's own games, weighted by plays) entering the week. Bars show league rank: longer is better. The edge goes to the better-ranked side; ranks within 2 are even.

CAP win pct · 2026

How each team got here

CAP win pct entering each week. Higher is better; the league average is 0.50.

−0.25 0.00 0.25 0.50 avg 0.75 1.00 wk 1wk 2wk 3 MIN 0.86 TB 0.07 −0.25 0.00 0.25 0.50 avg 0.75 1.00 wk 1wk 2wk 3 MIN 0.86 TB 0.07
2026 results

Results so far

Each team's games before this one, with ESF's pre-game win probability for the team.

MIN Minnesota Vikings

WeekOpponentResultESF win prob
pre-game, this team
1 vs GB Won 60%
2 @ CHI Won 43%

TB Tampa Bay Buccaneers

WeekOpponentResultESF win prob
pre-game, this team
1 @ CIN Lost 37%
2 vs CLE Lost 57%
Week 3

Other games this week

Home team's chance to win before kickoff. Higher means the home team is more likely to win.

Dots: ESF model and market (median of US books, vig removed) home win probability.

Betting lines

How to read this page

CAP win pct. A fading average of game scores with a half-life of 7 of the team's own games. A win scores 1 plus the opponent's win pct; a loss scores the opponent's win pct minus 1. Last season carries in. League average is 0.50; higher is better.

CAP yards per attempt. Yards per play relative to what the down, distance, field position and the specific opponent would predict. Offense: higher is better. Defense (yards allowed): lower is better.

ESF win probability. A logistic regression on both teams' pre-game CAP win pct, with an intercept for home field.

Market. The median of the US books' win probabilities after removing the bookmaker's margin (the vig), from The Odds API. The spread is the most common line across books.