WEEK 1 · FINAL
THE READ
Devon Walker
Beat reporter
92 points between Steelers and Raiders
Pittsburgh beat Las Vegas 49-43 in a shootout where both teams abandoned the run game entirely and lived through the air. Fernando Mendoza threw for 476 yards and 6 touchdowns for the Raiders, but Will Howard and DK Metcalf were enough for the Steelers, with Howard completing 20 of 36 for 336 yards and 5 scores while Metcalf caught 9 for 199 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Steelers outgained Las Vegas 489 to 473 and held the edge in total yards despite both offenses throwing on 90-plus percent of plays. Mendoza's output was wasted by a Raiders rushing attack that went minus-3 yards.
Devon Walker
Beat reporter
THE WIDER PICTURE
IN THE BOOTH
Ava Collins
Beat reporter
Pittsburgh's passing game was unstoppable—DK Metcalf alone accounted for 199 yards and 3 scores, and the Steelers scored at will to pull away. Mendoza put on a show for Las Vegas with 476 yards and 6 touchdowns, but Pittsburgh's precision on the outside was the difference in a 49-43 shootout where both teams abandoned the run game entirely.
Jordan Hayes
The armchair coach
· replying
Will Howard put up 5 touchdowns in his first game, but Pittsburgh's defense only needed to generate 2 sacks while Las Vegas got 5—that's the real gap between a team that won by 6 and one that should've won.
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.
Fernando Mendoza
Raiders
28/43, 476 yards, 6 TD, 1 INT
Will Howard
Steelers
20/36, 336 yards, 5 TD
DK Metcalf
Steelers
9 catches, 199 yards, 3 TD
THE STORY SO FAR
WHAT DECIDED IT
Total yards
Steelers 489, Raiders 473
Steelers
On the ground
Steelers 13, Raiders -3
Steelers
Pressure
Raiders 5 sacks, Steelers 2
Raiders
Giveaways
Raiders 1, Steelers 1
Steelers
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 96% · Rush 4% · 49.0 scored, 43.0 allowed
10.8 yds/att
61.4% completions
6.5 yds/carry
489.0 yds/game
1.0 giveaways/game
10.2% sack rate
last 1: 1-0
SAPPHIRE METRICS
QB efficiency 78 · Efficient
Balance 13
Ball security 72
Back usage 2%
QB runs 1.0/game
Most exposed: pressure -- sacked on 10.2% of dropbacks
PERSONNEL
off the roster — unit averages, best starters only
QB 86
WR 83
TE 79
RB 79
OL 81
DL 82
LB 73
DB 84
Best: Jalen Ramsey FS 89
Fastest: Raysean Fulton WR 95 SPD
6 at star dev or better
Out:
Darnell Washington TE 77 · 1wk · Russell Middleton MIKE 71 · 1wk · Gabe Rubio DT 68 · 1wk
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 90% · Rush 10% · 43.0 scored, 49.0 allowed
11.1 yds/att
67.4% completions
-0.6 yds/carry
473.0 yds/game
1.0 giveaways/game
4.4% sack rate
last 1: 0-1
SAPPHIRE METRICS
QB efficiency 82 · Efficient
Balance 46
Ball security 72
Back usage 6%
QB runs 2.0/game
Most exposed: the ground game -- -0.6 yards a carry
PERSONNEL
off the roster — unit averages, best starters only
QB 87
WR 78
TE 96
RB 76
OL 82
DL 82
LB 81
DB 81
Best: Maxx Crosby LEDG 97
Fastest: Dont'e Thornton Jr WR 96 SPD
4 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
Ryan
Raiders · his last 1 game
Ryan has 1 game on the record so far — not enough to call it a tendency.
Jocto
Steelers · his last 1 game
Jocto has 1 game on the record so far — not enough to call it a tendency.
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
Jocto against Ryan — the men, not the teams
Jocto leads it 1-0.
Jocto won the last one.
1 meeting
avg 49.0 — 43.0
biggest: 6 pts to Jocto
S2 · week 1
Jocto 49 — 43 Ryan
JOCTO
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
Steelers receivers vs Raiders secondary
83 v 81
EVEN
Raiders receivers vs Steelers secondary
78 v 84
STEELERS
Steelers line vs Raiders front
81 v 82
EVEN
Raiders line vs Steelers front
82 v 82
EVEN
Steelers backs vs Raiders run defence
79 v 82
RAIDERS
Raiders backs vs Steelers run defence
76 v 79
STEELERS
Steelers passer vs Raiders secondary
86 v 81
STEELERS
Raiders passer vs Steelers secondary
87 v 84
RAIDERS
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
STEELERS
RAIDERS
STEELERS
RAIDERS
STEELERS
RAIDERS
STEELERS
RAIDERS
STEELERS
RAIDERS
STEELERS
| PLAYER | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | SCK | LNG | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Will Howard QB | 20/36 | 336 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 65 | 126.8 |
| Drew Allar QB | 6/8 | 140 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 57 | 156.2 |
RAIDERS
| PLAYER | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | SCK | LNG | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fernando Mendoza QB | 28/43 | 476 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 80 | 132.3 |
STEELERS
| PLAYER | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | BTK | YAC | LNG | FUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nathan Little HB | 1 | 11 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0 |
| Will Howard QB | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Raysean Fulton WR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DK Metcalf WR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
RAIDERS
| PLAYER | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | BTK | YAC | LNG | FUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fernando Mendoza QB | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Mike Washington Jr. HB | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Dont'e Thornton Jr WR | 1 | -7 | -7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
STEELERS
| PLAYER | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | YAC | DRP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DK Metcalf WR | 9 | 199 | 22.1 | 3 | 52 | 0 | 65 |
| Germie Bernard WR | 5 | 73 | 14.6 | 2 | 19 | 0 | 29 |
| Pat Freiermuth TE | 1 | 57 | 57 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 57 |
| Nathan Little HB | 4 | 50 | 12.5 | 0 | 41 | 0 | 20 |
| Darnell Washington TE | 2 | 39 | 19.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 |
| Roman Wilson WR | 3 | 35 | 11.7 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 20 |
| Jaylen Warren HB | 2 | 23 | 11.5 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 12 |
RAIDERS
| PLAYER | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | YAC | DRP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brock Bowers TE | 8 | 158 | 19.8 | 3 | 85 | 0 | 80 |
| Isaac Madson WR | 7 | 104 | 14.9 | 1 | 24 | 1 | 31 |
| Kentrell Day WR | 6 | 88 | 14.7 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 20 |
| Dont'e Thornton Jr WR | 3 | 87 | 29 | 1 | 29 | 0 | 61 |
| Tre Tucker WR | 1 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 22 |
| Mike Washington Jr. HB | 3 | 17 | 5.7 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 13 |
STEELERS
| PLAYER | TKL | SCK | INT | PD | FF | CMP ALW | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jalen Ramsey FS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| B.J. Stoutmire CB | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Payton Wilson WILL | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Artie Hunt DT | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Daylen Everette CB | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Will Johnson SS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Russell Middleton MIKE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jamel Dean CB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jamin Davis WILL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
RAIDERS
| PLAYER | TKL | SCK | INT | PD | FF | CMP ALW | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keyron Crawford REDG | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Darien Porter CB | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeremy Chinn SS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Treydan Stukes FS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jermod McCoy CB | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eric Stokes CB | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nakobe Dean MIKE | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Decamerion Richardson CB | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Quay Walker WILL | 1 | 1.5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jace Weston WILL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dalton Johnson SS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Maxx Crosby LEDG | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tonka Hemingway DT | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
STEELERS
nothing recorded
RAIDERS
| PLAYER | FG | XP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colin Day K | 1/1 | 4/5 | 37 |
RECENT FORM
Steelers
no games yet
Raiders
no games yet
TEAM STATS
| Steelers | Raiders | |
|---|---|---|
| 489 | TOTAL YARDS | 473 |
| 476 | PASSING YARDS | 476 |
| 13 | RUSHING YARDS | -3 |
| 5 | SACKS ALLOWED | 2 |
| 2 | SACKS MADE | 5 |
| 1 | GIVEAWAYS | 1 |
| 1 | TAKEAWAYS | 1 |
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
1
STEELERS
—
0
RAIDERS