Touchdown Theory

Week 2

New Orleans Saints at Baltimore Ravens

Sun Sep 20, 1:00 PM ET (Sun Sep 20, 1:00 PM local)

The market

Line
BAL -8.5
Total
46.5
Moneyline
NO +320 BAL -410

These are the market's numbers, recorded as the feed saw them. They are shown so the model can be compared against something, not as a recommendation.

How the line moved

RecordedLineTotalNOBAL
Mon Aug 31, 4:46 PM ETBAL -7.546.5+280-355
Wed Sep 9, 5:19 PM ETBAL -7.546.5+280-355
Fri Sep 11, 3:11 PM ETBAL -7.546.5+295-375
Sun Sep 13, 11:25 PM ETBAL -8.548.5+310-395
Mon Sep 14, 11:25 AM ETBAL -8.547.5+285-360
Mon Sep 14, 10:31 PM ETBAL -8.546.5+285-360
Tue Sep 15, 10:00 AM ETBAL -8.546.5+320-410current

Each row is a snapshot the feed recorded, oldest first. Superseded rows are kept, because a line that moves and moves back is only visible if both are shown.

Environment

Venue
M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, MD
Roof
open
Elevation
33 ft
Surface
grass
Temperature
83F
Wind
10 mph SW
Chance of precipitation
7%
Humidity
63%
Forecast
Partly Sunny

Issued 124 hours before kickoff. A forecast issued further out has had less time to settle.

Stadium WP did not list elevation; Baltimore city page gives a range from sea level (harbor) to 480 ft. Used 33 ft as harbor-adjacent approximation (stadium is near the harbor).

The projection

Not published yet. When it is, this section carries the projected score, spread, total and win probability for this game, the fair odds the probability translates to, and the projected play counts and per-team box lines behind them.

How the number is built

The model projects each side, then adjusts for the conditions the game is played in. Both steps are shown so the adjustment can be seen rather than taken on trust. These add up exactly as printed; if they ever did not, this section would not appear.

BAL23.1
23.1Before environment+(+0.0)Environment=23.1
NO19.5
19.5Before environment+(+0.0)Environment=19.5
Total42.6
42.6Before environment+(+0.0)Environment, BAL+(+0.0)Environment, NO=42.6
Wind
not applied
Cold
not applied
Indoors
not applied
Elevation
not applied

Wind and cold are recorded as an effect on passing efficiency, not as points, and the conversion between the two is not published, so they are shown in their own units rather than added into the chain above. Indoors and elevation are recorded in points.

Two earlier links, per-play efficiency and the matchup adjustment, are computed and discarded rather than stored, so they cannot be shown yet.

live-20260915T030122Z, generated Mon Sep 14, 11:01 PM ET

Where the player numbers come from

The model projects each team's line first, then divides it among players. Both are shown, with the team figure beside the sum of its parts, so the division can be checked rather than trusted. A row appears only when the parts add up to the whole.

Baltimore Ravensprojected 35.1 pass plays, 27.1 run plays
Team lineProjectedSum of players
Pass attempts31.131.1
Pass yards209.4209.4
Receiving yards209.4209.4
Pass touchdowns1.641.64
Receiving touchdowns1.641.64
Carries28.328.3
Rush yards146.0146.0
Rush touchdowns1.031.03
PlayerPosPassRushRecTgtShare
Lamar JacksonQB209.427.1100%
Derrick HenryRB81.116.82.48%
Zay FlowersWR2.383.68.340%
Justice HillRB25.916.32.68%
Mark AndrewsTE2.232.15.415%
Rashod BatemanWR0.215.82.88%
Rasheen AliRB6.55.50.93%
Ja'Kobi LaneWR0.311.21.55%
Devontez WalkerWR9.60.65%
Chris MooreWR0.37.90.94%
Matthew HibnerTE0.07.11.23%
Durham SmytheTE0.03.40.92%
New Orleans Saintsprojected 38.9 pass plays, 22.8 run plays
Team lineProjectedSum of players
Pass attempts35.435.4
Pass yards229.5229.5
Receiving yards229.5229.5
Pass touchdowns0.770.77
Receiving touchdowns0.770.77
Carries24.724.7
Rush yards90.690.6
Rush touchdowns0.720.72
PlayerPosPassRushRecTgtShare
Tyler ShoughQB229.59.5100%
Chris OlaveWR71.19.231%
Travis Etienne Jr.RB43.719.23.18%
Juwan JohnsonTE0.044.24.919%
Alvin KamaraRB19.813.72.86%
Devaughn VeleWR0.119.72.69%
CJ DonaldsonRB9.04.60.92%
Barion BrownWR0.313.11.76%
Bryce LanceWR0.313.11.76%
Noah FantTE0.013.31.86%
Kendre MillerRB7.93.00.51%
Kevin Austin Jr.WR8.11.34%
Oscar DelpTE0.06.51.03%

Share is a player's portion of the team's projected passing yards, counting a quarterback by what he throws and everyone else by what he catches. Targets are shown but not totalled: a throwaway, a batted ball or a sack is a pass attempt with no target, which is about four a game per team, so targets legitimately do not sum to attempts.

live-20260915T030122Z

Injury report

This is the week 1 report. This game is in week 2, and the league has not filed a report for it yet.

New Orleans Saints5 listed
Alvin KamaraRBQuestionableKneeFull Participation in Practice
Audric EstiméRBOutThighDid Not Participate In Practice
Cameron JordanLBOutHamstringLimited Participation in Practice
Davon GodchauxDTNot injury related - resting playerFull Participation in Practice
Oscar DelpTEOutHamstringDid Not Participate In Practice
Baltimore Ravens5 listed
Calais CampbellDENot injury related - resting playerDid Not Participate In Practice
Devontez WalkerWRQuestionableGroinLimited Participation in Practice
Nnamdi MadubuikeDTOutNeckLimited Participation in Practice
Teddye BuchananLBOutKneeLimited Participation in Practice
Zay FlowersWRHamstringFull Participation in Practice