∅ Empty Set Football
Week 4 · 2026 regular season

Dallas Cowboys at Houston Texans

Sun, Oct 4, 10:00 AM PT

Final Dallas Cowboys won
How the forecasts did
ESF
(pre-game win probability)
DAL 35%
65% HOU

Wrong: DAL won

Market
(implied probability, spread, moneyline at close)
DAL (42%, +3, +128)
(58%, −3, −148) HOU

Wrong: DAL won

Market probability: moneylines with the bookmaker's margin (vig) removed, the median of 9 US books; spread: the most common line. Lines as of Oct 4, 9:32 AM PT (last pull before kickoff). Betting lines

After the game

CAP win pct, before and after

Each team's CAP win pct before this game and after it. League average is 0.50; higher is better.

DAL · won
0.46
0.36 before → 0.46 after (+0.11).
HOU · lost
0.49
0.59 before → 0.49 after (−0.10).
This game

How each offense played

Box score and CAP yards per attempt for each offense. Higher is better for an offense; a CAP value above zero means the offense beat what the situation and this defense would predict.

OffensePlaysBox score
yds/att
CAP
yds/att
CAP
−2 to +2
DALPass457.4+0.25
DALRush253.0+0.34
HOUPass3111.2+3.43
HOURush193.3−1.99

Sacks (raw counts):DAL sacked 3 times · HOU sacked 2 times. Sacks are counted, not CAP-modeled.

Box score yards per attempt count yards as an official box score does: rushing includes scrambles and kneel-downs; passing is gross yards per pass attempt, sacks excluded. CAP yards per attempt measure each play against what the down, distance, field position and this specific defense would predict; above zero means the offense beat that expectation.

Before the game

Unit matchups · entering week 4

Where each side has the edge

Each offense against the defense it faces, in CAP yards per attempt. Offense: higher is better. Defense (yards allowed): lower is better.

Pass: DAL offense vs HOU defense
+0.4310th
box score 7.0 · 19th
Even
−0.389th
box score 8.1 allowed · 27th
Rush: DAL offense vs HOU defense
+0.1110th
box score 4.1 · 17th
Edge
HOU
−0.892nd
box score 3.5 allowed · 4th
Pass: HOU offense vs DAL defense
−0.4924th
box score 6.6 · 23rd
Edge
HOU
+1.0531st
box score 7.4 allowed · 21st
Rush: HOU offense vs DAL defense
−0.7229th
box score 3.6 · 25th
Edge
DAL
+0.3024th
box score 5.0 allowed · 29th

CAP yards per attempt: yards per play relative to what the down, distance, field position and the specific opponent would predict; offense positive is good, defense (allowed) negative is good. Box score: yards per attempt as an official box score counts them, entering week 4.

Week 4

Other games this week

Home team's chance to win before kickoff. Higher means the home team is more likely to win.

Dots: ESF model and market (median of US books, vig removed) home win probability.

Betting lines

How to read this page

CAP win pct. A fading average of game scores with a half-life of 7 of the team's own games. A win scores 1 plus the opponent's win pct; a loss scores the opponent's win pct minus 1. Last season carries in. League average is 0.50; higher is better.

CAP yards per attempt. Yards per play relative to what the down, distance, field position and the specific opponent would predict. Offense: higher is better. Defense (yards allowed): lower is better.

Box score yards per attempt. Yards divided by attempts, counted the way an official box score counts them: rushing includes scrambles and kneel-downs; passing is gross yards per pass attempt, sacks excluded.

ESF win probability. A logistic regression on both teams' pre-game CAP win pct, with an intercept for home field.

Market. The median of the US books' win probabilities after removing the bookmaker's margin (the vig), from The Odds API. The spread is the most common line across books.