2004 · Week 8

Final

Cardinals

Arizona

QB Josh McCown

14·38

Bills

Buffalo

QB Drew Bledsoe

Ralph Wilson Stadium · outdoors · astroplay · 55°F · wind 21mph

Closing spread

BUF -4.5

Total

33.5

Model margin

+4.1est.

BUF perspective

Push chance

None

half-point line — cannot push

Win probability

  • Bills
  • Cardinals

How each play moved the game.

Bills winsCardinals wins

Matchup

Where the edges are

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

Cardinalsedge mapBills
  • -0.097EPA / play-0.073
  • 38.1%Success rate40.7%
  • -0.074EPA / dropback-0.012
  • -0.128EPA / rush-0.139
  • 7.0%Explosive rate8.2%
  • 34.7%Third-down rate35.8%
  • 58.0%Red-zone TD rate48.1%
  • 1.19Points / drive1.71
  • 2.5%Turnover rate2.7%
  • -0.081EPA / play allowed-0.135

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

BUF lead 5–2 since 1999

Meetings average 53.1 points. BUF are 5-2 ATS in the series.

Previous meetings
SeasonMatchupScoreWinner
2024 · W1ARI @ BUF28–34BUF
2020 · W10BUF @ ARI30–32ARI
2016 · W3ARI @ BUF18–33BUF
2012 · W6BUF @ ARI19–16BUF
2008 · W5BUF @ ARI17–41ARI
1999 · W15BUF @ ARI31–21BUF

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
BallStartPlaysYardsResultARI–BUF
ARIQ1 15:0047Punt0–0
BUFQ1 12:48624Field goal0–3
ARIQ1 9:32520Punt0–3
BUFQ1 6:59450Touchdown0–10
ARIQ1 4:3136Punt0–10
BUFQ1 2:3230Punt0–10
ARIQ1 1:0349Punt0–10
BUFQ2 14:15316Punt0–10
ARIQ2 12:471148Touchdown7–16
BUFQ2 8:2500Touchdown7–17
ARIQ2 8:1236Punt7–17
BUFQ2 6:0631Punt7–17
ARIQ2 4:37517Punt7–17
BUFQ2 2:0333Punt7–17
ARIQ2 1:3955Missed field goal7–17
BUFQ3 15:0049Punt7–17
ARIQ3 13:3631Punt7–17
BUFQ3 12:34615Punt7–17
ARIQ3 9:33727Turnover on downs7–17
BUFQ3 5:5442Punt7–17
ARIQ3 3:223-6Punt7–17
BUFQ3 1:49414Touchdown7–24
ARIQ4 14:5530Punt7–24
BUFQ4 13:40421Touchdown7–31
ARIQ4 12:0541Punt7–31
BUFQ4 10:08730Touchdown7–38
ARIQ4 6:571072Touchdown14–38
BUFQ4 3:54427End of half14–38

Box score

Individual performances

Cardinals

Passing

PlayerC/AttYdsTDINT
Josh McCown9/2410110

Rushing

PlayerCarYdsAvgTD
Emmitt Smith22642.90
Troy Hambrick13534.10
Obafemi Ayanbadejo144.01
Larry Fitzgerald144.00
Josh McCown133.00

Bills

Passing

PlayerC/AttYdsTDINT
Drew Bledsoe8/178120

Rushing

PlayerCarYdsAvgTD
Willis McGahee301023.42
Joe Burns4276.80
Travis Henry122.00
Drew Bledsoe100.00
Shane Matthews2-3-1.50

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 +4.53.7%6.7%7.5%3.2%4.9%3.2%2.9%

Positive margins favour Bills; negative favour Cardinals.

Half-point at risk

1.97%

outcomes that flip if the line moves 0.5

Model home win

59.9%

Expected total

40.9est.

Model

Where the number comes from

Each component is additive, in points of expected margin.

  • Team ratings (opponent-adjusted EPA)+1.49
  • Home-field advantage+2.56
  • Quarterback adjustment0.00
  • Rest differential0.00
  • Expected margin+4.06