WEEK 2 · FINAL
THE READ
Steelers win the turnover battle and the game
Steelers won the turnover battle, and the turnover battle won the game. Drake Maye was steady for Patriots — 20/30, 498 yards, 6 TD, 3 INT — in a losing effort. Kyler Murray did the damage for Steelers — 16/20, 245 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT. Through the air: Patriots 498, Steelers 245.
The Wire · league beat
THE WIDER PICTURE
| Team | SRS | SOS | MARGIN | TO +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | -1.7 | -6.7 | +5.0 | +12 |
| Patriots | +3.3 | +3.8 | -0.5 | -6 |
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
Sierra Vaughn
Analyst
New England had a day of offensive pyrotechnics from Maye and Williams but gave the game away with 3 turnovers against a team that took care of the ball, and the Patriots' ground game—34 yards—left them defenseless once Pittsburgh adjusted to the pass.
Talia Morgan
Beat reporter
· replying
Kyler Murray did what he needed to do: 16 completions on 20 attempts, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception. Pittsburgh won this game without needing him to be the story, and that's exactly the kind of afternoon that wins divisions.
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.
Drake Maye
Patriots
20/30, 498 yards, 6 TD, 3 INT
Kyler Murray
Steelers
16/20, 245 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
Kyle Williams
Patriots
3 catches, 133 yards, 3 TD
WHAT DECIDED IT
Through the air
Patriots 498, Steelers 245
Patriots
On the ground
Steelers 219, Patriots 34
Steelers
Total yards
Patriots 532, Steelers 464
Patriots
Giveaways
Patriots 3, 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
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.
LEAGUE DATA
counted by Madden, and arithmetic on top of it
Pass-heavy
Pass 81% · Rush 19% · 40.1 scored, 40.6 allowed
12.0 yds/att
62.6% completions
5.7 yds/carry
514.6 yds/game
2.1 giveaways/game
4.6% sack rate
last 5: 3-2
SAPPHIRE METRICS
QB efficiency 69 · Aggressive
Balance 69
Ball security 40
Back usage 14%
QB runs 2.2/game
Most exposed: ball security -- 2.1 giveaways a game
PERSONNEL
off the roster — unit averages, best starters only
QB 96
WR 85
TE 90
RB 84
OL 82
DL 84
LB 80
DB 90
Best: Christian Gonzalez CB 98
Fastest: TreVeyon Henderson HB 95 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.
HOW THEY PLAY
the man, not the franchise — only weeks the record attributes to him, this season
esaias32
Patriots · his last 8 games
Throws it
Gives it away
Runs the quarterback
Pass / run81% / 19%
Points for / against40.1 — 40.6
Margin-0.5
Giveaways a game2.1
Sacks taken4.6% of dropbacks
Lead backTreVeyon Henderson · 5.5/g
Top targetA.J. Brown · 24%
QB carries2.2 a game
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
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
Backendwop against esaias32 — the men, not the teams
Backendwop leads it 1-0.
Backendwop won the last one.
1 meeting
avg 49.0 — 42.0
biggest: 7 pts to Backendwop
S1 · week 2
Backendwop 49 — 42 esaias32
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
Steelers receivers vs Patriots secondary
87 v 90
PATRIOTS
Patriots receivers vs Steelers secondary
85 v 86
EVEN
Steelers line vs Patriots front
75 v 84
PATRIOTS
Patriots line vs Steelers front
82 v 84
EVEN
Steelers backs vs Patriots run defence
91 v 83
STEELERS
Patriots backs vs Steelers run defence
84 v 82
EVEN
Steelers passer vs Patriots secondary
79 v 90
PATRIOTS
Patriots passer vs Steelers secondary
96 v 86
PATRIOTS
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
PATRIOTS
STEELERS
PATRIOTS
STEELERS
PATRIOTS
STEELERS
PATRIOTS
STEELERS
| PLAYER | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | SCK | LNG | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyler Murray QB | 16/20 | 245 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 38 | 136.4 |
PATRIOTS
| PLAYER | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | SCK | LNG | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drake Maye QB | 20/30 | 498 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 79 | 109.7 |
STEELERS
| PLAYER | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | BTK | YAC | LNG | FUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jahmyr Gibbs HB | 22 | 162 | 7.4 | 2 | 1 | 29 | 49 | 0 |
| Kyler Murray QB | 3 | 57 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 0 |
| Quentin Johnston WR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
PATRIOTS
| PLAYER | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | BTK | YAC | LNG | FUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drake Maye QB | 3 | 30 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 16 | 0 |
| TreVeyon Henderson HB | 3 | 4 | 1.3 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| Hunter Henry TE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Romeo Doubs WR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
STEELERS
| PLAYER | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | YAC | DRP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ricky Pearsall WR | 9 | 142 | 15.8 | 1 | 71 | 0 | 25 |
| Darnell Washington TE | 5 | 99 | 19.8 | 2 | 38 | 0 | 27 |
| Quentin Johnston WR | 3 | 58 | 19.3 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 38 |
| Malachi Fields WR | 4 | 39 | 9.8 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 25 |
| Jahmyr Gibbs HB | 2 | 25 | 12.5 | 1 | 19 | 0 | 18 |
| Justin Jefferson WR | 2 | 24 | 12 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 15 |
PATRIOTS
| PLAYER | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | YAC | DRP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle Williams WR | 3 | 133 | 44.3 | 3 | 62 | 0 | 78 |
| A.J. Brown WR | 3 | 101 | 33.7 | 2 | 52 | 0 | 79 |
| DeMario Douglas WR | 3 | 95 | 31.7 | 1 | 19 | 0 | 54 |
| TreVeyon Henderson HB | 6 | 75 | 12.5 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 34 |
| Romeo Doubs WR | 2 | 69 | 34.5 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 42 |
| Hunter Henry TE | 3 | 25 | 8.3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 15 |
STEELERS
| PLAYER | TKL | SCK | INT | PD | FF | CMP ALW | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaquan Brisker SS | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joey Porter CB | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robert Spears-Jennings FS | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jalen Ramsey CB | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Patrick Queen MIKE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sebastian Castro FS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cole Holcomb WILL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Elandon Roberts MIKE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cam Heyward DT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DeShon Elliott SS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Keeanu Benton DT | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
PATRIOTS
| PLAYER | TKL | SCK | INT | PD | FF | CMP ALW | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dell Pettus SS | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Craig Woodson SS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kevin Byard III FS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robert Spillane MIKE | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Christian Gonzalez CB | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Carlton Davis III CB | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Christian Barmore DT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Harold Landry III REDG | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kenny Moore II CB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Milano WILL | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gabe Jacas LEDG | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Milton Williams DT | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
RECENT FORM
Steelers
W
63–56 vs Falcons
WK 1
Patriots
L
42–51 vs Seahawks
WK 1
TEAM STATS
| Steelers | Patriots | |
|---|---|---|
| 464 | TOTAL YARDS | 532 |
| 245 | PASSING YARDS | 498 |
| 219 | RUSHING YARDS | 34 |
| 1 | SACKS ALLOWED | 2 |
| 0.5 | SACKS MADE | 1 |
| 1 | GIVEAWAYS | 3 |
| 3 | 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
PATRIOTS