Probetrics — Sports Analytics
NFL slate
Washington Commanders
5-12 last yr · #23 Elo
at
Sun, Nov 29, 4:25 PM ET
State Farm Stadium
Arizona Cardinals
3-14 last yr · #29 Elo
Spread Total Moneyline

The read

On rating alone Washington Commanders are 3.0 points better (#23 vs #29 of 32), and ARI add 0.0 for home field. The clearest mismatch is the rushing game: WSH rushing ranks #11, ARI defends it at #25; the other way ARI #29 into WSH's #28.

Who has the edge

Rating
Slight edge
WSH
WSH rated 3.0 points better on Elo (#29 vs #23).
Home & rest
Even
ARI gets 0.0 points for home field.
Quarterback
not priced
Usual starters on both sides — Jacoby Brissett and Jayden Daniels — no adjustment.
Passing game
Even
ARI passing ranks #19, WSH defends it at #30; the other way WSH #17 into ARI's #26.
context · not in the margin
Rushing game
Clear edge
WSH
WSH rushing ranks #11, ARI defends it at #25; the other way ARI #29 into WSH's #28.
context · not in the margin
Third down & red zone
Even
ARI third-down conversion ranks #9, WSH defends it at #23; the other way WSH #21 into ARI's #29.
context · not in the margin
Form (last 5)
Clear edge
WSH
ARI −19.0 per game over the last five, WSH −6.8.
context · not in the margin
Market
not priced
No line yet.
context · not in the margin

The margin, factor by factor

Washington CommandersArizona Cardinals
1461 Elo · #23
RatingThe Elo gap in points — the model's core read on who is better, before the situational pieces below.
WSH +3.0 pts
1396 Elo · #29
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
Brissett · +0.2 EPA/g
+3.6 pts vs ARI 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 +3.3 pts
+0.3 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 +6.1 pts
L L L L L · −19.0
8 out/IR
InjuriesCount of players listed Out or on IR. Not priced beyond the quarterback.
not priced
5 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

  • WSH red-zone touchdown rate (#4) against a ARI defense ranked #27 at stopping it
  • WSH pass success rate (#9) against a ARI defense ranked #31 at stopping it
  • WSH explosive rush rate (#8) against a ARI defense ranked #29 at stopping it
  • ARI interception rate (#7) against a WSH defense ranked #28 at stopping it
  • WSH yards / rush (#9) against a ARI defense ranked #26 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 Arizona Cardinals defense

ranks of 32
WSH offARI defEdge
Identity
Pass rate / Pass rate facedDropbacks as a share of plays. On the defense column: what opponents do against them.58%59%·
Early-down pass rateFirst and second down only — the cleanest read on run-heavy vs pass-heavy.52%55%·
Neutral-script pass rateEarly downs with win probability between 20% and 80%: intent, not catch-up mode.50%57%·
Pass rate over expectedHow much more (or less) a team passes than the down, distance, score and clock predict. nflverse xpass.−4.3%−1.3%·
Seconds per playTime of possession divided by plays — lower is faster.29.929.2·
No-huddle62%8%·
Shotgun88%61%·
Play-action rate / Play-action facedShare of dropbacks with a play fake (FTN charting).26%22%·
RPO rate / RPOs faced8%4%·
Screen rate / Screens faced8%5%·
Pre-snap motion / Motion faced55%57%·
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 rushers4.384.31·
Passing
EPA / dropbackThe single best pass-efficiency number; on the defense column, what they allow.+0.04#17+0.17#26WSH
Pass success rate48%#952%#31WSH
Explosive pass rateDropbacks gaining 20+ yards.7.4%#188.7%#22·
Yards / dropback6.4#136.6#24WSH
Depth of target (aDOT)Average air yards per attempt — how far downfield they throw, or get thrown at.8.67.8·
Deep-ball rate (20+ air)13%10%·
Short throws (≤5 air)46%52%·
Completion % over expectednflverse CPOE, per attempt. Defense column: what they allow.+0.7#16+1.0#19·
YAC / completion5.0#205.0#16·
Sack rate / Sack rate generatedSacks per dropback. Lower is better for an offense; the defense column shows sacks they create.6.6%#184.8%#28WSH
Scramble rate11.3%3.9%·
Interception rate / Interceptions forced2.6%#231.8%#22·
Throws left / middle / rightDirection shares are shown in full on the row.L 38 · M 17 · R 44L 39 · M 20 · R 41·
Rushing
EPA / rush−0.04#11−0.02#25WSH
Rush success rate43%#1144%#26WSH
Explosive rush rateRushes of 10+ yards.11.3%#812.8%#29WSH
Yards / rush4.5#94.7#26WSH
Runs left / middle / rightL 41 · M 25 · R 34L 34 · M 34 · R 33·
Situational
Third-down conversion38%#2145%#29WSH
Red-zone touchdown rateDrives reaching the 20 that end in a touchdown.65%#464%#27WSH
Turnovers / game / Takeaways / game1.24#191.12#18·
Plays / game5762·

Arizona Cardinals offense vs Washington Commanders defense

ranks of 32
ARI offWSH defEdge
Identity
Pass rate / Pass rate facedDropbacks as a share of plays. On the defense column: what opponents do against them.70%58%·
Early-down pass rateFirst and second down only — the cleanest read on run-heavy vs pass-heavy.67%52%·
Neutral-script pass rateEarly downs with win probability between 20% and 80%: intent, not catch-up mode.63%55%·
Pass rate over expectedHow much more (or less) a team passes than the down, distance, score and clock predict. nflverse xpass.+4.0%−1.1%·
Seconds per playTime of possession divided by plays — lower is faster.28.330.3·
No-huddle12%10%·
Shotgun72%67%·
Play-action rate / Play-action facedShare of dropbacks with a play fake (FTN charting).25%27%·
RPO rate / RPOs faced3%7%·
Screen rate / Screens faced8%7%·
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%27%·
Pass rushers faced / Avg pass rushers4.234.28·
Passing
EPA / dropbackThe single best pass-efficiency number; on the defense column, what they allow.+0.02#19+0.22#30ARI
Pass success rate45%#1950%#28ARI
Explosive pass rateDropbacks gaining 20+ yards.6.8%#268.9%#25·
Yards / dropback5.7#267.2#31·
Depth of target (aDOT)Average air yards per attempt — how far downfield they throw, or get thrown at.7.27.9·
Deep-ball rate (20+ air)10%10%·
Short throws (≤5 air)58%53%·
Completion % over expectednflverse CPOE, per attempt. Defense column: what they allow.+1.0#13+2.2#25ARI
YAC / completion4.9#216.4#31ARI
Sack rate / Sack rate generatedSacks per dropback. Lower is better for an offense; the defense column shows sacks they create.7.9%#246.8%#12WSH
Scramble rate5.1%5.7%·
Interception rate / Interceptions forced1.7%#71.5%#28ARI
Throws left / middle / rightDirection shares are shown in full on the row.L 37 · M 21 · R 42L 39 · M 17 · R 43·
Rushing
EPA / rush−0.11#29+0.03#28·
Rush success rate38%#2644%#29·
Explosive rush rateRushes of 10+ yards.7.7%#2911.9%#26·
Yards / rush4.0#244.7#28·
Runs left / middle / rightL 34 · M 31 · R 36L 37 · M 26 · R 37·
Situational
Third-down conversion42%#942%#23ARI
Red-zone touchdown rateDrives reaching the 20 that end in a touchdown.54%#2468%#31ARI
Turnovers / game / Takeaways / game1.18#170.53#31ARI
Plays / game6363·

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.

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.

Season

WSHARI
5-12Record3-14
20.9Points for / game20.9
26.5Points against / game28.7
2-6 / 3-6Home / road1-7 / 2-7
7-10Against the spread6-11
10-7Over / underOvers–unders in this team's games. A tendency, not a lean.10-7
W L L W LLast 5L L L L L

Season numbers are from 2025 until this season has games.

Power ratings

WSHARI
1461Elo1396
#23 of 32Rank#29 of 32
−0.8Offense ratingPoints per game above league average scored, opponent-adjusted.−2.0
−2.3Defense ratingPoints per game below league average allowed, opponent-adjusted. Positive is good.−4.4
Strength of scheduleMean Elo of opponents faced this season.

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

Efficiency

WSHARI
-0.001EPA / play (offense)Expected points added per offensive play, nflverse. The single best efficiency number.-0.016
0.137EPA / play allowed0.082
196Pass yards / game256
135Rush yards / game93
257Pass yards allowed243
142Rush yards allowed127
1.1 / 1.1Turnovers / takeaways0.9 / 1.4
2.2 / 2.5Sacks allowed / made3.5 / 1.8
16.6First downs / game18.1
54Penalty yards / game50
−0.4 · #34 of 52QB EPA / gameThe listed starter's passing + rushing EPA per game, ranked among starters with three or more games.+0.2 · #29 of 52

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

Head to head

2024WSH 42 at ARI 14WSH · WSH covered
2023ARI 16 at WSH 20WSH · ARI covered
2020WSH 15 at ARI 30ARI · ARI covered
2018WSH 24 at ARI 6WSH · WSH covered
2017ARI 15 at WSH 20WSH · WSH covered
2016WSH 23 at ARI 31ARI · ARI covered
2014WSH 20 at ARI 30ARI · ARI covered

How the margin was built

Rating gap
WSH +3.0 pts
Home field
ARI +— 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).

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.

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.

Informational only. Winner probabilities are backtested and calibrated; spread and total calls are tracked leans. 21+, 1-800-GAMBLER.