Probetrics — Sports Analytics
NFL slate
Arizona Cardinals
3-14 last yr · #29 Elo
at
Sun, Nov 22, 1:00 PM ET
GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium
Kansas City Chiefs
6-11 last yr · #17 Elo
Spread Total Moneyline

The read

On rating alone Kansas City Chiefs are 4.6 points better (#17 vs #29 of 32), and KC add 0.0 for home field. The clearest mismatch is the rushing game: KC rushing ranks #15, ARI defends it at #25; the other way ARI #29 into KC's #9.

Who has the edge

Rating
Clear edge
KC
KC rated 4.6 points better on Elo (#17 vs #29).
Home & rest
Even
KC gets 0.0 points for home field.
Quarterback
not priced
Usual starters on both sides — Patrick Mahomes and Jacoby Brissett — no adjustment.
Passing game
Clear edge
KC
KC passing ranks #13, ARI defends it at #26; the other way ARI #19 into KC's #15.
context · not in the margin
Rushing game
Clear edge
KC
KC rushing ranks #15, ARI defends it at #25; the other way ARI #29 into KC's #9.
context · not in the margin
Third down & red zone
Slight edge
KC
ARI third-down conversion ranks #9, KC defends it at #28; the other way KC #22 into ARI's #29.
context · not in the margin
Form (last 5)
Clear edge
KC
KC −7.8 per game over the last five, ARI −19.0.
context · not in the margin
Market
not priced
No line yet.
context · not in the margin

The margin, factor by factor

Arizona CardinalsKansas City Chiefs
1396 Elo · #29
RatingThe Elo gap in points — the model's core read on who is better, before the situational pieces below.
KC +4.6 pts
1497 Elo · #17
road
Home field
not priced
home
Rest
even
Brissett · +0.2 EPA/g
QuarterbackStarter's value against what the team usually gets at quarterback. Only moves when someone other than the usual starter plays.
even
Mahomes · +7.0 EPA/g
−3.8 pts vs KC 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.
KC +4.6 pts
+0.8 pts vs ARI D
L L L L L · −19.0
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.
KC +5.6 pts
L L L L L · −7.8
5 out/IR
InjuriesCount of players listed Out or on IR. Not priced beyond the quarterback.
not priced
4 out/IR
MarketThe consensus spread, read as points. Compare with the model margin above it.
not priced

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

  • KC defense (#4 explosive rush rate allowed) against a ARI offense ranked #29
  • KC defense (#9 epa / rush allowed) against a ARI offense ranked #29
  • ARI third-down conversion (#9) against a KC defense ranked #28 at stopping it
  • KC pass success rate (#13) against a ARI defense ranked #31 at stopping it
  • KC defense (#7 yards / rush allowed) against a ARI offense ranked #24

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.

Arizona Cardinals offense vs Kansas City Chiefs defense

ranks of 32
ARI offKC defEdge
Identity
Pass rate / Pass rate facedDropbacks as a share of plays. On the defense column: what opponents do against them.70%60%·
Early-down pass rateFirst and second down only — the cleanest read on run-heavy vs pass-heavy.67%54%·
Neutral-script pass rateEarly downs with win probability between 20% and 80%: intent, not catch-up mode.63%54%·
Pass rate over expectedHow much more (or less) a team passes than the down, distance, score and clock predict. nflverse xpass.+4.0%−0.3%·
Seconds per playTime of possession divided by plays — lower is faster.28.331.6·
No-huddle12%11%·
Shotgun72%67%·
Play-action rate / Play-action facedShare of dropbacks with a play fake (FTN charting).25%21%·
RPO rate / RPOs faced3%6%·
Screen rate / Screens faced8%11%·
Pre-snap motion / Motion faced44%59%·
Blitzes faced / Blitz rateFive or more pass rushers (FTN). On the offense column: how often opponents blitz them.21%34%·
Pass rushers faced / Avg pass rushers4.234.45·
Passing
EPA / dropbackThe single best pass-efficiency number; on the defense column, what they allow.+0.02#19+0.03#15·
Pass success rate45%#1946%#19·
Explosive pass rateDropbacks gaining 20+ yards.6.8%#267.7%#11KC
Yards / dropback5.7#266.2#17KC
Depth of target (aDOT)Average air yards per attempt — how far downfield they throw, or get thrown at.7.26.7·
Deep-ball rate (20+ air)10%10%·
Short throws (≤5 air)58%60%·
Completion % over expectednflverse CPOE, per attempt. Defense column: what they allow.+1.0#13+2.3#26ARI
YAC / completion4.9#215.5#25·
Sack rate / Sack rate generatedSacks per dropback. Lower is better for an offense; the defense column shows sacks they create.7.9%#246.0%#20·
Scramble rate5.1%6.5%·
Interception rate / Interceptions forced1.7%#72.0%#19ARI
Throws left / middle / rightDirection shares are shown in full on the row.L 37 · M 21 · R 42L 45 · M 13 · R 43·
Rushing
EPA / rush−0.11#29−0.09#9KC
Rush success rate38%#2640%#11KC
Explosive rush rateRushes of 10+ yards.7.7%#297.6%#4KC
Yards / rush4.0#243.9#7KC
Runs left / middle / rightL 34 · M 31 · R 36L 40 · M 24 · R 36·
Situational
Third-down conversion42%#944%#28ARI
Red-zone touchdown rateDrives reaching the 20 that end in a touchdown.54%#2453%#7KC
Turnovers / game / Takeaways / game1.18#170.76#27ARI
Plays / game6357·

Kansas City Chiefs offense vs Arizona Cardinals defense

ranks of 32
KC offARI defEdge
Identity
Pass rate / Pass rate facedDropbacks as a share of plays. On the defense column: what opponents do against them.66%59%·
Early-down pass rateFirst and second down only — the cleanest read on run-heavy vs pass-heavy.62%55%·
Neutral-script pass rateEarly downs with win probability between 20% and 80%: intent, not catch-up mode.61%57%·
Pass rate over expectedHow much more (or less) a team passes than the down, distance, score and clock predict. nflverse xpass.+3.9%−1.3%·
Seconds per playTime of possession divided by plays — lower is faster.29.129.2·
No-huddle2%8%·
Shotgun81%61%·
Play-action rate / Play-action facedShare of dropbacks with a play fake (FTN charting).15%22%·
RPO rate / RPOs faced14%4%·
Screen rate / Screens faced9%5%·
Pre-snap motion / Motion faced50%57%·
Blitzes faced / Blitz rateFive or more pass rushers (FTN). On the offense column: how often opponents blitz them.20%28%·
Pass rushers faced / Avg pass rushers4.154.31·
Passing
EPA / dropbackThe single best pass-efficiency number; on the defense column, what they allow.+0.08#13+0.17#26KC
Pass success rate46%#1352%#31KC
Explosive pass rateDropbacks gaining 20+ yards.7.7%#168.7%#22KC
Yards / dropback6.0#206.6#24·
Depth of target (aDOT)Average air yards per attempt — how far downfield they throw, or get thrown at.7.87.8·
Deep-ball rate (20+ air)13%10%·
Short throws (≤5 air)57%52%·
Completion % over expectednflverse CPOE, per attempt. Defense column: what they allow.−0.9#21+1.0#19·
YAC / completion5.8#35.0#16KC
Sack rate / Sack rate generatedSacks per dropback. Lower is better for an offense; the defense column shows sacks they create.6.9%#204.8%#28KC
Scramble rate8.5%3.9%·
Interception rate / Interceptions forced2.1%#161.8%#22KC
Throws left / middle / rightDirection shares are shown in full on the row.L 41 · M 17 · R 42L 39 · M 20 · R 41·
Rushing
EPA / rush−0.05#15−0.02#25KC
Rush success rate41%#1844%#26KC
Explosive rush rateRushes of 10+ yards.7.2%#3112.8%#29·
Yards / rush3.8#264.7#26·
Runs left / middle / rightL 38 · M 24 · R 38L 34 · M 34 · R 33·
Situational
Third-down conversion38%#2245%#29KC
Red-zone touchdown rateDrives reaching the 20 that end in a touchdown.58%#1364%#27KC
Turnovers / game / Takeaways / game0.88#51.12#18KC
Plays / game6162·

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.

Arizona Cardinals · key players

  • Jacoby Brissett QB22.5/34.6 · 240 yds/g · 23-8 TD-INT · −0.01 EPA/db
  • Trey McBride TE9.9 tgt/g · 28% share · 73 yds/g · 11 TD · aDOT 6.7
  • Michael Wilson WR7.4 tgt/g · 19% share · 59 yds/g · 7 TD · aDOT 11.9
  • Marvin Harrison Jr. WR6.1 tgt/g · 18% share · 51 yds/g · 4 TD · aDOT 13.0
  • Elijah Higgins TE2.5 tgt/g · 8% share · 20 yds/g · 0 TD · aDOT 4.0
  • Michael Carter RB7.1 car/g · 26 yds/g · 3.6 ypc · 1 TD · −0.07 EPA/car
  • Bam Knight RB8.2 car/g · 27 yds/g · 3.3 ypc · 4 TD · −0.20 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.

Kansas City Chiefs · key players

  • Patrick Mahomes QBQuestionable22.5/35.9 · 256 yds/g · 22-11 TD-INT · +0.13 EPA/db
  • Travis Kelce TE6.4 tgt/g · 20% share · 50 yds/g · 5 TD · aDOT 6.8
  • Rashee Rice WR9.8 tgt/g · 29% share · 71 yds/g · 5 TD · aDOT 4.3
  • Marquise Brown WR4.6 tgt/g · 14% share · 37 yds/g · 5 TD · aDOT 11.3
  • Xavier Worthy WR5.2 tgt/g · 16% share · 38 yds/g · 1 TD · aDOT 12.9
  • Kareem Hunt RB9.6 car/g · 36 yds/g · 3.7 ypc · 8 TD · +0.06 EPA/car
  • Isiah Pacheco RB9.1 car/g · 36 yds/g · 3.9 ypc · 1 TD · −0.12 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

ARIKC
3-14Record6-11
20.9Points for / game21.3
28.7Points against / game19.3
1-7 / 2-7Home / road5-4 / 1-7
6-11Against the spread6-11
10-7Over / underOvers–unders in this team's games. A tendency, not a lean.4-13
L L L L LLast 5L L L L L

Season numbers are from 2025 until this season has games.

Power ratings

ARIKC
1396Elo1497
#29 of 32Rank#17 of 32
−2.0Offense ratingPoints per game above league average scored, opponent-adjusted.−3.7
−4.4Defense ratingPoints per game below league average allowed, opponent-adjusted. Positive is good.+1.8
Strength of scheduleMean Elo of opponents faced this season.

Elo drives the winner call. Offense/defense ratings drive the total.

Efficiency

ARIKC
-0.016EPA / play (offense)Expected points added per offensive play, nflverse. The single best efficiency number.0.031
0.082EPA / play allowed-0.027
256Pass yards / game232
93Rush yards / game107
243Pass yards allowed205
127Rush yards allowed106
0.9 / 1.4Turnovers / takeaways0.8 / 1.1
3.5 / 1.8Sacks allowed / made2.8 / 1.9
18.1First downs / game18.3
50Penalty yards / game56
+0.2 · #29 of 52QB EPA / gameThe listed starter's passing + rushing EPA per game, ranked among starters with three or more games.+7.0 · #4 of 52

Efficiency is from the 2025 season until this one has games. Source: nflverse.

Head to head

2022KC 44 at ARI 21KC · KC covered
2018ARI 14 at KC 26KC · ARI covered
2014KC 14 at ARI 17ARI · ARI covered

How the margin was built

Rating gap
KC +4.6 pts
Home field
KC +— pts
Rest
Even
Quarterback
Usual starters — no adjustment
Weather / roof
— pts on the total
Model margin
Model total

Market

Spread
Total
Moneyline

Per-book prices appear once the multi-book feed has this game (about a week out).

Arizona Cardinals injuries

  • Tip Reiman TEOut
  • Chase Bisontis GInjured Reserve
  • James Conner RBInjured Reserve
  • Trey Benson RBInjured Reserve
  • Zachary Carter DTInjured Reserve
  • Blake Gillikin PQuestionable
  • Dadrion Taylor-Demerson SQuestionable
  • Jeremiyah Love RBQuestionable
  • Will Johnson CBQuestionable

From ESPN's report. The model prices the quarterback; other absences are context it does not yet price.

Kansas City Chiefs injuries

  • Omarr Norman-Lott DTOut
  • Jeff Caldwell WRInjured Reserve
  • Jimmy Holiday WRInjured Reserve
  • Matt Waletzko OTInjured Reserve
  • Alohi Gilman SQuestionable
  • Ashton Gillotte DEQuestionable
  • Drue Tranquill LBQuestionable
  • Josh Simmons OTQuestionable
  • Patrick Mahomes QBQuestionable
  • R Mason Thomas DEQuestionable
  • Trey Smith GQuestionable

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.