WEEK 1 · FINAL
THE READ
Steelers win the turnover battle and the game
Steelers won the turnover battle, and the turnover battle won the game. Ty Simpson was steady for Falcons — 20/39, 459 yards, 6 TD, 5 INT — in a losing effort. Kyler Murray was steady for Steelers — 16/27, 339 yards, 5 TD, 2 INT. Through the air: Falcons 459, Steelers 339.
The Wire · league beat
THE WIDER PICTURE
| Team | SRS | SOS | MARGIN | TO +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falcons | -11.4 | +2.2 | -13.6 | -14 |
| Steelers | -1.7 | -6.7 | +5.0 | +12 |
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.
Steelers —
AFC #6
· 6-2
Playoff picture →
IN THE BOOTH
Ethan Price
The numbers guy
Atlanta threw 5 interceptions to Pittsburgh's 2, and that margin decided a game where both offenses scored at will—Simpson had the arm talent (459, 6 TD) but couldn't protect the football, while Murray's clean efficiency (5 TD, 2 INT) on half the volume was the difference.
Devon Walker
Beat reporter
· replying
This isn't a surprise. Pittsburgh won the turnover battle 3-to-5 in a shootout where both teams scored at will, but Atlanta's carelessness with the football—not a Week 1 fluke—is exactly the kind of thing that tanks a season before it starts.
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.
Ty Simpson
Falcons
20/39, 459 yards, 6 TD, 5 INT
Kyler Murray
Steelers
16/27, 339 yards, 5 TD, 2 INT
Caleb Douglas
Falcons
4 catches, 168 yards, 2 TD
WHAT DECIDED IT
Through the air
Falcons 459, Steelers 339
Falcons
Total yards
Falcons 511, Steelers 446
Falcons
On the ground
Steelers 107, Falcons 52
Steelers
Pressure
Steelers 0 sacks, Falcons 3
Falcons
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 72% · Rush 28% · 33.9 scored, 47.4 allowed
9.0 yds/att
57.0% completions
6.0 yds/carry
433.6 yds/game
2.1 giveaways/game
2.0% sack rate
last 5: 0-5
SAPPHIRE METRICS
QB efficiency 65 · Aggressive
Balance 78
Ball security 41
Back usage 23%
QB runs 2.7/game
Most exposed: ball security -- 2.1 giveaways a game
PERSONNEL
off the roster — unit averages, best starters only
QB 87
WR 87
TE 98
RB 88
OL 86
DL 76
LB 76
DB 80
Best: Bijan Robinson HB 99
Fastest: Bijan Robinson HB 95 SPD
6 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
Balanced
Pass 53% · Rush 47% · 37.1 scored, 32.1 allowed
8.4 yds/att
58.5% completions
7.9 yds/carry
396.2 yds/game
1.6 giveaways/game
4.6% sack rate
last 5: 4-1
SAPPHIRE METRICS
QB efficiency 64 · Aggressive
Balance 97
Ball security 54
Back usage 40%
QB runs 3.1/game
PERSONNEL
off the roster — unit averages, best starters only
QB 79
WR 87
TE 80
RB 91
OL 75
DL 84
LB 78
DB 86
Best: Cam Heyward DT 99
Fastest: Jahmyr Gibbs HB 98 SPD
6 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
Backendwop
Steelers · his last 8 games
Runs it
One back
Pass / run53% / 47%
Points for / against37.1 — 32.1
Margin+5.0
Giveaways a game1.6
Sacks taken4.6% of dropbacks
Lead backJahmyr Gibbs · 17.9/g
Top targetRicky Pearsall · 27%
QB carries2.8 a game
DopeIS1
Falcons · his last 8 games
Throws it
One back
Pass / run72% / 28%
Points for / against31.1 — 45.5
Margin-14.4
Giveaways a game1.8
Sacks taken2.2% of dropbacks
Lead backBijan Robinson · 11.1/g
Top targetCaleb Douglas · 31%
QB carries2.4 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
DopeIS1 against Backendwop — the men, not the teams
Backendwop leads it 1-0.
Backendwop won the last one.
1 meeting
avg 56.0 — 63.0
biggest: 7 pts to Backendwop
S1 · week 1
DopeIS1 56 — 63 Backendwop
BACKENDWOP
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
Falcons receivers vs Steelers secondary
87 v 86
EVEN
Steelers receivers vs Falcons secondary
87 v 80
STEELERS
Falcons line vs Steelers front
86 v 84
EVEN
Steelers line vs Falcons front
75 v 76
EVEN
Falcons backs vs Steelers run defence
88 v 82
FALCONS
Steelers backs vs Falcons run defence
91 v 76
STEELERS
Falcons passer vs Steelers secondary
87 v 86
EVEN
Steelers passer vs Falcons secondary
79 v 80
EVEN
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
FALCONS
STEELERS
FALCONS
STEELERS
FALCONS
STEELERS
FALCONS
STEELERS
FALCONS
| PLAYER | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | SCK | LNG | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ty Simpson QB | 20/39 | 459 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 64 | 93.8 |
STEELERS
| PLAYER | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | SCK | LNG | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyler Murray QB | 16/27 | 339 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 57 | 112.2 |
FALCONS
| PLAYER | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | BTK | YAC | LNG | FUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bijan Robinson HB | 13 | 38 | 2.9 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 13 | 0 |
| Ty Simpson QB | 3 | 14 | 4.7 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 0 |
STEELERS
| PLAYER | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | BTK | YAC | LNG | FUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jahmyr Gibbs HB | 13 | 105 | 8.1 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 65 | 0 |
| Kyler Murray QB | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Quentin Johnston WR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Darnell Washington TE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
FALCONS
| PLAYER | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | YAC | DRP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caleb Douglas WR | 4 | 168 | 42 | 2 | 100 | 0 | 79 |
| Bijan Robinson HB | 8 | 133 | 16.6 | 1 | 93 | 0 | 48 |
| Drake London WR | 3 | 120 | 40 | 2 | 41 | 0 | 50 |
| Denzel Boston WR | 2 | 80 | 40 | 1 | 36 | 1 | 64 |
| Travis Kelce TE | 4 | 55 | 13.8 | 1 | 22 | 0 | 29 |
STEELERS
| PLAYER | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | YAC | DRP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quentin Johnston WR | 5 | 98 | 19.6 | 2 | 54 | 0 | 57 |
| Justin Jefferson WR | 3 | 52 | 17.3 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 26 |
| Jahmyr Gibbs HB | 4 | 52 | 13 | 0 | 67 | 0 | 28 |
| Ricky Pearsall WR | 2 | 47 | 23.5 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 36 |
| Darnell Washington TE | 2 | 41 | 20.5 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 27 |
FALCONS
| PLAYER | TKL | SCK | INT | PD | FF | CMP ALW | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kamren Kinchens FS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jalon Walker LEDG | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Xavier Watts SS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Christian Harris WILL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Clark Phillips III CB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zach Harrison DT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Azeez Ojulari LEDG | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Hughes CB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Kendal Daniels WILL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
STEELERS
| PLAYER | TKL | SCK | INT | PD | FF | CMP ALW | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Spears-Jennings FS | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Joey Porter CB | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marshon Lattimore CB | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jaquan Brisker SS | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cole Holcomb WILL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jamin Davis WILL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sebastian Joseph-Day DT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Will Lee III CB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rayshawn Jenkins FS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jalen Ramsey CB | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Patrick Queen MIKE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Malik Harrison MIKE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
RECENT FORM
Falcons
no games yet
Steelers
no games yet
TEAM STATS
| Falcons | Steelers | |
|---|---|---|
| 511 | TOTAL YARDS | 446 |
| 459 | PASSING YARDS | 339 |
| 52 | RUSHING YARDS | 107 |
| 0 | SACKS ALLOWED | 3 |
| 3 | SACKS MADE | 0 |
| 5 | GIVEAWAYS | 3 |
| 3 | TAKEAWAYS | 5 |
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
FALCONS
—
1
STEELERS