Madden Ratings Update: Week 1

Well, what can you say about Week 1 of the NFL season other than football was played.

The NFL is back, and to capitalize on that excitement, fans were treated to weather delays and tie games. Ouch. But at least your favorite teams like the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys, and Arizona Cardinals all showed up.

Despite the overall sloppiness and rust that will be gone in a couple weeks, there was some great football in the NFL’s return. Namely the Chicago Bears up against the Green Bay Packers. Watching two NFL superstars in Khalil Mack and Aaron Rodgers showcase their greatness was everything football fans have been missing in the offseason. While the game didn’t end in their favor, the Bears and Mack simply demolished the Pack in the first half. The offense looked poised and the defense looked elite.

But then Rodgers reminded everyone why he’s the best in the game and led a Packers comeback for the ages after being carted off the field earlier in the game. While that loss has to be heartbreaking, at least there’s a lot of promise in this Bears’ roster.

Speaking of Mack, Jon Gruden’s return as the Oakland Raiders Head Coach got off to a solid start before crumbling in the second half. Gruden himself mentioned that the Oakland pass rush wasn’t up to par. If only they had someone on their roster recently that would’ve helped in that regard.

Before getting into it, dynamic WR and Madden gamer JuJu Smith-Schuster continues to climb the ratings. This week he’s getting bumped up to a 90 Speed.  He’s proving himself as a great asset to both the Steelers and in Madden.

Enough of my ramblings, let’s move on to the movers and shakers this week.

You can argue whether or not he’s the best, but you can’t argue that Hill is the Chiefs’ most explosive playmaker. His first official touch of the season was a 91-yard punt return and his game-breaking speed continued to burn the Chargers’ DBs. This was on the road in Los Angeles, though you’d never know it looking at the crowd flooded with KC jerseys. Chargers fans are the only group more absent in Week 1 than the Buffalo Bills.

I’m all for running backs getting paid. They do tons of heavy lifting and pay the price for it, and this contract drama between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Le’Veon Bell doesn’t seem like it’s going to end anytime soon. But second-year RB James Conner gave Pittsburgh plenty of reason to believe in success without Bell. In fact, he gave them 192 total yards in a spot with big cleats to fill. 

Do you believe in Fitzmagic? Ryan Fitzpatrick obliterated the New Orleans Saints secondary, throwing four touchdowns to three different receivers. It was a huge upset of a division rival and broke WR Mike Evans’ cold streak against the Saints. 

Big Ben on the road hasn’t been great. It’s a bad start to the season to when you throw three INTs to the Cleveland Browns and fumble twice. It’s also big stamp on a team surrounded by question marks. They look to right that ship against Kansas City in Week 2. 

That was the worst I’ve seen Matt Ryan play. Week 1 might’ve been the worst game of his career. I’m not going to look back at his career stats or anything like that, but just trust me on that. It took 43 pass attempts for him to complete 21 passes and had no TDs with one interception. But more than the stats, his throws lacked velocity. It was reminiscent of Peyton Manning’s final season. It’s scary to think how out of hand that performance might’ve gotten without Julio Jones.    

Rounding out the trio of dropping QBs is Stafford, who looked lost in the debut of new coach Matt Patricia. The Jets simply seemed a league above the Lions all game long, and Stafford ended the contest with a whopping four INTs. 

–Daniel Williams (Follow Dan on Twitter @thatDanW)

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