WEEK 5 · FINAL
THE READ
Kayla James
The showman
Bills run away with it, 38-10
Bills 38, Commanders 10, and it was not that close. Josh Allen did the damage for Bills — 17/23, 237 yards, 4 TD. Cooper Kupp moved the ball for Bills — 4 catches, 100 yards, 2 TD. Cooper Kupp's high-water mark for the year. Through the air: Bills 237, Commanders 91.
Kayla James
The showman
THE WIDER PICTURE
| Team | SRS | SOS | MARGIN | TO +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bills | +1.5 | -2.1 | +3.6 | +11 |
| 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.
Bills —
AFC #4 · division
· 8-6
Playoff picture →
IN THE BOOTH
Charlie Kirkster
Analyst
Buffalo turned this into a clinic in the passing game — Josh Allen threw 4 touchdown passes on a day when Washington's secondary had no answers — but what really decided it was the gap in execution: the Bills' turnover advantage of 6 played the full 28-point margin, and you simply cannot spot a team that many mistakes and expect to stay in a game.
Jeff Epstein
The showman
· replying
Washington's receiving corps got erased—McLaurin at 37 yards, Daniels managing 91 through the air—and there's no coming back from that kind of collective silence, not down 28 in a race where you can't afford to lose ground.
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.
Josh Allen
Bills
17/23, 237 yards, 4 TD
Cooper Kupp
Bills
4 catches, 100 yards, 2 TD
James Cook III
Bills
12 carries, 68 yards
THE STORY SO FAR
WHAT DECIDED IT
Through the air
Bills 237, Commanders 91
Bills
Total yards
Bills 385, Commanders 242
Bills
On the ground
Commanders 151, Bills 148
Commanders
Pressure
Commanders 3 sacks, Bills 1
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
Balanced
Pass 54% · Rush 46% · 23.7 scored, 20.1 allowed
6.7 yds/att
60.5% completions
4.8 yds/carry
326.1 yds/game
1.1 giveaways/game
8.0% sack rate
last 5: 4-1
SAPPHIRE METRICS
QB efficiency 48 · Conservative
Balance 96
Ball security 68
Back usage 36%
QB runs 5.9/game
Most exposed: pressure -- sacked on 8.0% of dropbacks
PERSONNEL
off the roster — unit averages, best starters only
QB 99
WR 86
TE 86
RB 91
OL 80
DL 86
LB 80
DB 88
Best: Josh Allen QB 99
Fastest: James Cook III HB 93 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
Ant
Bills · his last 8 games
Runs it
Runs the quarterback
Pass / run55% / 45%
Points for / against20.1 — 20.9
Margin-0.8
Giveaways a game1.5
Sacks taken7.8% of dropbacks
Lead backJames Cook III · 13.2/g
Top targetDJ Moore · 26%
QB carries5.1 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
Bills receivers vs Commanders secondary
86 v 85
EVEN
Commanders receivers vs Bills secondary
87 v 88
EVEN
Bills line vs Commanders front
80 v 85
COMMANDERS
Commanders line vs Bills front
83 v 86
BILLS
Bills backs vs Commanders run defence
91 v 86
BILLS
Commanders backs vs Bills run defence
82 v 84
EVEN
Bills passer vs Commanders secondary
99 v 85
BILLS
Commanders passer vs Bills secondary
88 v 88
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
BILLS
COMMANDERS
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COMMANDERS
BILLS
| PLAYER | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | SCK | LNG | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Allen QB | 17/23 | 237 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 70 | 146.1 |
COMMANDERS
| PLAYER | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | SCK | LNG | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jayden Daniels QB | 13/27 | 91 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 25.3 |
BILLS
| PLAYER | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | BTK | YAC | LNG | FUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Cook III HB | 12 | 68 | 5.7 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 11 | 0 |
| Josh Allen QB | 8 | 49 | 6.1 | 1 | 3 | 27 | 30 | 1 |
| Ray Davis HB | 9 | 31 | 3.4 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 0 |
| Cooper Kupp WR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dalton Kincaid TE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
COMMANDERS
| PLAYER | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | BTK | YAC | LNG | FUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacory Croskey-Merritt HB | 7 | 53 | 7.6 | 1 | 3 | 36 | 23 | 0 |
| Kaytron Allen HB | 10 | 49 | 4.9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 0 |
| Tyjae Spears HB | 5 | 25 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Jayden Daniels QB | 6 | 19 | 3.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Jauan Jennings WR | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
BILLS
| PLAYER | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | YAC | DRP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooper Kupp WR | 4 | 100 | 25 | 2 | 86 | 0 | 70 |
| DJ Moore WR | 4 | 70 | 17.5 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 24 |
| Dalton Kincaid TE | 4 | 24 | 6 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 12 |
| Khalil Shakir WR | 2 | 24 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Jackson Hawes TE | 1 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Dawson Knox TE | 1 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
| James Cook III HB | 1 | -1 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
COMMANDERS
| PLAYER | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | YAC | DRP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terry McLaurin WR | 4 | 37 | 9.2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 21 |
| Antonio Williams WR | 5 | 35 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 14 |
| Jauan Jennings WR | 2 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 |
| Tyjae Spears HB | 1 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 8 |
| Kaytron Allen HB | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
BILLS
| PLAYER | TKL | SCK | INT | PD | FF | CMP ALW | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marlon Humphrey CB | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Ed Oliver DT | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Christian Benford CB | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Terrel Bernard MIKE | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Anthony Smith DT | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Geno Stone FS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Davison Igbinosun CB | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Greg Rousseau LEDG | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cole Bishop FS | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Chidobe Awuzie CB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sam Franklin Jr FS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| C.J. Gardner-Johnson SS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| T.J. Parker REDG | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
COMMANDERS
| PLAYER | TKL | SCK | INT | PD | FF | CMP ALW | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaquan Brisker SS | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Sonny Styles MIKE | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Mike Sainristil CB | 4 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Ellis Robinson IV CB | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Quan Martin FS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Trey Amos CB | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Trey Hendrickson REDG | 2 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Grover Stewart DT | 2 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Leo Chenal WILL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jer'Zhan Newton DT | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Daron Payne DT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nick Cross SS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Odafe Oweh LEDG | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Frankie Luvu WILL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
BILLS
| PLAYER | FG | XP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyler Bass K | 1/1 | 5/5 | 29 |
COMMANDERS
| PLAYER | FG | XP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drew Stevens K | 1/1 | 1/1 | 21 |
RECENT FORM
Bills
L
17–24 vs Dolphins
WK 4
W
34–24 vs Saints
WK 3
W
23–21 vs Cowboys
WK 2
Commanders
L
35–45 vs Cardinals
WK 4
L
14–42 vs Raiders
WK 3
L
17–42 vs Giants
WK 2
TEAM STATS
| Bills | Commanders | |
|---|---|---|
| 385 | TOTAL YARDS | 242 |
| 237 | PASSING YARDS | 91 |
| 148 | RUSHING YARDS | 151 |
| 3 | SACKS ALLOWED | 1 |
| 1 | SACKS MADE | 3 |
| 1 | GIVEAWAYS | 2 |
| 2 | 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
BILLS
—
0
COMMANDERS