Touchdown Theory

Week 2

Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots

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

The market

Line
NE -5.5
Total
42.5
Moneyline
PIT +190 NE -230

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

RecordedLineTotalPITNE
Mon Aug 31, 4:46 PM ETNE -4.543.5+180-218
Wed Sep 9, 5:19 PM ETNE -4.543.5+180-218
Fri Sep 11, 3:11 PM ETNE -4.543.5+170-205
Sun Sep 13, 11:25 PM ETNE -5.543.5+200-245
Mon Sep 14, 11:25 AM ETNE -5.541.5+195-238
Tue Sep 15, 10:00 AM ETNE -5.542.5+190-230current

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 Superseded rows are kept, because a line that moves and moves back is only visible if both are shown.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
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA
Roof
open
Elevation
285 ft
Surface
fieldturf
Temperature
68F
Wind
9 mph SW
Chance of precipitation
49%
Humidity
81%
Forecast
Chance Rain Showers

Issued 130 hours before kickoff. A forecast issued further out has had less time to settle.

Capacity 64628 (2023+ per WP). Stadium WP did not list elevation; using Foxborough city elevation (285 ft).

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.

NE25.9
25.9Before environment+(+0.0)Environment=25.9
PIT19.4
19.4Before environment+(+0.0)Environment=19.4
Total45.3
45.3Before environment+(+0.0)Environment, NE+(+0.0)Environment, PIT=45.3
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.

New England Patriotsprojected 38.4 pass plays, 23.9 run plays
Team lineProjectedSum of players
Pass attempts33.733.7
Pass yards263.8263.8
Receiving yards263.8263.8
Pass touchdowns1.851.85
Receiving touchdowns1.851.85
Carries26.626.6
Rush yards124.5124.5
Rush touchdowns0.760.76
PlayerPosPassRushRecTgtShare
Drake MayeQB263.821.6100%
Rhamondre StevensonRB50.731.13.312%
Romeo DoubsWR0.278.08.430%
Hunter HenryTE0.046.65.218%
TreVeyon HendersonRB29.312.52.25%
DeMario DouglasWR0.828.02.911%
Mack HollinsWR0.121.52.28%
Lan LarisonRB11.65.00.92%
Efton Chism IIIWR12.90.55%
Corey KinerRB10.02.70.51%
Eli RaridonTE0.010.91.74%
Kyle WilliamsWR0.17.50.93%
Tanner ArkinTE0.06.81.03%
CJ DippreTE0.20.00%
Pittsburgh Steelersprojected 37.2 pass plays, 23.1 run plays
Team lineProjectedSum of players
Pass attempts34.834.8
Pass yards189.2189.2
Receiving yards189.2189.2
Pass touchdowns1.311.31
Receiving touchdowns1.311.31
Carries23.523.5
Rush yards96.496.4
Rush touchdowns0.610.61
PlayerPosPassRushRecTgtShare
Aaron RodgersQB189.25.3100%
Jaylen WarrenRB46.818.43.110%
DK MetcalfWR1.054.17.929%
Rico DowdleRB24.312.62.77%
Darnell WashingtonTE1.030.94.616%
Michael Pittman Jr.WR0.225.84.614%
Pat FreiermuthTE0.720.02.811%
Eli HeidenreichRB8.23.60.92%
Lew NicholsRB8.23.60.92%
Germie BernardWR0.510.01.65%
Roman WilsonWR5.50.93%
Ben SkowronekWR3.70.42%
Travis HomerRB0.70.20%
Robert TonyanTE0.20.20%

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.

Pittsburgh Steelers1 listed
Joey Porter Jr.CBQuestionableBackLimited Participation in Practice
New England Patriots3 listed
Ben BrownCOutKneeDid Not Participate In Practice
Christian BarmoreDTKneeFull Participation in Practice
TreVeyon HendersonRBOutAnkleDid Not Participate In Practice