Touchdown Theory

Week 4

Denver Broncos at San Francisco 49ers

Sun Oct 4, 4:25 PM ET (Sun Oct 4, 1:25 PM local)

The market

Line
SF -3
Total
47.5
Moneyline
DEN +124 SF -148

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

RecordedLineTotalDENSF
Mon Aug 31, 4:46 PM ETSF -2.546.5+114-135
Fri Sep 11, 3:11 PM ETnot posted
Sun Sep 13, 11:25 PM ETnot posted
Wed Sep 23, 12:11 AM ETSF -4.545.5+170-205
Thu Sep 24, 7:00 AM ETSF -4.545.5+170-205
Fri Sep 25, 7:00 AM ETSF -4.545.5+180-218
Fri Sep 25, 12:00 PM ETSF -345.5+142-170
Sat Sep 26, 7:00 AM ETSF -345.5+145-175
Tue Sep 29, 10:00 AM ETSF -346.5+130-155
Wed Sep 30, 7:00 AM ETSF -347.5+124-148current

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 Superseded rows are kept, because a line that moves and moves back is only visible if both are shown.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
Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, CA
Roof
open
Elevation
72 ft
Surface
grass
Temperature
86F
Wind
1 mph NW
Chance of precipitation
0%
Humidity
35%
Forecast
Mostly Sunny

Issued 80 hours before kickoff. A forecast issued further out has had less time to settle.

Stadium WP did not list elevation; using Santa Clara city elevation (72 ft).

The projection

DEN at SFSF 60% to win
Sun Oct 4, 4:25 PM ET
Market line
SF -3
Market total
47.5
Projected spread
SF -3.5
Projected total
47
Market oddsDEN +124 SF -148
Fair oddsDEN +153 SF -153

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.

SF25.3
25.3Before environment+(+0.0)Environment=25.3
DEN21.8
21.8Before environment+(+0.0)Environment=21.8
Total47.0
47.0Before environment+(+0.0)Environment, SF+(+0.0)Environment, DEN=47.0
Wind
DEN 0.00, SF 0.00 EPA on passing
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-20261002T023447Z, generated Thu Oct 1, 10:35 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.

San Francisco 49ersprojected 38.6 pass plays, 23.6 run plays
Team lineProjectedSum of players
Pass attempts35.235.2
Pass yards239.5239.5
Receiving yards239.5239.5
Pass touchdowns1.821.82
Receiving touchdowns1.821.82
Carries25.325.3
Rush yards108.2108.2
Rush touchdowns0.790.79
PlayerPosPassRushRecTgtShare
Brock PurdyQB239.519.8100%
Christian McCaffreyRB44.446.76.620%
George KittleTE64.26.927%
Mike EvansWR0.055.77.123%
Deebo SamuelWR5.034.74.715%
Kaelon BlackRB26.94.71.02%
Jordan WatkinsWR16.61.67%
Jordan JamesRB12.01.60.21%
Jacob CowingWR0.16.31.03%
Luke FarrellTE0.05.91.22%
KhaDarel HodgeWR3.10.61%
Brayden WillisTE0.1
Denver Broncosprojected 38.5 pass plays, 23.2 run plays
Team lineProjectedSum of players
Pass attempts35.735.7
Pass yards209.0209.0
Receiving yards209.0209.0
Pass touchdowns1.241.24
Receiving touchdowns1.241.24
Carries23.623.6
Rush yards101.8101.8
Rush touchdowns0.860.86
PlayerPosPassRushRecTgtShare
Bo NixQB209.012.0100%
J.K. DobbinsRB64.32.41.01%
Jaylen WaddleWR2.657.37.627%
RJ HarveyRB16.926.34.513%
Courtland SuttonWR0.037.65.418%
Pat BryantWR0.823.53.111%
Evan EngramTE0.021.03.410%
Troy FranklinWR1.012.81.66%
Tyler BadieRB3.28.71.74%
Adam TrautmanTE0.07.71.24%
Nate AdkinsTE0.47.11.63%
Marvin Mims Jr.WR0.64.70.72%

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-20261002T023447Z

Injury report

Denver Broncos5 listed
Dondrea TillmanLBHamstringDid Not Participate In Practice
J.K. DobbinsRBHipFull Participation in Practice
Jaylen WaddleWRFootFull Participation in Practice
Marvin Mims Jr.WRFootFull Participation in Practice
Zach AllenDENot injury related - resting playerLimited Participation in Practice
San Francisco 49ers10 listed
Christian McCaffreyRBNot injury related - resting playerDid Not Participate In Practice
Dre GreenlawLBQuadricepDid Not Participate In Practice
James Thompson Jr.DTAnkleDid Not Participate In Practice
Keion WhiteDEHamstringDid Not Participate In Practice
KhaDarel HodgeWRKneeDid Not Participate In Practice
Mike EvansWRRibsDid Not Participate In Practice
Mykel WilliamsDEKneeLimited Participation in Practice
Nick BosaDEKnee, CalfDid Not Participate In Practice
Romello HeightDEHandLimited Participation in Practice
Trent WilliamsTNot injury related - resting player, NeckDid Not Participate In Practice