WEEK 8 · FINAL
THE READ
Daniel Keller
The numbers guy
Lions run away with it, 35-7
Detroit demolished Minnesota 35-7 behind Jahmyr Gibbs, who rushed for 288 yards and 3 touchdowns on 16 carries—a performance that made the Vikings' defensive line look like scenery. The Lions moved 375 yards total while forcing 4 turnovers; Minnesota managed 153 yards and couldn't run at all, finishing with minus-1 rushing yards while JJ McCarthy threw 4 interceptions. Detroit is now 5-3, Minnesota 3-4, and the margin between them—a 28-point gulf on a night when Detroit ran the ball 17 times to Minnesota's 2—suggests something closer to different weight classes than a divisional rivalry.
Daniel Keller
The numbers guy
THE WIDER PICTURE
| Team | SRS | SOS | MARGIN | TO +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vikings | -3.3 | +4.1 | -7.4 | -13 |
| Lions | +12.0 | +2.8 | +9.1 | +12 |
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.
Lions —
NFC #6
· 9-5
Playoff picture →
IN THE BOOTH
Elise Carter
The insider
Jahmyr Gibbs went 288 yards and 3 touchdowns on the ground, and that is the kind of performance that changes how a defense has to think. Detroit got what it needed from him after two weeks of searching for it.
Nicole Santos
Beat reporter
· replying
Detroit's ground game is back. Gibbs finding 288 yards and 3 touchdowns is the outlier that was supposed to happen weeks ago, but Minnesota getting forced into 22 pass attempts with -1 rushing yard is what Minnesota has been all season—a team that cannot establish anything and makes mistakes when it has to throw.
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.
Jahmyr Gibbs
Lions
16 carries, 288 yards, 3 TD
Nyck Harbor
Vikings
3 catches, 107 yards, 1 TD
THE STORY SO FAR
WHAT DECIDED IT
On the ground
Lions 289, Vikings -1
Lions
Total yards
Lions 375, Vikings 153
Lions
Through the air
Vikings 154, Lions 86
Vikings
Giveaways
Lions 0, Vikings 4
Lions
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% · 25.6 scored, 33.1 allowed
8.7 yds/att
63.9% completions
4.2 yds/carry
351.4 yds/game
2.2 giveaways/game
4.2% sack rate
last 5: 1-4
SAPPHIRE METRICS
QB efficiency 68 · Aggressive
Balance 84
Ball security 38
Back usage 27%
QB runs 3.6/game
Most exposed: ball security -- 2.2 giveaways a game
PERSONNEL
off the roster — unit averages, best starters only
QB 93
WR 94
TE 78
RB 82
OL 87
DL 87
LB 83
DB 85
Best: Justin Jefferson WR 99
Fastest: Nyck Harbor 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
Balanced
Pass 47% · Rush 53% · 38.1 scored, 29.0 allowed
7.2 yds/att
56.5% completions
11.3 yds/carry
405.5 yds/game
1.3 giveaways/game
6.2% sack rate
last 5: 3-2
SAPPHIRE METRICS
QB efficiency 46 · Turnover-prone
Balance 97
Ball security 64
Back usage 48%
QB runs 2.1/game
PERSONNEL
off the roster — unit averages, best starters only
QB 87
WR 90
TE 91
RB 88
OL 86
DL 90
LB 82
DB 91
Best: Penei Sewell LT 99
Fastest: Jameson Williams WR 98 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.
HOW THEY PLAY
the man, not the franchise — only weeks the record attributes to him, this season
Suaveee💫
Lions · his last 8 games
Runs it
One back
Pass / run41% / 59%
Points for / against39.8 — 30.0
Margin+9.8
Giveaways a game0.9
Sacks taken4.9% of dropbacks
Lead backJahmyr Gibbs · 18.9/g
Top targetAmon-Ra St. Brown · 34%
QB carries1.5 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
Vikings receivers vs Lions secondary
94 v 91
VIKINGS
Lions receivers vs Vikings secondary
90 v 85
LIONS
Vikings line vs Lions front
87 v 90
LIONS
Lions line vs Vikings front
86 v 87
EVEN
Vikings backs vs Lions run defence
82 v 86
LIONS
Lions backs vs Vikings run defence
88 v 86
EVEN
Vikings passer vs Lions secondary
93 v 91
EVEN
Lions passer vs Vikings secondary
87 v 85
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
VIKINGS
LIONS
VIKINGS
LIONS
VIKINGS
LIONS
VIKINGS
LIONS
VIKINGS
| PLAYER | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | SCK | LNG | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JJ McCarthy QB | 9/22 | 154 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 65 | 40.9 |
LIONS
| PLAYER | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | SCK | LNG | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jared Goff QB | 7/10 | 86 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 129.5 |
VIKINGS
| PLAYER | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | BTK | YAC | LNG | FUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nyck Harbor WR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jordan Mason HB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Demond Claiborne HB | 1 | -1 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
LIONS
| PLAYER | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | BTK | YAC | LNG | FUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jahmyr Gibbs HB | 16 | 288 | 18 | 3 | 7 | 77 | 89 | 0 |
| Jared Goff QB | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Sam LaPorta TE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
VIKINGS
| PLAYER | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | YAC | DRP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nyck Harbor WR | 3 | 107 | 35.7 | 1 | 60 | 0 | 65 |
| Jordan Addison WR | 1 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 23 |
| Demond Claiborne HB | 4 | 22 | 5.5 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 9 |
LIONS
| PLAYER | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | YAC | DRP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amon-Ra St. Brown WR | 3 | 44 | 14.7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 19 |
| Sam LaPorta TE | 2 | 20 | 10 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 17 |
| Isaiah Sategna III WR | 1 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 18 |
| Jahmyr Gibbs HB | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
VIKINGS
| PLAYER | TKL | SCK | INT | PD | FF | CMP ALW | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jyaire Hill CB | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Christian Izien SS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Byron Murphy Jr CB | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nahshon Wright FS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Teitum Tuioti LEDG | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Josh Metellus SS | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Caleb Banks DT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jake Golday MIKE | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Isaiah Rodgers Sr CB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
LIONS
| PLAYER | TKL | SCK | INT | PD | FF | CMP ALW | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Myles Graham SAM | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chuck Clark FS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Derrick Barnes WILL | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aidan Hutchinson LEDG | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Branch SS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kerby Joseph FS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D.J. Wonnum REDG | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jack Campbell MIKE | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ennis Rakestraw Jr CB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jimmy Rolder MIKE | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kelley Jones CB | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
RECENT FORM
Vikings
L
27–45 vs Bengals
WK 6
W
48–42 vs Broncos
WK 5
W
66–41 vs Bears
WK 4
Lions
L
20–31 vs Bears
WK 7
L
32–37 vs Rams
WK 6
W
46–7 vs Eagles
WK 5
TEAM STATS
| Vikings | Lions | |
|---|---|---|
| 153 | TOTAL YARDS | 375 |
| 154 | PASSING YARDS | 86 |
| -1 | RUSHING YARDS | 289 |
| 1 | SACKS ALLOWED | 3 |
| 3 | SACKS MADE | 1 |
| 4 | GIVEAWAYS | 0 |
| 0 | TAKEAWAYS | 4 |
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
VIKINGS
—
2
LIONS