2004 · Week 12

Final

Bills

Buffalo

QB Drew Bledsoe

38·9

Seahawks

Seattle

QB Matt Hasselbeck

Qwest Field · outdoors · fieldturf · 41°F · wind 3mph

Closing spread

SEA -4

Total

38

Model margin

+0.8est.

SEA perspective

Push chance

2.5%est.

the line sits on a key number

Win probability

  • Seahawks
  • Bills

How each play moved the game.

Seahawks winsBills wins

Matchup

Where the edges are

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

Billsedge mapSeahawks
  • -0.073EPA / play+0.035
  • 40.7%Success rate44.4%
  • -0.012EPA / dropback+0.090
  • -0.139EPA / rush-0.040
  • 8.2%Explosive rate9.3%
  • 35.8%Third-down rate37.2%
  • 48.1%Red-zone TD rate65.2%
  • 1.71Points / drive1.81
  • 2.7%Turnover rate2.6%
  • -0.135EPA / play allowed+0.004

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 5–4 since 1999

BUF have won 2 straight. Meetings average 53.7 points. SEA are 3-6 ATS in the series.

Previous meetings
SeasonMatchupScoreWinner
2024 · W8BUF @ SEA31–10BUF
2020 · W9SEA @ BUF34–44BUF
2016 · W9BUF @ SEA25–31SEA
2012 · W15SEA @ BUF50–17SEA
2008 · W1SEA @ BUF10–34BUF
2001 · W10SEA @ BUF23–20SEA
2000 · W17BUF @ SEA42–23BUF
1999 · W7BUF @ SEA16–26SEA

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
BallStartPlaysYardsResultBUF–SEA
BUFQ1 15:001060Touchdown7–0
SEAQ1 10:38615Punt7–0
BUFQ1 7:57732Turnover7–0
SEAQ1 4:3939Punt7–0
BUFQ1 2:52862Field goal10–0
SEAQ2 13:301350Field goal10–3
BUFQ2 7:51527Turnover10–3
SEAQ2 5:18518Punt10–3
BUFQ2 2:591169Touchdown17–3
SEAQ2 0:0600End of half17–3
SEAQ3 15:0000Turnover17–3
BUFQ3 15:00517Turnover17–3
SEAQ3 12:0520Turnover17–3
BUFQ3 11:541046Touchdown24–3
SEAQ3 6:441257Turnover on downs24–3
BUFQ3 2:1735Punt24–3
SEAQ3 0:253-6Punt24–3
BUFQ4 14:17768Touchdown31–3
SEAQ4 10:38410Turnover31–3
BUFQ4 9:20420Touchdown38–3
SEAQ4 7:141072Touchdown38–9
BUFQ4 3:41628Turnover on downs38–9
SEAQ4 0:2715End of half38–9

Box score

Individual performances

Bills

Passing

PlayerC/AttYdsTDINT
Drew Bledsoe25/3727513
J.P. Losman1/11700

Rushing

PlayerCarYdsAvgTD
Willis McGahee281164.14
Lee Evans11515.00
Joe Burns7142.00
Jonathan Smith133.00

Seahawks

Passing

PlayerC/AttYdsTDINT
Matt Hasselbeck19/3818511

Rushing

PlayerCarYdsAvgTD
Shaun Alexander13393.00
Maurice Morris2105.00
Matt Hasselbeck263.00

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 +44.3%2.9%7.3%7.4%3.0%4.5%2.8%

Positive margins favour Seahawks; negative favour Bills.

Half-point at risk

2.49%

outcomes that flip if the line moves 0.5

Model home win

51.2%

Expected total

42.8est.

Model

Where the number comes from

Each component is additive, in points of expected margin.

  • Team ratings (opponent-adjusted EPA)-1.76
  • Home-field advantage+2.56
  • Quarterback adjustment0.00
  • Rest differential0.00
  • Expected margin+0.80