WEEK 1 · FINAL
THE READ
Marcus Reyes
The numbers guy
Packers win the turnover battle and the game
Green Bay won 41-38 on the strength of what Minnesota gave away. J.J. McCarthy threw for 382 yards and 5 touchdowns, and Germie Bernard hauled in 178 yards, but the Vikings coughed it up 4 times to none, and that margin held. Jordan Love managed 349 yards and 3 scores on cleaner work, while Green Bay's ground game—77 yards to Minnesota's 23—did enough to let them sit on the ball late. Minnesota passed on 87 percent of their plays and still lost by 3, which tells you everything about what actually decided this one.
Marcus Reyes
The numbers guy
THE WIDER PICTURE
| Team | SRS | SOS | MARGIN | TO +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Packers | +5.8 | -1.9 | +7.8 | +10 |
| Vikings | +5.8 | +2.2 | +3.6 | -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.
IN THE BOOTH
Devon Walker
Beat reporter
Minnesota had no ground game and couldn't hold the ball—23 rushing yards and 4 turnovers against a team that didn't turn it over once. J.J. McCarthy threw 5 touchdowns, but it didn't matter when Green Bay's run game (77 yards) kept the chains moving and the Vikings desperate.
Kayla James
The showman
· replying
Green Bay won a game it had no business winning—Minnesota threw 5 touchdown passes and still lost by 3, which means the Pack got away with something precious: a team that beat itself so thoroughly that even brilliance couldn't save 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.
J.J. McCarthy
Vikings
18/26, 382 yards, 5 TD, 3 INT
Aaron Rodgers
Packers
14/28, 217 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Germie Bernard
Vikings
6 catches, 178 yards, 1 TD
THE STORY SO FAR
WHAT DECIDED IT
Through the air
Vikings 382, Packers 217
Vikings
Total yards
Vikings 405, Packers 295
Vikings
On the ground
Packers 78, Vikings 23
Packers
Giveaways
Vikings 4, Packers 1
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% · 36.4 scored, 28.6 allowed
11.6 yds/att
64.8% completions
4.9 yds/carry
382.4 yds/game
0.9 giveaways/game
8.3% sack rate
last 5: 4-1
SAPPHIRE METRICS
QB efficiency 74 · Efficient
Balance 88
Ball security 76
Back usage 36%
QB runs 0.9/game
Most exposed: pressure -- sacked on 8.3% of dropbacks
PERSONNEL
off the roster — unit averages, best starters only
QB 99
WR 79
TE 86
RB 82
OL 76
DL 85
LB 75
DB 82
Best: Aaron Rodgers QB 99
Fastest: Christian Watson WR 96 SPD
7 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 71% · Rush 29% · 37.0 scored, 33.4 allowed
10.9 yds/att
62.0% completions
5.8 yds/carry
393.9 yds/game
2.7 giveaways/game
4.6% sack rate
last 5: 4-1
SAPPHIRE METRICS
QB efficiency 68 · Aggressive
Balance 79
Ball security 24
Back usage 21%
QB runs 3.3/game
Most exposed: ball security -- 2.7 giveaways a game
PERSONNEL
off the roster — unit averages, best starters only
QB 77
WR 82
TE 83
RB 80
OL 83
DL 80
LB 78
DB 85
Best: Christian Darrisaw LT 90
Fastest: Zachariah Branch WR 95 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.
HOW THEY PLAY
the man, not the franchise — only weeks the record attributes to him, this season
thecozyfiles
Vikings · his last 7 games
Throws it
Gives it away
Runs the quarterback
Pass / run71% / 29%
Points for / against37.0 — 33.4
Margin+3.6
Giveaways a game2.7
Sacks taken4.6% of dropbacks
Lead backDemond Claiborne · 7.3/g
Top targetGermie Bernard · 31%
QB carries3.3 a game
Better88
Packers · his last 8 games
Throws it
One back
Pass / run62% / 38%
Points for / against36.4 — 28.6
Margin+7.8
Giveaways a game0.9
Sacks taken8.3% of dropbacks
Lead backJosh Jacobs · 13.4/g
Top targetChristian Watson · 30%
QB carries0.5 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
Better88 against thecozyfiles — the men, not the teams
Better88 leads it 1-0.
Better88 won the last one.
1 meeting
avg 41.0 — 38.0
biggest: 3 pts to Better88
S1 · week 1
Better88 41 — 38 thecozyfiles
BETTER88
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
Packers receivers vs Vikings secondary
79 v 85
VIKINGS
Vikings receivers vs Packers secondary
82 v 82
EVEN
Packers line vs Vikings front
76 v 80
VIKINGS
Vikings line vs Packers front
83 v 85
EVEN
Packers backs vs Vikings run defence
82 v 80
EVEN
Vikings backs vs Packers run defence
80 v 82
EVEN
Packers passer vs Vikings secondary
99 v 85
PACKERS
Vikings passer vs Packers secondary
77 v 82
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
PACKERS
VIKINGS
PACKERS
VIKINGS
PACKERS
VIKINGS
PACKERS
VIKINGS
PACKERS
VIKINGS
PACKERS
| PLAYER | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | SCK | LNG | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Rodgers QB | 14/28 | 217 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 30 | 84.9 |
VIKINGS
| PLAYER | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | SCK | LNG | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J.J. McCarthy QB | 18/26 | 382 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 65 | 111.8 |
PACKERS
| PLAYER | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | BTK | YAC | LNG | FUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Jacobs HB | 22 | 78 | 3.5 | 2 | 1 | 25 | 16 | 0 |
| Tucker Kraft TE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
VIKINGS
| PLAYER | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | BTK | YAC | LNG | FUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J.J. McCarthy QB | 1 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| Demond Claiborne HB | 3 | 10 | 3.3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
| Jordan Addison WR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
PACKERS
| PLAYER | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | YAC | DRP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Watson WR | 2 | 131 | 65.5 | 1 | 50 | 0 | 71 |
| Tucker Kraft TE | 3 | 29 | 9.7 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 21 |
| Josh Jacobs HB | 3 | 22 | 7.3 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 16 |
| Bo Melton WR | 1 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| Matthew Golden WR | 1 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 8 |
VIKINGS
| PLAYER | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | YAC | DRP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germie Bernard WR | 6 | 178 | 29.7 | 1 | 52 | 1 | 53 |
| Demond Claiborne HB | 5 | 101 | 20.2 | 1 | 27 | 0 | 37 |
| Zachariah Branch WR | 1 | 65 | 65 | 1 | 46 | 0 | 65 |
| Jordan Addison WR | 5 | 31 | 6.2 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| T.J. Hockenson TE | 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 |
PACKERS
| PLAYER | TKL | SCK | INT | PD | FF | CMP ALW | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keisean Nixon CB | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brandon Cisse CB | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lukas Van Ness DT | 1 | 1.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Javon Hargrave DT | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dru Phillips FS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jaylin Simpson FS | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Javon Bullard SS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jadeveon Clowney LEDG | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
VIKINGS
| PLAYER | TKL | SCK | INT | PD | FF | CMP ALW | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jakobe Thomas SS | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eric Wilson WILL | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Josh Metellus FS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| A.J. Terrell Jr CB | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Byron Murphy Jr CB | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Isaiah Rodgers Sr CB | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Blake Cashman SAM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zemaiah Vaughn CB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tre Hawkins III CB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dallas Turner LEDG | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| James Pearce Jr REDG | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
PACKERS
| PLAYER | FG | XP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trey Smack K | 2/2 | 5/5 | 47 |
VIKINGS
| PLAYER | FG | XP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Will Reichard K | 1/1 | 5/5 | 31 |
RECENT FORM
Packers
no games yet
Vikings
no games yet
TEAM STATS
| Packers | Vikings | |
|---|---|---|
| 295 | TOTAL YARDS | 405 |
| 217 | PASSING YARDS | 382 |
| 78 | RUSHING YARDS | 23 |
| 2 | SACKS ALLOWED | 3 |
| 3.5 | SACKS MADE | 1 |
| 1 | GIVEAWAYS | 4 |
| 3 | 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.
ALL-TIME HEAD-TO-HEAD
1
PACKERS
—
0
VIKINGS