WEEK 4 · FINAL
THE READ
Jaylen Rivers
The insider
Packers edge Vikings by 2
Green Bay held off Minnesota 37-35 in a game where J.J. McCarthy threw for 351 yards and 5 touchdowns but also 3 interceptions, while Jordan Love managed just 226 yards on a night when the Packers' ground game—116 rushing yards—did the heavy lifting. Minnesota threw the ball 35 times and ran it 8, a desperation split that left them with only 25 rushing yards for the afternoon. Both teams sit at 2-2, and what looked like a shootout on paper—72 combined points—turned into a 2-point margin decided by giveaways: Green Bay with 2, Minnesota with 3.
Jaylen Rivers
The insider
THE WIDER PICTURE
| Team | SRS | SOS | MARGIN | TO +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vikings | +0.6 | -9.4 | +10.0 | +1 |
| Packers | +8.2 | +5.2 | +3.0 | +7 |
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.
IN THE BOOTH
Jordan Hayes
The armchair coach
Minnesota threw it 35 times and got 5 touchdown passes from J.J. McCarthy, but it still lost by 2—and that tells you everything: the Vikings ran for 25 yards and had to beat Green Bay through the air alone, which is a losing formula no matter how well McCarthy played. They need to find a running game or they'll keep leaving games on the field.
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.
J.J. McCarthy
Vikings
18/35, 351 yards, 5 TD, 3 INT
Jordan Love
Packers
13/22, 226 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Jeremiah Smith
Vikings
8 catches, 137 yards, 2 TD
THE STORY SO FAR
WHAT DECIDED IT
Through the air
Vikings 351, Packers 226
Vikings
On the ground
Packers 116, Vikings 25
Packers
Total yards
Vikings 376, Packers 342
Vikings
Giveaways
Packers 2, Vikings 3
Packers
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 62% · Rush 38% · 28.4 scored, 18.4 allowed
9.0 yds/att
59.1% completions
6.2 yds/carry
327.0 yds/game
0.8 giveaways/game
3.1% sack rate
last 5: 3-2
SAPPHIRE METRICS
QB efficiency 72 · Efficient
Balance 88
Ball security 78
Back usage 30%
QB runs 3.2/game
PERSONNEL
off the roster — unit averages, best starters only
QB 82
WR 90
TE 83
RB 80
OL 83
DL 84
LB 79
DB 83
Best: Justin Jefferson WR 96
Fastest: Jeremiah Smith WR 94 SPD
9 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 64% · Rush 36% · 34.2 scored, 31.2 allowed
9.8 yds/att
56.6% completions
5.3 yds/carry
361.5 yds/game
1.8 giveaways/game
1.7% sack rate
last 4: 2-2
SAPPHIRE METRICS
QB efficiency 67 · Aggressive
Balance 79
Ball security 51
Back usage 33%
QB runs 1.5/game
Most exposed: ball security -- 1.8 giveaways a game
PERSONNEL
off the roster — unit averages, best starters only
QB 91
WR 84
TE 87
RB 84
OL 78
DL 83
LB 79
DB 84
Best: Micah Parsons LEDG 99
Fastest: Christian Watson WR 96 SPD
13 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
DrillArts
Packers · his last 4 games
Throws it
One back
Pass / run64% / 36%
Points for / against34.2 — 31.2
Margin+3.0
Giveaways a game1.8
Sacks taken1.7% of dropbacks
Lead backJosh Jacobs · 13.0/g
Top targetMatthew Golden · 29%
QB carries1.0 a game
SAPPHIRESPORTZ.GG
Vikings · his last 5 games
Throws it
Protects it
Pass / run62% / 38%
Points for / against28.4 — 18.4
Margin+10.0
Giveaways a game0.8
Sacks taken3.1% of dropbacks
Lead backDemond Claiborne · 8.0/g
Top targetJeremiah Smith · 32%
QB carries2.6 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.
THE SERIES
SAPPHIRESPORTZ.GG against DrillArts — the men, not the teams
DrillArts leads it 1-0.
DrillArts won the last one.
1 meeting
avg 35.0 — 37.0
biggest: 2 pts to DrillArts
S2 · week 4
SAPPHIRESPORTZ.GG 35 — 37 DrillArts
DRILLARTS
Only meetings Sapphire can attribute to both men are counted — a Madden export never says who owned a team last season, so the series starts where the record does.
MATCHUP ADVANTAGES
unit averages against each other — inside three points is a push
Vikings receivers vs Packers secondary
90 v 84
VIKINGS
Packers receivers vs Vikings secondary
84 v 83
EVEN
Vikings line vs Packers front
83 v 83
EVEN
Packers line vs Vikings front
78 v 84
VIKINGS
Vikings backs vs Packers run defence
80 v 82
EVEN
Packers backs vs Vikings run defence
84 v 82
EVEN
Vikings passer vs Packers secondary
82 v 84
EVEN
Packers passer vs Vikings secondary
91 v 83
PACKERS
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
VIKINGS
PACKERS
VIKINGS
PACKERS
VIKINGS
PACKERS
VIKINGS
PACKERS
VIKINGS
PACKERS
VIKINGS
| PLAYER | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | SCK | LNG | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J.J. McCarthy QB | 18/35 | 351 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 65 | 90.5 |
PACKERS
| PLAYER | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | SCK | LNG | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Love QB | 13/22 | 226 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 105.4 |
VIKINGS
| PLAYER | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | BTK | YAC | LNG | FUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J.J. McCarthy QB | 3 | 28 | 9.3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 0 |
| Aaron Jones Sr HB | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Justin Jefferson WR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Demond Claiborne HB | 4 | -4 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
PACKERS
| PLAYER | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | BTK | YAC | LNG | FUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Jacobs HB | 13 | 111 | 8.5 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 38 | 0 |
| MarShawn Lloyd HB | 3 | 8 | 2.7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 0 |
| Jayden Reed WR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Luke Lachey TE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tucker Kraft TE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jordan Love QB | 1 | -1 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nick Marsh WR | 1 | -2 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
VIKINGS
| PLAYER | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | YAC | DRP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeremiah Smith WR | 8 | 137 | 17.1 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 34 |
| Tai Felton WR | 3 | 122 | 40.7 | 1 | 59 | 0 | 65 |
| T.J. Hockenson TE | 2 | 37 | 18.5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 28 |
| Justin Jefferson WR | 4 | 35 | 8.8 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 16 |
| Beau Sparks WR | 1 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
PACKERS
| PLAYER | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | YAC | DRP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Watson WR | 3 | 89 | 29.7 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 45 |
| Nick Marsh WR | 3 | 49 | 16.3 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 40 |
| Matthew Golden WR | 1 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 35 |
| Tucker Kraft TE | 3 | 31 | 10.3 | 1 | 22 | 1 | 15 |
| MarShawn Lloyd HB | 2 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 8 |
| Josh Jacobs HB | 1 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 |
VIKINGS
| PLAYER | TKL | SCK | INT | PD | FF | CMP ALW | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malik Mustapha FS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Blake Cashman MIKE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Isaiah Rodgers Sr CB | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jacob Thomas SS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Theo Jackson FS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jake Golday MIKE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jalen Redmond DT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eric Wilson WILL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ivan Pace Jr WILL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| James Pierre CB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Benjamin Morrison CB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Josh Metellus SS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jakobe Thomas SS | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Byron Murphy Jr CB | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
PACKERS
| PLAYER | TKL | SCK | INT | PD | FF | CMP ALW | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evan Williams FS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Xavier Mckinney SS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Benjamin St-Juste CB | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris McClellan DT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ty'Ron Hopper WILL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Micah Parsons LEDG | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Devonte Wyatt DT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brandon Cisse CB | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Keisean Nixon CB | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Javon Bullard SS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Isaiah McDuffie SAM | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
VIKINGS
nothing recorded
PACKERS
| PLAYER | FG | XP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trey Smack K | 3/3 | 4/4 | 54 |
RECENT FORM
Vikings
L
13–38 vs Bears
WK 3
W
38–0 vs Lions
WK 2
W
28–3 vs Commanders
WK 1
Packers
L
24–35 vs Raiders
WK 3
L
24–27 vs Panthers
WK 2
W
52–28 vs Cardinals
WK 1
TEAM STATS
| Vikings | Packers | |
|---|---|---|
| 376 | TOTAL YARDS | 342 |
| 351 | PASSING YARDS | 226 |
| 25 | RUSHING YARDS | 116 |
| 0 | SACKS ALLOWED | 0 |
| 0 | SACKS MADE | 0 |
| 3 | GIVEAWAYS | 2 |
| 2 | TAKEAWAYS | 3 |
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.
ALL-TIME HEAD-TO-HEAD
0
VIKINGS
—
1
PACKERS