WEEK 2 · FINAL
THE READ
Rams run away with it, 34-13
Rams were never troubled, putting Steelers away 34-13. Darian Mensah threw for Rams — 21/31, 324 yards, 4 TD. Puka Nacua was the target for Rams — 8 catches, 174 yards, 2 TD. Total yards: Rams 488, Steelers 238.
The Wire · league beat
THE WIDER PICTURE
| Team | SRS | SOS | MARGIN | TO +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rams | +2.8 | +4.0 | -1.2 | -3 |
| Steelers | -11.7 | -1.1 | -10.5 | -5 |
SRS is how many points a side beats an
average team by once you account for who they played — beat a good
team by 3 and it counts for more than beating a bad one by 20.
SOS is how hard that schedule has been.
Full table.
Rams —
in the hunt
· 5-6
Playoff picture →
IN THE BOOTH
Ava Collins
Beat reporter
The Rams didn't just beat Pittsburgh—they dismantled them, 34-13, behind Darian Mensah's 4 touchdown passes and a defense that wouldn't let the Steelers breathe. Los Angeles got after the pocket relentlessly while Mensah had all the time he needed; that's the gap that decided it.
They only ever read the box score and this league's own numbers —
none of them has a source, and none of them can report anything that
did not happen.
Darian Mensah
Rams
21/31, 324 yards, 4 TD
Puka Nacua
Rams
8 catches, 174 yards, 2 TD
Myles Garrett
Rams
2 sacks
WHAT DECIDED IT
Total yards
Rams 488, Steelers 238
Rams
Through the air
Rams 324, Steelers 150
Rams
On the ground
Rams 164, Steelers 88
Rams
Pressure
Steelers 0 sacks, Rams 4
Rams
THE ROOM
Final. The recap is below.
THE MATCHUP SCOUT
every number below is counted from the export or read off the roster — nothing is inferred about playcalling
LEAGUE DATA
counted by Madden, and arithmetic on top of it
Pass-heavy
Pass 67% · Rush 33% · 26.2 scored, 27.4 allowed
8.2 yds/att
57.5% completions
6.7 yds/carry
325.4 yds/game
1.8 giveaways/game
3.7% sack rate
last 5: 1-4
SAPPHIRE METRICS
QB efficiency 58 · Aggressive
Balance 83
Ball security 49
Back usage 25%
QB runs 3.3/game
Most exposed: ball security -- 1.8 giveaways a game
PERSONNEL
off the roster — unit averages, best starters only
QB 77
WR 89
TE 79
RB 86
OL 82
DL 89
LB 76
DB 84
Best: Myles Garrett REDG 99
Fastest: Jeff Caldwell WR 95 SPD
8 at star dev or better
YOUR NOTEBOOK
what you wrote about them — private, and never a Sapphire statistic
Sign in as a member of this league to keep private scouting notes on your opponents.
LEAGUE DATA
counted by Madden, and arithmetic on top of it
Pass-heavy
Pass 61% · Rush 39% · 16.9 scored, 27.4 allowed
6.8 yds/att
57.9% completions
4.5 yds/carry
290.4 yds/game
1.2 giveaways/game
6.3% sack rate
last 5: 0-5
SAPPHIRE METRICS
QB efficiency 49 · Conservative
Balance 89
Ball security 66
Back usage 34%
QB runs 2.8/game
PERSONNEL
off the roster — unit averages, best starters only
QB 94
WR 84
TE 80
RB 84
OL 80
DL 86
LB 78
DB 86
Best: Matthew Stafford QB 94
Fastest: DK Metcalf WR 94 SPD
5 at star dev or better
YOUR NOTEBOOK
what you wrote about them — private, and never a Sapphire statistic
Sign in as a member of this league to keep private scouting notes on your opponents.
HOW THEY PLAY
the man, not the franchise — only weeks the record attributes to him, this season
whaat
Rams · his last 8 games
Throws it
Runs the quarterback
Pass / run69% / 31%
Points for / against26.5 — 27.0
Margin-0.5
Giveaways a game1.5
Sacks taken3.5% of dropbacks
Lead backKyren Williams · 7.0/g
Top targetCeeDee Lamb · 23%
QB carries3.1 a game
Counted from the weeks each man actually held his team — so a franchise that changed hands is not credited to whoever has it now. Nothing above is a playcall: the export does not carry those, and neither does this.
MATCHUP ADVANTAGES
unit averages against each other — inside three points is a push
Rams receivers vs Steelers secondary
89 v 86
RAMS
Steelers receivers vs Rams secondary
84 v 84
EVEN
Rams line vs Steelers front
82 v 86
STEELERS
Steelers line vs Rams front
80 v 89
RAMS
Rams backs vs Steelers run defence
86 v 83
RAMS
Steelers backs vs Rams run defence
84 v 84
EVEN
Rams passer vs Steelers secondary
77 v 86
STEELERS
Steelers passer vs Rams secondary
94 v 84
STEELERS
TOP PERFORMERS
🎬
The Game Recapthis game as an episode -- the score, the stars, the numbers that decided it -- and a video you can post ›
BOX SCORE
RAMS
STEELERS
RAMS
STEELERS
RAMS
STEELERS
RAMS
STEELERS
RAMS
STEELERS
RAMS
| PLAYER | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | SCK | LNG | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darian Mensah QB | 21/31 | 324 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 88 | 141.6 |
STEELERS
| PLAYER | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | SCK | LNG | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew Stafford QB | 18/28 | 150 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 18 | 101.7 |
RAMS
| PLAYER | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | BTK | YAC | LNG | FUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blake Corum HB | 12 | 88 | 7.3 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 17 | 0 |
| Kyren Williams HB | 14 | 65 | 4.6 | 0 | 3 | 23 | 30 | 0 |
| Darian Mensah QB | 2 | 7 | 3.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Max Klare TE | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Bryant Wesco WR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| CeeDee Lamb WR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Puka Nacua WR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
STEELERS
| PLAYER | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | BTK | YAC | LNG | FUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kewan Lacy HB | 10 | 39 | 3.9 | 0 | 3 | 27 | 22 | 0 |
| Rico Dowdle HB | 7 | 30 | 4.3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 0 |
| Jaylen Warren HB | 3 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| Matthew Stafford QB | 3 | 7 | 2.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Pat Freiermuth TE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
RAMS
| PLAYER | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | YAC | DRP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Puka Nacua WR | 8 | 174 | 21.8 | 2 | 95 | 0 | 88 |
| CeeDee Lamb WR | 7 | 94 | 13.4 | 1 | 25 | 0 | 27 |
| Bryant Wesco WR | 2 | 84 | 42 | 1 | 69 | 1 | 70 |
| Terrance Ferguson TE | 3 | 28 | 9.3 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 18 |
| Max Klare TE | 2 | 13 | 6.5 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 11 |
| Jeff Caldwell WR | 1 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Blake Corum HB | 4 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 5 |
| Kyren Williams HB | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 5 |
STEELERS
| PLAYER | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | YAC | DRP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DK Metcalf WR | 7 | 92 | 13.1 | 1 | 19 | 1 | 18 |
| Michael Pittman WR | 4 | 32 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 12 |
| Kewan Lacy HB | 2 | 11 | 5.5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| Darnell Washington TE | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| Josh Downs WR | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| Pat Freiermuth TE | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | -1 | 1 | 6 |
| Rico Dowdle HB | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
RAMS
| PLAYER | TKL | SCK | INT | PD | FF | CMP ALW | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Myles Garrett REDG | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DJ McKinney CB | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Nate Landman MIKE | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Byron Young LEDG | 4 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Faletau Satuala SS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Kamren Kinchens FS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jaylen Watson CB | 3 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Kobie Turner DT | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Trent McDuffie CB | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Jamal Hill WILL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Emmanuel Forbes Jr CB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Shaun Dolac MIKE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jaheim Oatis DT | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Xavier Nwankpa FS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Chase Young LEDG | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
STEELERS
| PLAYER | TKL | SCK | INT | PD | FF | CMP ALW | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick Queen MIKE | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Alex Highsmith REDG | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joey Porter CB | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Jaquan Brisker SS | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Payton Wilson WILL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jamel Dean CB | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Carson Bruener MIKE | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| T.J. Watt LEDG | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Jalen Ramsey FS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Derrick Harmon DT | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DeShon Elliott SS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Asante Samuel Jr CB | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nick Herbig REDG | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ahmad Moten Sr. DT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
RAMS
| PLAYER | FG | XP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harrison Mevis K | 2/2 | 4/4 | 55 |
STEELERS
nothing recorded
RECENT FORM
Rams
W
30–27 vs Cowboys
WK 1
Steelers
L
7–30 vs Seahawks
WK 1
TEAM STATS
| Rams | Steelers | |
|---|---|---|
| 488 | TOTAL YARDS | 238 |
| 324 | PASSING YARDS | 150 |
| 164 | RUSHING YARDS | 88 |
| 0 | SACKS ALLOWED | 4 |
| 4 | SACKS MADE | 0 |
| 0 | GIVEAWAYS | 0 |
| 0 | TAKEAWAYS | 0 |
Bold is the side that won that line. Giveaways come off a team's own offensive rows and takeaways off its own defensive rows — two separate payloads, so they need not tie out against each other.