Two Minute Drill — Sunday, October 25, 2026

The daily drive from Sunday, October 25, 2026. This really happened — the situation below is the exact endgame those teams faced. Call it yourself and see if you beat the result. Skip to what really happened ↓

Week 3 · Sep 27, 202649ers vs CardinalsHistorical win prob: 80%PROTECT THE LEAD

Call it for the 49ers — finish the job.

49ers ball, up 2 — every first down is a dagger. At their own 35, 2:51 on the clock.

DefenseHeavy box (7)Blitz

24 calls · real NFL endgames · graded by win probability · free, no account

What really happened

Final: 49ers 36, Cardinals 30. 49ers won 36-30 — the drive scored.

49ers ball, up 2 — every first down is a dagger. At their own 35, 2:51 on the clock.

nflverse's historical win-probability estimate for this exact situation was 79.9% for 49ers. Our model starts at 76.8%. The two numbers are estimates, not verdicts — the gap between them is a reminder that endgame win probability is hard to pin down.

The real drive, snap by snap

  1. (2:51) 13-B.Purdy pass short left to 23-C.McCaffrey to SF 46 for 11 yards (1-Ma.Wilson; 50-J.Gibbens).
  2. (2:07) (Shotgun) 13-B.Purdy pass incomplete short middle to 44-K.Juszczyk (25-Z.Collins).
  3. (2:03) (Shotgun) 23-C.McCaffrey up the middle to ARI 42 for 12 yards (31-W.Williams).
  4. (1:56) 23-C.McCaffrey left end to ARI 45 for -3 yards (50-J.Gibbens).
  5. (1:52) (Shotgun) 13-B.Purdy scrambles left end for 45 yards, TOUCHDOWN NULLIFIED by Penalty. PENALTY on SF-85-G.Kittle, Offensive Holding, 10 yards, enforced at ARI 10.
  6. (1:41) 23-C.McCaffrey right guard to ARI 20 for no gain (5-B.Browning; 97-W.Nolen).
  7. (1:36) 13-B.Purdy pass deep right to 85-G.Kittle for 20 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

The opening call, by win probability

At the first snap, the strongest opening call in our model was Quick slant (+0.52 pts), and the weakest was Flea flicker (-10.68 pts). A positive number means the call improved the offense's expected win probability; a negative number means it cost them.

Opening callExpected WP change
Quick slant+0.52 pts
Quick out-0.32 pts
Quick hook-0.44 pts
QB keep-0.55 pts
Pull RPO-0.58 pts
Screen pass-0.65 pts
Outside run-0.76 pts
Take a knee-0.90 pts
Quick RPO-1.04 pts
Curl route-1.38 pts
Inside run-1.79 pts
QB sneak-2.13 pts
Off-tackle run-2.44 pts
Play action-3.47 pts
End-around-4.60 pts
Deep comebacker-5.98 pts
Deep corner-6.57 pts
Receiver pass-7.20 pts
Deep post-8.36 pts
Flea flicker-10.68 pts

This is our own model estimate, not the real coach's grade and not a claim about what the “correct” call was. Football decisions depend on the opponent, personnel and game plan — the model only measures how a call changes win probability in this situation.

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