Screengrab via YouTube/EAMADDENNFL
Although the real season has some uncertainty because of the ongoing pandemic, thanks to the popular video game Madden NFL 21 releasing on August 25, football-crazed fans can get their fill of hard-hitting action. Sure, it might not be the real thing, but, if there’s no NFL season, Madden may be the only place you can see Tom Brady throw deep balls to his new Pro Bowl receivers on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, or run up insane stats with Patrick Mahomes‘ Kansas City Chiefs offense.
Here’s to hoping that’s not the case, but, if it is, then at least we’ll all have Madden NFL 21 to help us survive a fall and winter without football.
But choosing a team in Madden is always tricky, because ratings in the game often don’t actually reveal the true talent of a player — just ask Saquon Barkley and this year’s cover star Lamar Jackson, who both had beef with their overall ratings. And, while individual players always have a gripe with how Madden evaluators evaluate them for the video game version, it trickles down to something much bigger: The overall team ratings.
While we usually have to wait to see which teams are stacked and rated the highest — as the video game slowly reveals top-rated players at each position to generate buzz and interest — thanks to an apparent leak, football fans can see how their favorite team is rated in Madden NFL 21. Take a look below to see the top-8 overall team ratings in the upcoming game.
Madden 21 Highest Rated Teams
1. New Orleans Saints – 85
2. San Francisco 49ers – 84
3. Baltimore Ravens – 84
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 83
5. Dallas Cowboys – 83
6. Philadelphia Eagles – 83
7. Kansas City Chiefs – 82
8. Indianapolis Colts – 82
Full ratings https://t.co/1fBZURDQka— Madden School (@Maddenschool) July 14, 2020
But the apparent leak didn’t stop there, because, as the tweet above suggests, every single NFL team rating was revealed, which includes both offensive and defensive ratings as well. Scroll down to see where your favorite team stands in Madden NFL 21; which are listed from the best to the worst. Sorry Dolphins fans.
- New Orleans Saints
- 85 Overall
- 88 Offense
- 83 Defense
- San Francisco 49ers
- 84 Overall
- 85 Offense
- 84 Defense
- Baltimore Ravens
- 84 Overall
- 85 Offense
- 84 Defense
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- 83 Overall
- 84 Offense
- 83 Defense
- Dallas Cowboys
- 83 Overall
- 85 Offense
- 81 Defense
- Philadelphia Eagles
- 83 Overall
- 87 Offense
- 80 Defense
- Kansas City Chiefs
- 82 Overall
- 87 Offense
- 77 Defense
- Indianapolis Colts
- 82 Overall
- 84 Offense
- 80 Defense
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- 82 Overall
- 83 Offense
- 81 Defense
- Cleveland Browns
- 81 Overall
- 84 Offense
- 79 Defense
- Chicago Bears
- 81 Overall
- 79 Offense
- 85 Defense
- Buffalo Bills
- 81 Overall
- 80 Offense
- 83 Defense
- Los Angeles Chargers
- 81 Overall
- 79 Offense
- 85 Defense
- Green Bay Packers
- 81 Overall
- 83 Offense
- 79 Defense
- New England Patriots
- 81 Overall
- 80 Offense
- 83 Defense
- Las Vegas Raiders
- 81 Overall
- 85 Offense
- 77 Defense
- Seattle Seahawks
- 80 Overall
- 80 Offense
- 81 Defense
- Houston Texans
- 80 Overall
- 80 Offense
- 80 Defense
- Tennessee Titans
- 80 Overall
- 81 Offense
- 80 Defense
- Minnesota Vikings
- 80 Overall
- 80 Offense
- 81 Defense
- Arizona Cardinals
- 79 Overall
- 79 Offense
- 80 Defense
- Atlanta Falcons
- 79 Overall
- 80 Offense
- 79 Defense
- Los Angeles Rams
- 79 Overall
- 80 Offense
- 79 Defense
- Cincinnati Bengals
- 78 Overall
- 76 Offense
- 81 Defense
- Denver Broncos
- 78 Overall
- 76 Offense
- 81 Defense
- New York Giants
- 78 Overall
- 80 Offense
- 76 Defense
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- 78 Overall
- 79 Offense
- 77 Defense
- New York Jets
- 78 Overall
- 77 Offense
- 81 Defense
- Carolina Panthers
- 78 Overall
- 80 Offense
- 76 Defense
- Detroit Lions
- 77 Overall
- 77 Offense
- 79 Defense
- Washington Redskins
- 77 Overall
- 75 Offense
- 80 Defense
- Miami Dolphins
- 76 Overall
- 73 Offense
- 80 Defense
Now, I understand that this is just a video game and that Madden NFL 21 shouldn’t be taken as the holy grail of player and team ratings, but, assuming these ratings are accurate, sheesh, it’s hard to believe that the Philadelphia Eagles have as highly-rated of an offense as the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. Or that the Cincinnati Bengals — who just had the top overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft — have the same overall team rating as the Los Angeles Rams, who, while a different team, are still just a season removed from a Super Bowl trip. Something just doesn’t sit right with those decisions.
As you might expect, people on Twitter had a bunch of reactions after seeing the leaked Madden team ratings, and some of the opinions are below.
@Chiefs 82.. Wowwwww like they didn’t win the bowl and have mostly everyone back sheesh.
— T.Gray (@CoachTimGray) July 14, 2020
Is anyone going to tell them the cowboys went 8-8?
— Wyatt McMinn (@WyattMcMinn) July 14, 2020
Every season is awesome to play Madden NFL 21, but with this year’s NFL season legitimately being threatened of being cancelled, the popular video game just seems to mean a little bit more to fans this year. So, hopefully, you have a favorite team that’s highly rated, otherwise, you may have to endure a long season.