WEEK 14 · FINAL
THE READ
Broncos edge Chargers by 3
Broncos 20, Chargers 17. Nobody watching sat down. Justin Herbert was steady for Chargers — 22/37, 243 yards, 2 TD — in a losing effort. Bo Nix did the damage for Broncos — 30/38, 275 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT. Bo Nix has now cleared 250 passing yards in 5 in a row. Total yards: Broncos 345, Chargers 306.
The Wire · league beat
THE WIDER PICTURE
| Team | SRS | SOS | MARGIN | TO +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broncos | -5.7 | +3.0 | -8.6 | -11 |
| Chargers | -5.0 | +2.7 | -7.7 | -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.
Justin Herbert
Chargers
22/37, 243 yards, 2 TD
Bo Nix
Broncos
30/38, 275 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Quentin Johnston
Chargers
5 catches, 96 yards, 1 TD
THE STORY SO FAR
WHAT DECIDED IT
Total yards
Broncos 345, Chargers 306
Broncos
Through the air
Broncos 275, Chargers 243
Broncos
On the ground
Broncos 70, Chargers 63
Broncos
Pressure
Chargers 1 sacks, Broncos 3
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 70% · Rush 30% · 27.4 scored, 35.1 allowed
9.2 yds/att
62.7% completions
4.0 yds/carry
362.6 yds/game
1.9 giveaways/game
7.9% sack rate
last 5: 1-4
SAPPHIRE METRICS
QB efficiency 69 · Aggressive
Balance 80
Ball security 48
Back usage 26%
QB runs 2.0/game
Most exposed: ball security -- 1.9 giveaways a game
PERSONNEL
off the roster — unit averages, best starters only
QB 92
WR 88
TE 80
RB 85
OL 86
DL 84
LB 80
DB 86
Best: Derwin James Jr SS 93
Fastest: Brenen Thompson WR 97 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
SD
Chargers · his last 8 games
Throws it
One target
Pass / run67% / 33%
Points for / against29.5 — 34.6
Margin-5.1
Giveaways a game1.4
Sacks taken5.0% of dropbacks
Lead backKeaton Mitchell · 11.5/g
Top targetQuentin Johnston · 41%
QB carries2.5 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 SD — the men, not the teams
All square at 1-1.
Lions 🦁 won the last one.
2 meetings
avg 17.0 — 22.5
biggest: 14 pts to SD
S2 · week 14
Lions 🦁 20 — 17 SD
LIONS 🦁
S2 · week 1
Lions 🦁 14 — 28 SD
SD
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 Chargers secondary
87 v 86
EVEN
Chargers receivers vs Broncos secondary
88 v 89
EVEN
Broncos line vs Chargers front
87 v 84
BRONCOS
Chargers line vs Broncos front
86 v 89
BRONCOS
Broncos backs vs Chargers run defence
84 v 83
EVEN
Chargers backs vs Broncos run defence
85 v 86
EVEN
Broncos passer vs Chargers secondary
89 v 86
BRONCOS
Chargers passer vs Broncos secondary
92 v 89
CHARGERS
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
CHARGERS
BRONCOS
CHARGERS
BRONCOS
CHARGERS
BRONCOS
CHARGERS
BRONCOS
CHARGERS
BRONCOS
| PLAYER | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | SCK | LNG | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bo Nix QB | 30/38 | 275 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 94.6 |
CHARGERS
| PLAYER | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | SCK | LNG | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justin Herbert QB | 22/37 | 243 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 24 | 97 |
BRONCOS
| PLAYER | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | BTK | YAC | LNG | FUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RJ Harvey HB | 20 | 51 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Ty Chandler HB | 5 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Bo Nix QB | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Justin Joly TE | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Courtland Sutton WR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
CHARGERS
| PLAYER | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | BTK | YAC | LNG | FUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kimani Vidal HB | 3 | 27 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 21 | 0 |
| Justin Herbert QB | 4 | 19 | 4.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Keaton Mitchell HB | 9 | 17 | 1.9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Quentin Johnston WR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ladd McConkey WR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
BRONCOS
| PLAYER | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | YAC | DRP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaylen Waddle WR | 4 | 63 | 15.8 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 24 |
| Courtland Sutton WR | 6 | 63 | 10.5 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 16 |
| Evan Engram TE | 7 | 62 | 8.9 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 21 |
| Ty Chandler HB | 2 | 21 | 10.5 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 17 |
| Troy Franklin WR | 2 | 20 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 12 |
| Adam Trautman TE | 2 | 15 | 7.5 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| RJ Harvey HB | 4 | 14 | 3.5 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 6 |
| Justin Joly TE | 2 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 9 |
| Marvin Mims Jr WR | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
CHARGERS
| PLAYER | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | YAC | DRP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quentin Johnston WR | 5 | 96 | 19.2 | 1 | 21 | 1 | 24 |
| Mack Hollins TE | 6 | 62 | 10.3 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 18 |
| Ladd McConkey WR | 4 | 49 | 12.2 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 18 |
| Brandon Aiyuk WR | 1 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 13 |
| Brenen Thompson WR | 3 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Keaton Mitchell HB | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| Oronde Gadsden TE | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| Kimani Vidal HB | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
BRONCOS
| PLAYER | TKL | SCK | INT | PD | FF | CMP ALW | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Talanoa Hufanga SS | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Ja'Quan McMillian CB | 5 | 0.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Red Murdock WILL | 4 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Jahdae Barron CB | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Nik Bonitto REDG | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alex Singleton MIKE | 3 | 0.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Miles Scott FS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Patrick Surtain II CB | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Jonathon Cooper LEDG | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Tyler Onyedim DT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kris Abrams-Draine CB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Zach Allen DT | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Devin White WILL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
CHARGERS
| PLAYER | TKL | SCK | INT | PD | FF | CMP ALW | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daiyan Henley MIKE | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Tarheeb Still CB | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Cam Hart FS | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Decamerion Richardson CB | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Derwin James Jr SS | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Jack Jones CB | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Akheem Mesidor REDG | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Justin Eboigbe DT | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Colin Simmons LEDG | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nick Barrett DT | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tuli Tuipulotu DT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| R.J. Mickens FS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Junior Colson WILL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VJ Payne FS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
BRONCOS
| PLAYER | FG | XP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wil Lutz K | 2/2 | 2/2 | 38 |
CHARGERS
| PLAYER | FG | XP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cameron Dicker K | 1/1 | 2/2 | 20 |
RECENT FORM
Broncos
L
30–38 vs Chiefs
WK 13
L
24–28 vs Bills
WK 12
L
27–30 vs Bears
WK 11
Chargers
L
39–46 vs Vikings
WK 13
L
21–31 vs Packers
WK 12
W
42–35 vs Dolphins
WK 11
TEAM STATS
| Broncos | Chargers | |
|---|---|---|
| 345 | TOTAL YARDS | 306 |
| 275 | PASSING YARDS | 243 |
| 70 | RUSHING YARDS | 63 |
| 1 | SACKS ALLOWED | 3 |
| 3 | SACKS MADE | 1 |
| 1 | GIVEAWAYS | 0 |
| 0 | 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
BRONCOS
—
1
CHARGERS