2002 · Week 13

Final

Panthers

Carolina

QB Rodney Peete

13·6

Browns

Cleveland

QB Tim Couch

Cleveland Browns Stadium · outdoors · grass · 25°F · wind 12mph

Closing spread

CLE -7.5

Total

34.5

Model margin

+4.6est.

CLE perspective

Push chance

None

half-point line — cannot push

Win probability

  • Browns
  • Panthers

How each play moved the game.

Browns winsPanthers wins

Matchup

Where the edges are

Season-long league percentiles for both sides, mirrored. The saturated side of a lopsided row holds the edge.

Panthersedge mapBrowns
  • -0.177EPA / play+0.007
  • 35.3%Success rate42.2%
  • -0.144EPA / dropback+0.050
  • -0.219EPA / rush-0.064
  • 9.1%Explosive rate7.9%
  • 29.3%Third-down rate40.7%
  • 49.5%Red-zone TD rate60.6%
  • 0.82Points / drive1.59
  • 3.8%Turnover rate2.8%
  • -0.112EPA / play allowed-0.025

Bar length is league percentile, already oriented so longer is better. The saturated side of a lopsided row holds the edge; rows within ~12 points are washed as even.

The rivalry

All square 4–4 since 1999

CLE have won 3 straight. Meetings average 38.9 points. CLE are 4-4 ATS in the series.

Previous meetings
SeasonMatchupScoreWinner
2026 · W3CAR @ CLE18–21CLE
2022 · W1CLE @ CAR26–24CLE
2018 · W14CAR @ CLE20–26CLE
2014 · W16CLE @ CAR13–17CAR
2010 · W12CAR @ CLE23–24CLE
2006 · W5CLE @ CAR12–20CAR
1999 · W11CAR @ CLE31–17CAR

Possession by possession

How it unfolded

Every drive: who had the ball, how far it went, how it ended, and the score as it settled.

Drive-by-drive log
BallStartPlaysYardsResultCAR–CLE
CARQ1 15:0033Punt0–0
CLEQ1 13:431158Field goal0–3
CARQ1 6:52770Missed field goal0–3
CLEQ1 2:1710Turnover0–3
CARQ1 2:05327Touchdown7–3
CLEQ1 0:091039Missed field goal7–3
CARQ2 10:4037Punt7–3
CARQ2 9:361047Missed field goal7–3
CLEQ2 3:55643Punt7–3
CARQ2 0:5726End of half7–3
CLEQ3 15:00624Turnover7–3
CARQ3 12:4837Punt7–3
CLEQ3 11:41526Punt7–3
CARQ3 9:1131Punt7–3
CLEQ3 7:3530Punt7–3
CARQ3 6:31311Turnover7–3
CLEQ3 5:05314Punt7–3
CARQ3 3:5510Turnover7–3
CLEQ3 3:39625Field goal7–6
CARQ3 0:071045Field goal10–6
CLEQ4 9:13313Turnover10–6
CARQ4 7:42713Field goal13–6
CLEQ4 2:53416Turnover13–6
CARQ4 1:4500End of half13–6

Box score

Individual performances

Panthers

Passing

PlayerC/AttYdsTDINT
Rodney Peete8/178911
Dee Brown0/1001
Randy Fasani0/1000

Rushing

PlayerCarYdsAvgTD
Dee Brown271224.50
Randy Fasani461.50
Rodney Peete3-3-1.00

Receiving

PlayerRecTgtYdsTD
Muhsin Muhammad411490
Wesley Walls13241
Kris Mangum1190
Dee Brown1240
Steve Smith1130

Browns

Passing

PlayerC/AttYdsTDINT
Tim Couch12/2713003

Rushing

PlayerCarYdsAvgTD
William Green24943.90
Dennis Northcutt13434.00
Jamel White177.00
James Jackson252.50

Where this game is likely to land

  • Model
  • Smooth (normal)
  • Betting line

Probability of each final margin. Football scoring clusters — the spikes at 3 and 7 are real, and a smooth model misses them.

line +7.53.6%6.5%7.5%3.2%4.9%3.2%2.9%

Positive margins favour Browns; negative favour Panthers.

Half-point at risk

2.18%

outcomes that flip if the line moves 0.5

Model home win

61.3%

Expected total

41.8est.

Model

Where the number comes from

Each component is additive, in points of expected margin.

  • Team ratings (opponent-adjusted EPA)+2.02
  • Home-field advantage+2.56
  • Quarterback adjustment0.00
  • Rest differential0.00
  • Expected margin+4.58