Articles

Explainer articles on SharpModels' rating models and season simulators.

NFL

2026 NFL Strength of Schedule: Full Preseason Breakdown by Division

A one-off, point-in-time breakdown of every team's 2026 schedule difficulty, conference by conference and division by division.

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Methodology

How Strength of Schedule Works

Why we give every team a flat, average rating to isolate how hard their remaining games really are.

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Methodology

How the MLB Season Simulator Works

The same season-simulation approach as the NFL model, adapted for a 162-game schedule and MLB's own playoff format.

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Methodology

How the NFL Season Simulator Works

Why we simulate the season thousands of times, and why team ratings evolve as it unfolds.

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Coding

Building a Clean NFL Elo Rating Model From Results

The fundamental problem every sports model has to solve: how do you actually measure team strength?

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Coding

Adding Home Advantage to NFL Elo Ratings

Extending the baseline Elo model to account for the real, measurable edge of playing at home.

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Coding

Adding Margin of Victory to NFL Elo Ratings

Why a 3-point win and a 30-point win shouldn't move a team's rating by the same amount.

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Coding

Adding Seasonal Carryover to NFL Elo Ratings

How much of a team's rating should reset between seasons, and how much should carry over?

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Coding

Evaluating NFL Elo Win Probabilities

Putting the finished model to the test: how well do its win probabilities actually hold up against real results?

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Coding

Interpreting NFL Elo Rating Differences

What a 50-point or 150-point gap between two teams' ratings actually means in practice.

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Coding

Visualising NFL Elo Ratings Through Time

Turning a season of rating updates into a chart that shows how every team's form has actually moved.

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Coding

Turning NFL Elo Ratings Into Win Probabilities

How a rating gap between two teams becomes a single-game win probability.

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Coding

Build an NFL Elo Forecasting Model From Scratch

Start from scratch: the simplest possible rating system, built and tested from real results.

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Coding

Getting Started With SharpModels Code

An introduction to the codebase behind SharpModels' ratings and forecasts.

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