Eight weeks of Premier Madden League football have come and gone. We are officially onto week 9 of the season and we are here to check who is leading each division and who is officially the bottom feeder of each division.
*Standings are taken from MyMadden
NFC East:
Previous Leader: New York Giants
Leader: New York Giant (6-2) – The Giants have kept their lead at the top of this division and are currently one of the best teams in the NFC. They are undefeated within the division, and boast the second best rushing attack in the league. This combined with perhaps the best defense in the league could take them right into the playoffs. The Commanders are hot on their trial, so their games in week 13 and 16 could determine who wins this division.
Previous Bottom: Dallas Cowboys
Bottom: Dallas Cowboys (2-7) – The Cowboys were not playing well to start the season and have since taken a little vacation, leaving their team to be managed by the computer. We have seen coaches do this frequently with success in the past. While they aren’t leading the Cowboys to the playoffs, the computer has managed to win the same amount of games as their user counterpart.
NFC West:
Previous Leader: Los Angeles Rams
Leader: Los Angeles Rams (7-1) – The Rams have won 4 straight games since we last checked on them. The most impressive part of this is the fact that they have only played one division game. They can increase their division lead by a lot in the coming weeks, which would give them a great shot at winning the division for the second straight season. The issue for the Rams is, can they take all of their regular season success and translate it into playoff wins.
Previous Bottom: San Francisco $9ers
Bottom: San Francisco 49ers (3-4)- The 49ers lost Trey Lance in a horrific injury that left them with one of the worst starting quarterbacks in the league. Given the attributes of their quarterback Purdy, one would assume that they would lose all the games he would start. This wasn’t the case, as the Niners have tailored their offense around Purdy. They aren’t out of the playoff race just yet and they should get Lance back just in time. They don’t have room for error, so they will need to go on a streak in order to have hope to save the rest of their season.
NFC North:
Previous Leader: Green Bay Packers
Leader: Green Bay Packers (7-1-1) – The Packers have had a great start to their season but it hasn’t been without a bit of quarterback controversy. Rodgers was on the trade block for most of the season, and with the assumption that he would be traded, rookie quarterback Hoocker was the starter. While he played pretty well, he isn’t a superstar x factor quarterback with the best abilities in the game. With rumors of his retirement next season, the Packers couldn’t find a trade partner for Rodgers so he is back as the starting quarterback. Rodgers took this entire thing personally and showed the Packers what they were missing with him on the bench. With Rodgers at the helm, he could take the team all the way to the superbowl.
Previous Bottom: Detroit Lions
Bottom: Detroit Lions (3-5) – The Lions are doing exactly what most thought they would this season. They are a top 10 passing team, however, Baker Mayfield leads the league in interceptions, having thrown 30 in eight games. He is on pace to throw 60 this season and this isn’t a formula for winning. The Lions need to rehaul their offense to focus on getting yards but not just heaving the ball up for whoever wants to catch it. Maybe they can save their season if this change is made.
NFC South:
Previous Leader: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Leader: Atlanta Falcons (5-4) – The Falcons traded away their future in order to get one of the best running backs in the league. With their win against the Buccaneers they are officially first in the division. Their offense has been running the ball, however, Ridder was the catalyst in the win that put them at the top of this division. You don’t see many teams play bad enough to pick in the top 10 then come back the next season and beat the defending superbowl champions, yet this is exactly what the Falcons did. Rumors have it that the entire organization, starting with their coach, is on the TANK POLICE’s radar.
Previous Bottom: Carolina Panthers
Bottom: Carolina Panthers (0-8) – The Panthers still havent won a game this season. They have come close, however, that doesn’t matter. They are doing what they like to do in running the ball and they are the third best in the league doing it, however, they don’t have the defense to win with this method. The defense is giving up 42 points on average. They are last in the league in points, and yards given up while being bottom ten in everything else. Will the Panthers be the first team ever to have back to back 0 win seasons? If they don’t want this to happen, then they will need to find a defense one way or another.
The Giants, Packers, Rams, and Falcons are the current division leaders. This may be a first but every bottom team has been the same since our last article. The only change to the leaders have been the Falcons replacing the Bucs. Most teams are still in the playoff hunt, however, the Vikings, Commanders, and Bears would get the wildcard spots as of now. Only 5 teams in the NFC are below .500. The playoff race will soon heat up and any team can still go on a hot streak. We will come back near the end of the season to see if any changes occur to the leaders or the bottom teams.
