What the Madden 20 Ratings Mean for the Eagles
EA Sports dropped a huge teaser to sports simulation fans everywhere on July 15 with the release of the player and team ratings to be featured on the initial version of Madden NFL 20, the latest installment of the long-standing videogame franchise.
The highest-rated team is the Eagles at an 89-overall rating, led by five players at 90 or above, as well as two at 89. Considering that the team was eliminated prior to the NFC title game last season, this number might be a little surprising. Even more so is the fact that possible MVP hopeful QB Carson Wentz checks in at a middling 82 overall rating, behind his 2016 draft peer Jared Goff. With the player on the most important position on the field being sort of underrated, it’s the overall depth and star power on the trenches that puts this team in first place.
As for the rest of the league, the reigning champions and power ranking darlings New England Patriots come in at #4, with an overall of 87. The other conference finalists of last year, the Saints, Rams, and Chiefs start the year at #3(87), #8(85) and #12(84). The NFC East is very top-heavy, with the Cowboys boasting a very surprising 88 rating which makes them second-highest. Washington sits firmly in the middle of the pack at 83, while the Giants capitalize on their not so great offseason to secure the second-lowest rating at 77.
The Eagles were also the highest-rated team coming into Madden NFL 19, fresh off their first-ever Super Bowl victory, which makes them the first to begin consecutive Madden versions as the highest-rated since the Packers in the 12 and 13 editions. A high rating in the game, however, doesn’t usually translate to success on the real-life field: none of the last 15 teams to begin the year atop the charts went on to win the Super Bowl. Eagles fans, of course, want that streak to be broken, and this current squad has as good a chance as any to do just that.
What a high rating does actually mean is that judging by past production and potential of the players, this roster is stacked. For any team to win a ring, a lot of things have to go their way during the course of the season, but when a team is as good and deep as Philadelphia, fewer breaks are needed.
The Eagles will have to fend off the second-best team in the game in order to even get out of the division, so it will definitely be a competitive, battled season. However, as Madden shows, it’s one we should all be very excited about.
Featured Image: EA Sports Game Footage
Discover more from Philadelphia Sports Nation
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.