WEEK 4 · FINAL
THE READ
Saints edge Buccaneers by 2
Buccaneers had it there to be taken. Saints took it, 16-14. Baker Mayfield did the damage for Buccaneers — 21/35, 200 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT — in a losing effort. Cade Otton moved the ball for Buccaneers — 7 catches, 92 yards. Tyler Shough has not had a better afternoon this season. Total yards: Buccaneers 347, Saints 200.
The Wire · league beat
THE WIDER PICTURE
| Team | SRS | SOS | MARGIN | TO +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buccaneers | -13.4 | -2.5 | -10.9 | -8 |
| Saints | +5.7 | -1.8 | +7.5 | +18 |
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.
Saints —
NFC #4 · division
· 10-4
Playoff picture →
IN THE BOOTH
Ethan Price
The numbers guy
Tampa Bay dominated the line of scrimmage and still lost—347 yards to 200, 147 on the ground, and Mayfield threw 2 interceptions in a 3-turnover afternoon. New Orleans won a game it had no business winning, which is exactly what a 7-3 team does.
Kayla James
The showman
· replying
Tampa Bay's best players showed up in their best game and still came up 2 short—that's the kind of loss that either hardens a rebuild or breaks it, and we'll learn which one soon enough.
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.
Baker Mayfield
Buccaneers
21/35, 200 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
Cade Otton
Buccaneers
7 catches, 92 yards
Bucky Irving
Buccaneers
19 carries, 83 yards
THE STORY SO FAR
WHAT DECIDED IT
Total yards
Buccaneers 347, Saints 200
Buccaneers
On the ground
Buccaneers 147, Saints 72
Buccaneers
Through the air
Buccaneers 200, Saints 128
Buccaneers
Pressure
Saints 4 sacks, Buccaneers 1
Saints
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 62% · Rush 38% · 19.1 scored, 29.9 allowed
7.0 yds/att
59.9% completions
3.9 yds/carry
365.1 yds/game
2.2 giveaways/game
5.4% sack rate
last 5: 0-5
SAPPHIRE METRICS
QB efficiency 46 · Conservative
Balance 88
Ball security 38
Back usage 33%
QB runs 2.9/game
Most exposed: ball security -- 2.2 giveaways a game
PERSONNEL
off the roster — unit averages, best starters only
QB 84
WR 88
TE 80
RB 90
OL 86
DL 89
LB 83
DB 88
Best: Tristan Wirfs LT 97
Fastest: Ahmad Hardy HB 94 SPD
9 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% · 27.3 scored, 19.8 allowed
7.4 yds/att
66.5% completions
4.1 yds/carry
346.6 yds/game
1.1 giveaways/game
6.8% sack rate
last 5: 4-1
SAPPHIRE METRICS
QB efficiency 63 · Conservative
Balance 88
Ball security 68
Back usage 33%
QB runs 2.9/game
PERSONNEL
off the roster — unit averages, best starters only
QB 84
WR 86
TE 79
RB 86
OL 83
DL 82
LB 80
DB 84
Best: Jordyn Tyson WR 92
Fastest: Bryce Lance WR 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.
HOW THEY PLAY
the man, not the franchise — only weeks the record attributes to him, this season
Bizzle
Saints · his last 8 games
Throws it
Protects it
Pass / run63% / 37%
Points for / against32.0 — 16.5
Margin+15.5
Giveaways a game0.8
Sacks taken6.6% of dropbacks
Lead backTravis Etienne Jr · 14.2/g
Top targetChris Olave · 35%
QB carries2.2 a game
Ace.P
Buccaneers · his last 8 games
Throws it
Pass / run63% / 37%
Points for / against19.6 — 29.6
Margin-10.0
Giveaways a game1.9
Sacks taken5.5% of dropbacks
Lead backBucky Irving · 14.0/g
Top targetTed Hurst III · 35%
QB carries2.0 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
Ace.P against Bizzle — the men, not the teams
Bizzle leads it 2-0.
Bizzle has won 2 straight.
2 meetings
avg 13.5 — 32.0
biggest: 35 pts to Bizzle
S2 · week 8
Ace.P 13 — 48 Bizzle
BIZZLE
S2 · week 4
Ace.P 14 — 16 Bizzle
BIZZLE
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
Buccaneers receivers vs Saints secondary
88 v 84
BUCCANEERS
Saints receivers vs Buccaneers secondary
86 v 88
EVEN
Buccaneers line vs Saints front
86 v 82
BUCCANEERS
Saints line vs Buccaneers front
83 v 89
BUCCANEERS
Buccaneers backs vs Saints run defence
90 v 82
BUCCANEERS
Saints backs vs Buccaneers run defence
86 v 88
EVEN
Buccaneers passer vs Saints secondary
84 v 84
EVEN
Saints passer vs Buccaneers secondary
84 v 88
BUCCANEERS
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
BUCCANEERS
SAINTS
BUCCANEERS
SAINTS
BUCCANEERS
SAINTS
BUCCANEERS
SAINTS
BUCCANEERS
SAINTS
BUCCANEERS
| PLAYER | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | SCK | LNG | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baker Mayfield QB | 21/35 | 200 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 28 | 61.6 |
SAINTS
| PLAYER | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | SCK | LNG | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyler Shough QB | 15/28 | 128 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 50.8 |
BUCCANEERS
| PLAYER | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | BTK | YAC | LNG | FUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bucky Irving HB | 19 | 83 | 4.4 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 20 | 0 |
| Baker Mayfield QB | 4 | 32 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 22 | 0 |
| Ahmad Hardy HB | 11 | 32 | 2.9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Chris Godwin Jr WR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cade Otton TE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
SAINTS
| PLAYER | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | BTK | YAC | LNG | FUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyler Shough QB | 3 | 34 | 11.3 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 24 | 0 |
| Travis Etienne Jr HB | 13 | 27 | 2.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| Jordyn Tyson WR | 1 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 15 | 0 |
| Chris Olave WR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Juwan Johnson TE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kendre Miller HB | 8 | -4 | -0.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
BUCCANEERS
| PLAYER | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | YAC | DRP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cade Otton TE | 7 | 92 | 13.1 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 28 |
| Emeka Egbuka WR | 6 | 61 | 10.2 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 15 |
| Ted Hurst III WR | 4 | 31 | 7.8 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 10 |
| Chris Godwin Jr WR | 1 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 10 |
| Bucky Irving HB | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| British Brooks FB | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
SAINTS
| PLAYER | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | YAC | DRP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Olave WR | 4 | 55 | 13.8 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 18 |
| Jordyn Tyson WR | 3 | 42 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| Devaughn Vele WR | 2 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| Travis Etienne Jr HB | 2 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 7 |
| Noah Fant TE | 2 | 7 | 3.5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| Juwan Johnson TE | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Kendre Miller HB | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
BUCCANEERS
| PLAYER | TKL | SCK | INT | PD | FF | CMP ALW | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josiah Trotter MIKE | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Demonte Capehart DT | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jacob Parrish CB | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Tykee Smith SS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Vita Vea DT | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Zyon McCollum CB | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Rueben Bain Jr. LEDG | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Benjamin Morrison CB | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Alex Anzalone WILL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Blake Fletcher SAM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yaya Diaby REDG | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Calijah Kancey DT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Antoine Winfield Jr FS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
SAINTS
| PLAYER | TKL | SCK | INT | PD | FF | CMP ALW | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sammy Brown MIKE | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Kool-Aid McKinstry CB | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Jonas Sanker SS | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Jayden Jackson DT | 5 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Quincy Riley CB | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| Chase Young LEDG | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Justin Reid FS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Anfernee Jennings LEDG | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jordan Hall WILL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Christen Miller DT | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vernon Broughton DT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jayden Bellamy CB | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Isaac Yiadom CB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| TJ Hall CB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Carl Granderson REDG | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lorenzo Styles Jr. SS | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
BUCCANEERS
nothing recorded
SAINTS
| PLAYER | FG | XP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charlie Smyth K | 3/3 | 1/1 | 50 |
RECENT FORM
Buccaneers
L
6–49 vs Cowboys
WK 3
L
22–34 vs Texans
WK 2
L
20–24 vs Titans
WK 1
Saints
L
24–34 vs Bills
WK 3
W
30–17 vs Panthers
WK 2
W
25–13 vs Eagles
WK 1
TEAM STATS
| Buccaneers | Saints | |
|---|---|---|
| 347 | TOTAL YARDS | 200 |
| 200 | PASSING YARDS | 128 |
| 147 | RUSHING YARDS | 72 |
| 4 | SACKS ALLOWED | 1 |
| 1 | SACKS MADE | 4 |
| 3 | GIVEAWAYS | 2 |
| 2 | 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
BUCCANEERS
—
2
SAINTS