July 15, 2020
Kate Frese/for PhillyVoice
Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz and running back Miles Sanders.
Do Madden ratings mean anything? No.
Are they scientific, or representative of any kind of intensive Pro Football Focus-like analytical study? No.
Do we love football so much that we decided to write yet another post about Madden 21 ratings? Absolutely.
As we approach the release of the latest version of the legendary football video game, Madden 21, ratings and snippets about the game have been leaking out. One of these leaks is overall team ratings, and the Eagles have the fourth best overall numbers in the game — as well as the No. 2 offense.
Interesting...
| Team | Offense | Defense | Overall |
| Saints | 88 | 83 | 85 |
| 49ers | 85 | 84 | 84 |
| Ravens | 85 | 84 | 84 |
| Buccaneers | 84 | 83 | 83 |
| Eagles | 87 | 80 | 83 |
| Cowboys | 85 | 81 | 83 |
| Chiefs | 87 | 77 | 82 |
| Colts | 84 | 80 | 82 |
| Steelers | 83 | 81 | 82 |
So the Eagles are better than the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs — and have an offense rated just as highly as the Patrick Mahomes-led high-powered attack in Kansas City?
That's a bit suspicious, and quite frustrating to many (like so much in Madden is). The preliminary ratings could change before game is released, but the Eagles love and Chiefs hate is nothing new. Even after the final update in last year's game, Madden 20, Kansas City wasn't among the top 10 teams by overall rating. Similarly, the Eagles were rated at an 89 overall this time last year, the best team in the game.
Clearly, the Madden rating system is flawed, likely because it draws its conclusion from the ratings of respective players on the teams — not from any kind of statistical data — or how those players would fit together on the field.
The Eagles head into 2020, in the game at least, with the right side of their offensive line (assuming Brandon Brooks is in the game, as injured players usually are) boasting Jason Kelce (94), Brooks (93) and Lane Johnson (89). They also have a top 10 quarterback in Wentz (84), an overrated top wideout in Alshon Jeffery (also an 84), and the third best tight end in football, Zach Ertz (90). We also assume that when full ratings come out, WR Desean Jackson, RB Miles Sanders and TE Dallas Goedert will be rated somewhere in the low 80s as well.
The Eagles are highly evaluated and are really the definition of a good-on-paper football team.
Here's another leak, the top 10 rated players on the Eagles roster:
| Player | Rating |
| Fletcher Cox (DT) | 96 |
| Jason Kelce (C) | 94 |
| Brandon Brooks (RG) | 93 |
| Zach Ertz (TE) | 90 |
| Lane Johnson (RT) | 89 |
| Brandon Graham (DE) | 87 |
| Darius Slay Jr. (CB) | 87 |
| Carson Wentz (QB) | 84 |
| Alshon Jeffery (WR) | 84 |
| Nickell-Roby Coleman (CB) | 83 |
More Madden ratings — which we will reiterate mean literally nothing but are fun to talk and complain about — will continue to leak right up until Madden 21 drops on August 25.
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