← NFL slate
Washington Commanders
5-12 last yr · #23 Elo
at
Sun, Sep 20, 4:25 PM ET
AT&T Stadium · Indoors
Dallas Cowboys
7-9-1 last yr · #24 Elo
Spread DAL -4.5Total 51.5Moneyline WSH +170 · DAL -205
The read
On rating alone Washington Commanders are 0.7 points better (#23 vs #24 of 32), and DAL add 0.0 for home field. The clearest mismatch is the passing game: DAL passing ranks #6, WSH defends it at #30; the other way WSH #17 into DAL's #31.
Who has the edge
Rating
Even
—
WSH rated 0.7 points better on Elo (#24 vs #23).
Home & rest
Even
—
DAL gets 0.0 points for home field.
Quarterback
not priced
—
Usual starters on both sides — Dak Prescott and Jayden Daniels — no adjustment.
Passing game
Slight edge
DAL
DAL passing ranks #6, WSH defends it at #30; the other way WSH #17 into DAL's #31.
context · not in the margin
Rushing game
Even
—
DAL rushing ranks #8, WSH defends it at #28; the other way WSH #11 into DAL's #30.
context · not in the margin
Third down & red zone
Even
—
DAL third-down conversion ranks #8, WSH defends it at #23; the other way WSH #21 into DAL's #32.
context · not in the margin
Form (last 5)
Slight edge
WSH
DAL −9.8 per game over the last five, WSH −6.8.
context · not in the margin
Market
Clear edge
DAL
Consensus has DAL by 4.5.
context · not in the margin
The margin, factor by factor
Washington CommandersDallas Cowboys
1461 Elo · #23
RatingThe Elo gap in points — the model's core read on who is better, before the situational pieces below.
WSH +0.7 pts
1447 Elo · #24
road
Home field
not priced
home
—
Rest
even
—
Daniels · −0.4 EPA/g
QuarterbackStarter's value against what the team usually gets at quarterback. Only moves when someone other than the usual starter plays.
even
Prescott · +6.2 EPA/g
+4.4 pts vs DAL D
Offense vs defenseEach offense's scoring rating against the other defense's — what drives the model total. Shown as an edge, though the winner call runs on Elo.
WSH +0.1 pts
+4.2 pts vs WSH D
W L L W L · −6.8
Form (last 5)Average margin over the last five games. Already inside the ratings — listed so you can see when recent form and the rating disagree.
WSH +1.5 pts
L W L L L · −9.8
8 out/IR
InjuriesCount of players listed Out or on IR. Not priced beyond the quarterback.
not priced
5 out/IR
WSH +4.5
MarketThe consensus spread, read as points. Compare with the model margin above it.
DAL +4.5 pts
DAL -4.5
Bars are in points toward the favored side. Blue factors are inside the model's margin; grey ones are context it does not add on top (form and offense/defense are already in the ratings; injuries beyond the quarterback are not priced).
Dissect the matchup
nflverse play-by-play + FTN charting · 2025 season (last season until three games are in)Biggest mismatches
- ▸WSH red-zone touchdown rate (#4) against a DAL defense ranked #30 at stopping it
- ▸DAL epa / dropback (#6) against a WSH defense ranked #30 at stopping it
- ▸DAL yards / dropback (#7) against a WSH defense ranked #31 at stopping it
- ▸WSH explosive rush rate (#8) against a DAL defense ranked #31 at stopping it
- ▸DAL yards / rush (#6) against a WSH defense ranked #28 at stopping it
A mismatch is a rank gap of at least a fifth of the league between an offense and the defense it faces on the same measure. Descriptive rows (pass rate, pace, direction) are shown for reading the game, not ranked. ▲▼ mark where the last three games sit clearly above or below the season number, in the direction that helps that side.
Washington Commanders offense vs Dallas Cowboys defense
ranks of 32| WSH off | DAL def | Edge | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identity | |||
| Pass rate / Pass rate facedDropbacks as a share of plays. On the defense column: what opponents do against them. | 58% | 62% | · |
| Early-down pass rateFirst and second down only — the cleanest read on run-heavy vs pass-heavy. | 52% | 56% | · |
| Neutral-script pass rateEarly downs with win probability between 20% and 80%: intent, not catch-up mode. | 50% | 56% | · |
| Pass rate over expectedHow much more (or less) a team passes than the down, distance, score and clock predict. nflverse xpass. | −4.3% | +0.9% | · |
| Seconds per playTime of possession divided by plays — lower is faster. | 29.9 | 30.0 | · |
| No-huddle | 62% | 11% | · |
| Shotgun | 88% | 70% | · |
| Play-action rate / Play-action facedShare of dropbacks with a play fake (FTN charting). | 26% | 25% | · |
| RPO rate / RPOs faced | 8% | 8% | · |
| Screen rate / Screens faced | 8% | 9% | · |
| Pre-snap motion / Motion faced | 55% | 52% | · |
| Blitzes faced / Blitz rateFive or more pass rushers (FTN). On the offense column: how often opponents blitz them. | 32% | 28% | · |
| Pass rushers faced / Avg pass rushers | 4.38 | 4.32 | · |
| Passing | |||
| EPA / dropbackThe single best pass-efficiency number; on the defense column, what they allow. | +0.04#17▲ | +0.24#31▲ | WSH |
| Pass success rate | 48%#9 | 51%#30 | WSH |
| Explosive pass rateDropbacks gaining 20+ yards. | 7.4%#18 | 9.5%#27 | WSH |
| Yards / dropback | 6.4#13 | 7.3#32 | WSH |
| Depth of target (aDOT)Average air yards per attempt — how far downfield they throw, or get thrown at. | 8.6 | 7.8 | · |
| Deep-ball rate (20+ air) | 13% | 12% | · |
| Short throws (≤5 air) | 46% | 51% | · |
| Completion % over expectednflverse CPOE, per attempt. Defense column: what they allow. | +0.7#16 | +6.9#31▲ | WSH |
| YAC / completion | 5.0#20 | 5.7#28 | WSH |
| Sack rate / Sack rate generatedSacks per dropback. Lower is better for an offense; the defense column shows sacks they create. | 6.6%#18 | 5.5%#26 | WSH |
| Scramble rate | 11.3% | 6.7% | · |
| Interception rate / Interceptions forced | 2.6%#23 | 1.1%#30▼ | WSH |
| Throws left / middle / rightDirection shares are shown in full on the row. | L 38 · M 17 · R 44 | L 37 · M 17 · R 46 | · |
| Rushing | |||
| EPA / rush | −0.04#11▼ | +0.05#30▲ | WSH |
| Rush success rate | 43%#11 | 46%#30 | WSH |
| Explosive rush rateRushes of 10+ yards. | 11.3%#8 | 14.1%#31 | WSH |
| Yards / rush | 4.5#9 | 4.7#27 | WSH |
| Runs left / middle / right | L 41 · M 25 · R 34 | L 39 · M 25 · R 36 | · |
| Situational | |||
| Third-down conversion | 38%#21 | 48%#32 | WSH |
| Red-zone touchdown rateDrives reaching the 20 that end in a touchdown. | 65%#4 | 67%#30▼ | WSH |
| Turnovers / game / Takeaways / game | 1.24#19 | 0.65#30▼ | WSH |
| Plays / game | 57 | 60 | · |
Dallas Cowboys offense vs Washington Commanders defense
ranks of 32| DAL off | WSH def | Edge | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identity | |||
| Pass rate / Pass rate facedDropbacks as a share of plays. On the defense column: what opponents do against them. | 62% | 58% | · |
| Early-down pass rateFirst and second down only — the cleanest read on run-heavy vs pass-heavy. | 55% | 52% | · |
| Neutral-script pass rateEarly downs with win probability between 20% and 80%: intent, not catch-up mode. | 54% | 55% | · |
| Pass rate over expectedHow much more (or less) a team passes than the down, distance, score and clock predict. nflverse xpass. | −1.0% | −1.1% | · |
| Seconds per playTime of possession divided by plays — lower is faster. | 28.3 | 30.3 | · |
| No-huddle | 9% | 10% | · |
| Shotgun | 63% | 67% | · |
| Play-action rate / Play-action facedShare of dropbacks with a play fake (FTN charting). | 27% | 27% | · |
| RPO rate / RPOs faced | 5% | 7% | · |
| Screen rate / Screens faced | 6% | 7% | · |
| Pre-snap motion / Motion faced | 59% | 59% | · |
| Blitzes faced / Blitz rateFive or more pass rushers (FTN). On the offense column: how often opponents blitz them. | 28% | 27% | · |
| Pass rushers faced / Avg pass rushers | 4.32 | 4.28 | · |
| Passing | |||
| EPA / dropbackThe single best pass-efficiency number; on the defense column, what they allow. | +0.16#6 | +0.22#30▼ | DAL |
| Pass success rate | 48%#8 | 50%#28 | DAL |
| Explosive pass rateDropbacks gaining 20+ yards. | 8.2%#12 | 8.9%#25▼ | DAL |
| Yards / dropback | 6.9#7 | 7.2#31 | DAL |
| Depth of target (aDOT)Average air yards per attempt — how far downfield they throw, or get thrown at. | 8.2 | 7.9 | · |
| Deep-ball rate (20+ air) | 11% | 10% | · |
| Short throws (≤5 air) | 50% | 53% | · |
| Completion % over expectednflverse CPOE, per attempt. Defense column: what they allow. | +2.2#8▼ | +2.2#25▼ | DAL |
| YAC / completion | 5.0#19 | 6.4#31 | DAL |
| Sack rate / Sack rate generatedSacks per dropback. Lower is better for an offense; the defense column shows sacks they create. | 4.6%#6▲ | 6.8%#12▲ | DAL |
| Scramble rate | 4.3% | 5.7% | · |
| Interception rate / Interceptions forced | 1.9%#13▼ | 1.5%#28▼ | DAL |
| Throws left / middle / rightDirection shares are shown in full on the row. | L 42 · M 19 · R 39 | L 39 · M 17 · R 43 | · |
| Rushing | |||
| EPA / rush | −0.00#8▼ | +0.03#28▲ | DAL |
| Rush success rate | 44%#9 | 44%#29 | DAL |
| Explosive rush rateRushes of 10+ yards. | 9.5%#19 | 11.9%#26 | DAL |
| Yards / rush | 4.6#6 | 4.7#28 | DAL |
| Runs left / middle / right | L 37 · M 32 · R 32 | L 37 · M 26 · R 37 | · |
| Situational | |||
| Third-down conversion | 42%#8 | 42%#23 | DAL |
| Red-zone touchdown rateDrives reaching the 20 that end in a touchdown. | 58%#12 | 68%#31▲ | DAL |
| Turnovers / game / Takeaways / game | 1.24#20 | 0.53#31▼ | DAL |
| Plays / game | 65 | 63 | · |
Route-by-route data (which routes are run and how coverage plays them) is not published anywhere public — it is sold by PFF and NGS. Throw depth, direction, play-action, RPO, screens, motion and pass-rush counts above are the public pieces of the same picture.
Washington Commanders · key players
- Marcus Mariota QBQuestionable13.9/22.7 · 170 yds/g · 10-7 TD-INT · −0.02 EPA/db
- Listed starter this week: Jayden Daniels — line above is Marcus Mariota's.
- Deebo Samuel Sr. WR6.2 tgt/g · 25% share · 45 yds/g · 5 TD · aDOT 5.3
- Zach Ertz TE5.5 tgt/g · 19% share · 39 yds/g · 4 TD · aDOT 9.1
- Terry McLaurin WR6.0 tgt/g · 23% share · 58 yds/g · 3 TD · aDOT 14.0
- Jaylin Lane WR2.5 tgt/g · 10% share · 17 yds/g · 0 TD · aDOT 13.3
- Jacory Croskey-Merritt RBQuestionable10.3 car/g · 47 yds/g · 4.6 ypc · 8 TD · −0.04 EPA/car
- Chris Rodriguez Jr. RB9.3 car/g · 42 yds/g · 4.5 ypc · 6 TD · +0.06 EPA/car
2025 season, per game. Targets ranked by volume, rushers by carries.nflverse weekly player stats. Target share is the player's average share of his team's targets in the games he played. A player who changed teams carries his own games from last season.
Dallas Cowboys · key players
- Dak Prescott QB23.8/35.3 · 268 yds/g · 30-10 TD-INT · +0.18 EPA/db
- George Pickens WR8.1 tgt/g · 23% share · 84 yds/g · 9 TD · aDOT 11.3
- CeeDee Lamb WR9.0 tgt/g · 25% share · 83 yds/g · 3 TD · aDOT 12.0
- Jake Ferguson TE6.0 tgt/g · 16% share · 35 yds/g · 8 TD · aDOT 4.7
- Ryan Flournoy WR4.3 tgt/g · 13% share · 37 yds/g · 4 TD · aDOT 8.3
- Javonte Williams RB15.8 car/g · 75 yds/g · 4.8 ypc · 11 TD · +0.05 EPA/car
- Malik Davis RB5.8 car/g · 28 yds/g · 4.8 ypc · 2 TD · +0.02 EPA/car
2025 season, per game. Targets ranked by volume, rushers by carries.nflverse weekly player stats. Target share is the player's average share of his team's targets in the games he played. A player who changed teams carries his own games from last season.
Season
| WSH | DAL | |
|---|---|---|
| 5-12 | Record | 7-9-1 |
| 20.9 | Points for / game | 27.7 |
| 26.5 | Points against / game | 30.1 |
| 2-6 / 3-6 | Home / road | 4-3 / 3-6 |
| 7-10 | Against the spread | 7-10 |
| 10-7 | Over / underOvers–unders in this team's games. A tendency, not a lean. | 13-4 |
| W L L W L | Last 5 | L W L L L |
Season numbers are from 2025 until this season has games.
Power ratings
| WSH | DAL | |
|---|---|---|
| 1461 | Elo | 1447 |
| #23 of 32 | Rank | #24 of 32 |
| −0.8 | Offense ratingPoints per game above league average scored, opponent-adjusted. | +1.9 |
| −2.3 | Defense ratingPoints per game below league average allowed, opponent-adjusted. Positive is good. | −5.2 |
| — | Strength of scheduleMean Elo of opponents faced this season. | — |
Elo drives the winner call. Offense/defense ratings drive the total.
Efficiency
| WSH | DAL | |
|---|---|---|
| -0.001 | EPA / play (offense)Expected points added per offensive play, nflverse. The single best efficiency number. | 0.094 |
| 0.137 | EPA / play allowed | 0.166 |
| 196 | Pass yards / game | 279 |
| 135 | Rush yards / game | 126 |
| 257 | Pass yards allowed | 266 |
| 142 | Rush yards allowed | 125 |
| 1.1 / 1.1 | Turnovers / takeaways | 1.2 / 1.0 |
| 2.2 / 2.5 | Sacks allowed / made | 1.8 / 2.0 |
| 16.6 | First downs / game | 20.5 |
| 54 | Penalty yards / game | 67 |
| −0.4 · #34 of 52 | QB EPA / gameThe listed starter's passing + rushing EPA per game, ranked among starters with three or more games. | +6.2 · #8 of 52 |
Efficiency is from the 2025 season until this one has games. Source: nflverse.
Head to head
| 2025 | DAL 30 at WSH 23 | DAL · WSH covered |
| 2025 | WSH 22 at DAL 44 | DAL · DAL covered |
| 2024 | WSH 23 at DAL 19 | WSH · DAL covered |
| 2024 | DAL 34 at WSH 26 | DAL · DAL covered |
| 2023 | DAL 38 at WSH 10 | DAL · DAL covered |
| 2023 | WSH 10 at DAL 45 | DAL · DAL covered |
| 2022 | DAL 6 at WSH 26 | WSH · WSH covered |
| 2022 | WSH 10 at DAL 25 | DAL · DAL covered |
How the margin was built
- Rating gap
- WSH +0.7 pts
- Home field
- DAL +— pts
- Rest
- Even
- Quarterback
- Usual starters — no adjustment
- Weather / roof
- — pts on the total
- Model margin
- —
- Model total
- —
Market
- Spread
- DAL -4.5
- Total
- 51.5
- Moneyline
- WSH +170 · DAL -205
| Book | DAL spread | Total | WSH ML | DAL ML |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| betus | -4.5 (-115) | 51.5 (-110/-110) | — | — |
| draftkings | -4.5 (-115) | 51.5 (-110/-110) | — | +170 |
| williamhill_us | -3 (+100) | 52.5 (-110/-110) | — | +160 |
Washington Commanders injuries
- Deatrich Wise Jr. DEOut
- Curtis Jacobs LBInjured Reserve
- Jacoby Jones WRInjured Reserve
- Jeremy McNichols RBInjured Reserve
- Jer'Zhan Newton DTInjured Reserve
- Laremy Tunsil OTInjured Reserve
- Quentin Moore TEInjured Reserve
- Trey Amos CBInjured Reserve
- Ben Sinnott TEQuestionable
- Jacory Croskey-Merritt RBQuestionable
- Marcus Mariota QBQuestionable
- Rachaad White RBQuestionable
From ESPN's report. The model prices the quarterback; other absences are context it does not yet price.
Dallas Cowboys injuries
- Devin Moore CBInjured Reserve
- DJ Rogers TEInjured Reserve
- Kelvin Gilliam Jr. DTInjured Reserve
- Marist Liufau LBInjured Reserve
- Princeton Fant TEInjured Reserve
- Jonathan Bullard DTQuestionable
- Tyler Guyton OTQuestionable
From ESPN's report. The model prices the quarterback; other absences are context it does not yet price.
Informational only. Winner probabilities are backtested and calibrated; spread and total calls are tracked leans. 21+, 1-800-GAMBLER.