WEEK 4 · FINAL
THE READ
Ava Collins
Beat reporter
Cowboys win the turnover battle and the game
Dallas beat Los Angeles 41-33, and the difference was on the ground and in the trenches. The Cowboys ran for 131 yards while the Chargers managed 6, and Quinnen Williams made that advantage felt with 3 sacks as Dallas's pass rush got home 7 times total. Justin Herbert stayed efficient through the air with 368 yards and 3 touchdowns, but 3 interceptions and the constant pressure forced Los Angeles into a one-dimensional attack that Joe Milton and the Cowboys defense ultimately controlled.
Ava Collins
Beat reporter
THE WIDER PICTURE
| Team | SRS | SOS | MARGIN | TO +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chargers | -5.0 | +2.7 | -7.7 | -10 |
| Cowboys | +1.1 | -4.8 | +5.9 | +4 |
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.
Cowboys —
in the hunt
· 8-6
Playoff picture →
IN THE BOOTH
Jaylen Rivers
The insider
Dallas bent Los Angeles into submission up front — Quinnen Williams lived in their backfield with 3 sacks, and when you're giving up 7 total while managing 6 rushing yards, there's no way to move the ball or protect the guy holding it, and that's what an 8-point margin hides.
Jeff Epstein
The showman
· replying
Los Angeles has now lost 8 of 9, and the angle here isn't the defense—it's that Herbert's been clearheaded for a month straight while his offense crumbles around him, which is a different kind of breaking point than getting dominated up front.
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.
Justin Herbert
Chargers
17/25, 368 yards, 3 TD, 3 INT
Joe Milton
Cowboys
17/32, 280 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
Quinnen Williams
Cowboys
3 sacks
THE STORY SO FAR
WHAT DECIDED IT
On the ground
Cowboys 131, Chargers 6
Cowboys
Through the air
Chargers 368, Cowboys 280
Chargers
Total yards
Cowboys 411, Chargers 374
Cowboys
Pressure
Cowboys 7 sacks, Chargers 1
Cowboys
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 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.
LEAGUE DATA
counted by Madden, and arithmetic on top of it
Pass-heavy
Pass 62% · Rush 38% · 32.5 scored, 26.6 allowed
8.1 yds/att
61.6% completions
4.6 yds/carry
406.1 yds/game
1.4 giveaways/game
5.4% sack rate
last 5: 1-4
SAPPHIRE METRICS
QB efficiency 66 · Efficient
Balance 88
Ball security 62
Back usage 31%
QB runs 4.4/game
PERSONNEL
off the roster — unit averages, best starters only
QB 88
WR 88
TE 85
RB 82
OL 83
DL 86
LB 81
DB 87
Best: CeeDee Lamb WR 95
Fastest: Jaydon Blue HB 93 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
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
Chargers receivers vs Cowboys secondary
88 v 87
EVEN
Cowboys receivers vs Chargers secondary
88 v 86
EVEN
Chargers line vs Cowboys front
86 v 86
EVEN
Cowboys line vs Chargers front
83 v 84
EVEN
Chargers backs vs Cowboys run defence
85 v 85
EVEN
Cowboys backs vs Chargers run defence
82 v 83
EVEN
Chargers passer vs Cowboys secondary
92 v 87
CHARGERS
Cowboys passer vs Chargers secondary
88 v 86
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
CHARGERS
COWBOYS
CHARGERS
COWBOYS
CHARGERS
COWBOYS
CHARGERS
COWBOYS
CHARGERS
COWBOYS
CHARGERS
| PLAYER | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | SCK | LNG | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justin Herbert QB | 17/25 | 368 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 85 | 110.8 |
COWBOYS
| PLAYER | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | SCK | LNG | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Milton QB | 17/32 | 280 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 56 | 101 |
CHARGERS
| PLAYER | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | BTK | YAC | LNG | FUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justin Herbert QB | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Keaton Mitchell HB | 4 | 3 | 0.8 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| Kimani Vidal HB | 2 | -1 | -0.5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
COWBOYS
| PLAYER | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | BTK | YAC | LNG | FUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaydon Blue HB | 14 | 109 | 7.8 | 2 | 1 | 43 | 30 | 0 |
| Joe Milton QB | 3 | 22 | 7.3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 |
CHARGERS
| PLAYER | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | YAC | DRP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brenen Thompson WR | 3 | 147 | 49 | 2 | 52 | 0 | 85 |
| Mack Hollins TE | 6 | 123 | 20.5 | 1 | 48 | 0 | 46 |
| Quentin Johnston WR | 5 | 54 | 10.8 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 19 |
| Keaton Mitchell HB | 2 | 36 | 18 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 23 |
| Kimani Vidal HB | 1 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
COWBOYS
| PLAYER | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | YAC | DRP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trey'Dez Green TE | 7 | 135 | 19.3 | 1 | 37 | 0 | 34 |
| Jaydon Blue HB | 4 | 83 | 20.8 | 1 | 60 | 0 | 56 |
| George Pickens WR | 4 | 25 | 6.2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 21 |
| CeeDee Lamb WR | 1 | 21 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| Jake Ferguson TE | 1 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 16 |
CHARGERS
| PLAYER | TKL | SCK | INT | PD | FF | CMP ALW | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cam Hart FS | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VJ Payne FS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Decamerion Richardson CB | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Derwin James Jr SS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Colin Simmons LEDG | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Daiyan Henley MIKE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Akheem Mesidor REDG | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Christian Gray CB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jack Jones CB | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Tarheeb Still CB | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
COWBOYS
| PLAYER | TKL | SCK | INT | PD | FF | CMP ALW | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quinnen Williams DT | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Markquese Bell SS | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Upton Stout CB | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dee Winters WILL | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jalen Thompson FS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rashan Gary LEDG | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeremiah Trotter Jr SAM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Evan Williams FS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Caleb Downs SS | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shavon Revel Jr CB | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
CHARGERS
| PLAYER | FG | XP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cameron Dicker K | 2/2 | 3/4 | 47 |
COWBOYS
nothing recorded
RECENT FORM
Chargers
L
35–56 vs Lions
WK 3
L
35–38 vs Chiefs
WK 2
W
28–14 vs Broncos
WK 1
Cowboys
W
49–6 vs Buccaneers
WK 3
L
21–23 vs Bills
WK 2
W
27–23 vs Panthers
WK 1
TEAM STATS
| Chargers | Cowboys | |
|---|---|---|
| 374 | TOTAL YARDS | 411 |
| 368 | PASSING YARDS | 280 |
| 6 | RUSHING YARDS | 131 |
| 7 | SACKS ALLOWED | 1 |
| 1 | SACKS MADE | 7 |
| 3 | GIVEAWAYS | 1 |
| 1 | TAKEAWAYS | 3 |
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
CHARGERS
—
1
COWBOYS