WEEK 13 · FINAL
THE READ
Talia Morgan
Beat reporter
68 points between Broncos and Chiefs
Kansas City beat Denver 38-30 in a shootout where the Chiefs' ground game made the difference. Patrick Mahomes went 29 for 39 for 342 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception, while Bo Nix completed 21 of 30 for 278 yards and 1 touchdown. KC's rushing attack produced 197 yards against Denver's 96, and Kansas City's defense generated 3 sacks to Denver's 1. The Chiefs improved to 7-5 while the Broncos fell to 1-11.
Talia Morgan
Beat reporter
THE WIDER PICTURE
| Team | SRS | SOS | MARGIN | TO +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broncos | -5.7 | +3.0 | -8.6 | -11 |
| Chiefs | +2.1 | +1.7 | +0.4 | +10 |
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.
Chiefs —
in the hunt
· 8-6
Playoff picture →
IN THE BOOTH
Hollis Vaughn
The superfan
Denver came to play in a shootout but couldn't finish—Bo Nix is cooking 4 straight weeks of 250-plus yards, yet the Broncos are 1-11 because the rest of this team isn't built to win close games like this one.
Ava Collins
Beat reporter
· replying
Peter Woods got to Bo Nix just once, but that single sack mattered in a game where Denver couldn't afford to lose yardage—KC's ground game ran for 197 yards while the Broncos managed 96, and that gap is why 8 points felt like 16.
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.
Patrick Mahomes
Chiefs
29/39, 342 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Bo Nix
Broncos
21/30, 278 yards, 1 TD
Peter Woods
Chiefs
2 sacks
THE STORY SO FAR
WHAT DECIDED IT
Total yards
Chiefs 539, Broncos 374
Chiefs
On the ground
Chiefs 197, Broncos 96
Chiefs
Through the air
Chiefs 342, Broncos 278
Chiefs
Giveaways
Chiefs 2, Broncos 0
Broncos
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 66% · Rush 34% · 26.0 scored, 34.6 allowed
8.0 yds/att
59.6% completions
4.2 yds/carry
346.1 yds/game
2.0 giveaways/game
5.4% sack rate
last 5: 1-4
SAPPHIRE METRICS
QB efficiency 56 · Aggressive
Balance 84
Ball security 44
Back usage 30%
QB runs 2.1/game
Most exposed: ball security -- 2.0 giveaways a game
PERSONNEL
off the roster — unit averages, best starters only
QB 89
WR 87
TE 78
RB 84
OL 87
DL 89
LB 81
DB 89
Best: Patrick Surtain II CB 99
Fastest: Jaylen Waddle 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.
LEAGUE DATA
counted by Madden, and arithmetic on top of it
Pass-heavy
Pass 68% · Rush 32% · 30.9 scored, 30.6 allowed
8.6 yds/att
59.9% completions
5.1 yds/carry
409.1 yds/game
1.9 giveaways/game
7.0% sack rate
last 5: 4-1
SAPPHIRE METRICS
QB efficiency 60 · Aggressive
Balance 82
Ball security 46
Back usage 26%
QB runs 3.6/game
Most exposed: ball security -- 1.9 giveaways a game
PERSONNEL
off the roster — unit averages, best starters only
QB 96
WR 90
TE 77
RB 88
OL 85
DL 86
LB 85
DB 84
Best: Kenneth Walker HB 97
Fastest: Xavier Worthy WR 99 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
will2nice400
Chiefs · his last 8 games
Throws it
Pass / run62% / 38%
Points for / against30.9 — 24.0
Margin+6.9
Giveaways a game0.9
Sacks taken7.9% of dropbacks
Lead backKenneth Walker · 13.5/g
Top targetXavier Worthy · 27%
QB carries2.9 a game
Lions 🦁
Broncos · his last 8 games
Throws it
Gives it away
One back
One target
Pass / run65% / 35%
Points for / against20.4 — 31.6
Margin-11.2
Giveaways a game2.0
Sacks taken5.7% of dropbacks
Lead backRJ Harvey · 13.8/g
Top targetJaylen Waddle · 39%
QB carries1.9 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
Lions 🦁 against will2nice400 — the men, not the teams
will2nice400 leads it 1-0.
will2nice400 won the last one.
1 meeting
avg 30.0 — 38.0
biggest: 8 pts to will2nice400
S2 · week 13
Lions 🦁 30 — 38 will2nice400
WILL2NICE400
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
Broncos receivers vs Chiefs secondary
87 v 84
BRONCOS
Chiefs receivers vs Broncos secondary
90 v 89
EVEN
Broncos line vs Chiefs front
87 v 86
EVEN
Chiefs line vs Broncos front
85 v 89
BRONCOS
Broncos backs vs Chiefs run defence
84 v 86
EVEN
Chiefs backs vs Broncos run defence
88 v 86
EVEN
Broncos passer vs Chiefs secondary
89 v 84
BRONCOS
Chiefs passer vs Broncos secondary
96 v 89
CHIEFS
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
BRONCOS
CHIEFS
BRONCOS
CHIEFS
BRONCOS
CHIEFS
BRONCOS
CHIEFS
BRONCOS
CHIEFS
BRONCOS
| PLAYER | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | SCK | LNG | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bo Nix QB | 21/30 | 278 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 70 | 110.1 |
CHIEFS
| PLAYER | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | SCK | LNG | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick Mahomes QB | 29/39 | 342 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 70 | 106.9 |
BRONCOS
| PLAYER | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | BTK | YAC | LNG | FUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RJ Harvey HB | 14 | 60 | 4.3 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 10 | 0 |
| Adam Trautman TE | 3 | 18 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 0 |
| Ty Chandler HB | 1 | 9 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 0 |
| Bo Nix QB | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Jaylen Waddle WR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Troy Franklin WR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
CHIEFS
| PLAYER | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | BTK | YAC | LNG | FUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenneth Walker HB | 15 | 133 | 8.9 | 1 | 5 | 70 | 35 | 0 |
| Patrick Mahomes QB | 2 | 31 | 15.5 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 23 | 0 |
| Brashard Smith HB | 7 | 27 | 3.9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Noah Gray TE | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| Jake Briningstool TE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Xavier Worthy WR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeff Caldwell WR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rashee Rice WR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
BRONCOS
| PLAYER | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | YAC | DRP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaylen Waddle WR | 5 | 114 | 22.8 | 1 | 78 | 0 | 70 |
| Troy Franklin WR | 3 | 61 | 20.3 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 30 |
| Evan Engram TE | 3 | 44 | 14.7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 26 |
| Courtland Sutton WR | 4 | 42 | 10.5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 12 |
| Marvin Mims Jr WR | 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 7 |
| Adam Trautman TE | 2 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| RJ Harvey HB | 2 | 3 | 1.5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Ty Chandler HB | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
CHIEFS
| PLAYER | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | YAC | DRP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Caldwell WR | 4 | 111 | 27.8 | 1 | 51 | 0 | 70 |
| T.J. Moore WR | 8 | 72 | 9 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 22 |
| Jared Wiley TE | 6 | 48 | 8 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 14 |
| Xavier Worthy WR | 3 | 41 | 13.7 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 22 |
| Noah Gray TE | 5 | 37 | 7.4 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 13 |
| Rashee Rice WR | 1 | 22 | 22 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 22 |
| Jake Briningstool TE | 1 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 |
| Kenneth Walker HB | 1 | -2 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
BRONCOS
| PLAYER | TKL | SCK | INT | PD | FF | CMP ALW | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miles Scott FS | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Patrick Surtain II CB | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Alex Singleton MIKE | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Red Murdock WILL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Jahdae Barron CB | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Talanoa Hufanga SS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Devin White WILL | 3 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Zach Allen DT | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ja'Quan McMillian CB | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nik Bonitto REDG | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Cole WILL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Christian Wilkins DT | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jonathon Cooper LEDG | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
CHIEFS
| PLAYER | TKL | SCK | INT | PD | FF | CMP ALW | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jelani McDonald SS | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| L'Jarius Sneed CB | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Drue Tranquill WILL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Amare Ferrell FS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Peter Woods DT | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeffrey Bassa WILL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Mansoor Delane CB | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Evan Johnson CB | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Nick Bolton MIKE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| R Mason Thomas LEDG | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Omarr Norman-Lott DT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ashton Gillotte REDG | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
BRONCOS
| PLAYER | FG | XP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wil Lutz K | 3/3 | 3/3 | 49 |
CHIEFS
| PLAYER | FG | XP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harrison Butker K | 1/1 | 5/5 | 53 |
RECENT FORM
Broncos
L
24–28 vs Bills
WK 12
L
27–30 vs Bears
WK 11
L
27–30 vs Bengals
WK 9
Chiefs
W
35–28 vs Raiders
WK 12
W
20–13 vs Ravens
WK 10
L
30–34 vs Giants
WK 9
TEAM STATS
| Broncos | Chiefs | |
|---|---|---|
| 374 | TOTAL YARDS | 539 |
| 278 | PASSING YARDS | 342 |
| 96 | RUSHING YARDS | 197 |
| 3 | SACKS ALLOWED | 1 |
| 1 | SACKS MADE | 3 |
| 0 | GIVEAWAYS | 2 |
| 2 | 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
0
BRONCOS
—
1
CHIEFS