WEEK 4 · FINAL
THE READ
Ethan Price
The numbers guy
80 points between Cardinals and Commanders
Arizona put 45 on Washington with Sam Darnold throwing 4 touchdowns and 391 yards, though he also tossed 4 interceptions in what amounted to a coin flip that landed heads. The Cardinals' 391 passing yards and 494 total yards overwhelmed a Washington offense that managed only 207 through the air and 361 overall, despite running for 154. Darnold's efficiency problem—4 picks against 4 scores—was masked by pure volume and a defense that sacked Jayden Daniels twice; the real margin came from Arizona's ability to move the ball downfield while Washington coughed it up 4 times, a differential no defense can overcome on the road.
Ethan Price
The numbers guy
THE WIDER PICTURE
| Team | SRS | SOS | MARGIN | TO +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinals | -1.0 | +1.2 | -2.2 | -9 |
| Commanders | -11.0 | -1.4 | -9.6 | -7 |
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.
Cardinals —
in the hunt
· 8-6
Playoff picture →
IN THE BOOTH
Jordan Hayes
The armchair coach
Washington couldn't match Arizona through the air—391 to 207—and paid for it with 4 turnovers in a game where ball security decided everything.
Ava Collins
Beat reporter
· replying
Arizona's turnover problem is real—5 giveaways in one game—but Darnold's 4 touchdowns mean the Cardinals can outscore carelessness, at least when they're facing a team that can't move the ball. Washington's 3-8 record isn't an accident.
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.
Sam Darnold
Cardinals
14/25, 391 yards, 4 TD, 4 INT
Jayden Daniels
Commanders
8/17, 207 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Walter Nolen III
Cardinals
2 sacks
THE STORY SO FAR
WHAT DECIDED IT
Through the air
Cardinals 391, Commanders 207
Cardinals
Total yards
Cardinals 494, Commanders 361
Cardinals
On the ground
Commanders 154, Cardinals 103
Commanders
Giveaways
Commanders 4, Cardinals 5
Commanders
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 64% · Rush 36% · 26.5 scored, 28.7 allowed
9.1 yds/att
56.0% completions
4.7 yds/carry
383.2 yds/game
2.1 giveaways/game
6.5% sack rate
last 5: 4-1
SAPPHIRE METRICS
QB efficiency 60 · Aggressive
Balance 86
Ball security 40
Back usage 31%
QB runs 2.5/game
Most exposed: ball security -- 2.1 giveaways a game
PERSONNEL
off the roster — unit averages, best starters only
QB 90
WR 84
TE 99
RB 90
OL 84
DL 85
LB 77
DB 87
Best: Trey McBride TE 99
Fastest: Jeremiyah Love HB 94 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 60% · Rush 40% · 23.4 scored, 33.0 allowed
7.5 yds/att
57.0% completions
5.3 yds/carry
336.6 yds/game
2.2 giveaways/game
6.4% sack rate
last 5: 1-4
SAPPHIRE METRICS
QB efficiency 45 · Turnover-prone
Balance 90
Ball security 38
Back usage 29%
QB runs 5.7/game
Most exposed: ball security -- 2.2 giveaways a game
PERSONNEL
off the roster — unit averages, best starters only
QB 88
WR 87
TE 79
RB 82
OL 83
DL 85
LB 86
DB 85
Best: Laremy Tunsil LT 93
Fastest: Jaylin Lane WR 94 SPD
3 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
impaid.w
Cardinals · his last 8 games
Throws it
Pass / run65% / 35%
Points for / against28.5 — 30.0
Margin-1.5
Giveaways a game1.6
Sacks taken6.1% of dropbacks
Lead backJeremiyah Love · 12.5/g
Top targetMarvin Harrison Jr · 29%
QB carries2.5 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.
MATCHUP ADVANTAGES
unit averages against each other — inside three points is a push
Cardinals receivers vs Commanders secondary
84 v 85
EVEN
Commanders receivers vs Cardinals secondary
87 v 87
EVEN
Cardinals line vs Commanders front
84 v 85
EVEN
Commanders line vs Cardinals front
83 v 85
EVEN
Cardinals backs vs Commanders run defence
90 v 86
CARDINALS
Commanders backs vs Cardinals run defence
82 v 82
EVEN
Cardinals passer vs Commanders secondary
90 v 85
CARDINALS
Commanders passer vs Cardinals secondary
88 v 87
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
CARDINALS
COMMANDERS
CARDINALS
COMMANDERS
CARDINALS
COMMANDERS
CARDINALS
COMMANDERS
CARDINALS
COMMANDERS
CARDINALS
| PLAYER | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | SCK | LNG | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Darnold QB | 14/25 | 391 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 60 | 100.8 |
COMMANDERS
| PLAYER | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | SCK | LNG | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jayden Daniels QB | 8/17 | 207 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 65 | 106.7 |
| Trinadad Chambliss QB | 0/4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
CARDINALS
| PLAYER | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | BTK | YAC | LNG | FUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeremiyah Love HB | 12 | 103 | 8.6 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 26 | 1 |
COMMANDERS
| PLAYER | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | BTK | YAC | LNG | FUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacory Croskey-Merritt HB | 8 | 100 | 12.5 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 89 | 0 |
| Tyjae Spears HB | 4 | 29 | 7.2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 22 | 0 |
| Jayden Daniels QB | 4 | 19 | 4.8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| Jauan Jennings WR | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| Terry McLaurin WR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
CARDINALS
| PLAYER | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | YAC | DRP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trey McBride TE | 5 | 110 | 22 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 29 |
| Michael Wilson WR | 3 | 101 | 33.7 | 2 | 42 | 0 | 60 |
| Marvin Harrison Jr WR | 3 | 84 | 28 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 39 |
| Jeremiyah Love HB | 2 | 66 | 33 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 44 |
| Marquise Brown WR | 1 | 30 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 30 |
COMMANDERS
| PLAYER | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | YAC | DRP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terry McLaurin WR | 4 | 135 | 33.8 | 1 | 68 | 0 | 65 |
| Jauan Jennings WR | 2 | 48 | 24 | 0 | 36 | 1 | 24 |
| Chigoziem Okonkwo TE | 1 | 9 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 9 |
| Jacory Croskey-Merritt HB | 1 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
| Antonio Williams WR | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
CARDINALS
| PLAYER | TKL | SCK | INT | PD | FF | CMP ALW | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Will Johnson CB | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Walter Nolen III DT | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Budda Baker SS | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Zaven Collins LEDG | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mack Wilson Sr MIKE | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Josh Sweat REDG | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Maxwell Hairston CB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Isaiah Oliver SS | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
COMMANDERS
| PLAYER | TKL | SCK | INT | PD | FF | CMP ALW | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Koi Perich FS | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nick Cross SS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ellis Robinson IV CB | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jaquan Brisker SS | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Leo Chenal WILL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Daron Payne DT | 1 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Trey Amos CB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Quan Martin FS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ale Kaho MIKE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sonny Styles MIKE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Sainristil CB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dorance Armstrong LEDG | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Curtis Jacobs WILL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Frankie Luvu WILL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
CARDINALS
| PLAYER | FG | XP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chad Ryland K | 1/1 | 6/6 | 36 |
COMMANDERS
nothing recorded
RECENT FORM
Cardinals
L
7–19 vs Rams
WK 3
L
13–41 vs Seahawks
WK 2
W
27–21 vs Falcons
WK 1
Commanders
L
14–42 vs Raiders
WK 3
L
17–42 vs Giants
WK 2
W
52–28 vs Vikings
WK 1
TEAM STATS
| Cardinals | Commanders | |
|---|---|---|
| 494 | TOTAL YARDS | 361 |
| 391 | PASSING YARDS | 207 |
| 103 | RUSHING YARDS | 154 |
| 2 | SACKS ALLOWED | 3 |
| 3 | SACKS MADE | 2 |
| 5 | GIVEAWAYS | 4 |
| 4 | 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
1
CARDINALS
—
0
COMMANDERS