We are at the end of season one of the Premier Madden League. I am going to take a look at the top and bottom of each division and give my thoughts on how each team’s season went. In this article I will go over the AFC in this article.
AFC North:
Previous: Cleveland Browns
Pittsburgh Steelers (9-8): The Steelers clawed their way back and took over the division from the Browns who were 6-3 the last time we took a look at each division. The Browns collapse and the Steelers rise has given them a playoff berth that no one expected. The Steelers had the worst roster in the division, with the worst quarterback, but it didn’t matter. They made the trade for quarterback Wilson and that sparked their incredible comeback. With Wilson hurt they will have to rely on Pickett for their wildcard game. If they can limit the turnovers and let their defense keep them in the game, they could shock everyone and win their first game of the playoffs.
Previous: Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens (2–15): Lamar Jackson at 98 speed is losing his abilities this offseason. He has gone over the 30 interception threshold and this is one of the reasons why the Ravens ended the season on a 12 game losing streak. This roster was set to compete for the division crown. This roster, and Jacksons lucky speed upgrades, combined with the other coaches in the division was the perfect opportunity for Arod to take over and win this season. The exact opposite of this happened, and he ended with the number one overall pick. With it being “Caleb season” for a lot of teams, Arod will trade this pick for a king’s ransom. Maybe this is what is needed in order to take this team to the next level.
AFC West:
Previous: Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs (13-4): After losing in week 1, Mahomes and the Chiefs took the league by storm and never looked back. They have been playing great football and look to be a legitimate contender for the Superbowl. It’s going to be tough for any team in the playoffs to beat this team. Matigy will be locked in to try to be one of the few coaches to ever win back to back Super Bowls. Good luck to whoever plays this team first.
Previous: Denver Broncos
Las Vegas Raiders (5-12): The Raiders and their coach are under the hot seat. The tanking allegations are swirling and it won’t stop until we see how this team performs next season. The passing attack had a lot of yards this season, but also had a lot of interceptions. The interceptions which are uncharacteristic of this coach essentially cost them many games. The approach to not feed one of the best running backs in the game also contributed to the failure of this team. We will see if they draft a new quarterback, and if it leads to a more successful season 2. You can bet that if it does, those tanking allegations are going to come back stronger than ever.
AFC South:
Previous: Houston Texans
Houston Texans (12-4): The Texans started the season on a hot streak, and ended on a hot streak. They won 7 games in the first half of the season and 7 in the last half. This was a team that was one of the worst rosters in the league, and was at most expected to be a wildcard team. Coach Ke took that to heart and dominated this division. The Texans will be one of the worst rated teams in the playoffs, but that is not gonna stop them from winning a playoff game.
Previous: Jacksonville Jaguars
Indianapolis Colts (5-12): The Colts just didn’t have the season that they should have. There weren’t high expectations set on them, however, with one of the best Madden quarterback/running back duos, I expected them to compete for a wildcard and not a top 5 pick. Richardson had a terrible season, throwing over 40 interceptions. I understand not all rookies have great seasons, but Ricardo’s interceptions single handley ruined his progression as he will be dropped all the way back to normal development. He will need to take one more full year to get back to where he was unless he gets a development scenario, but let’s be honest, do we trust him to not throw interceptions during that game.
AFC East:
Previous: Buffalo Bills
New England Patriots (11-4-2): Ironically, those two ties are what gives the Patriots the division over the 11-6 Jets and Bills. If you would have said at the beginning of the season that two ties are gonna ensure a division win for a team this season, you would have been looked at funny. The Patriots were the worst roster in the division, with the worst Madden quarterback, but that didn’t matter. Spdot showed that he could win with one of the weakest quarterbacks in the league and it’ll be interesting to see if he can do it in the playoffs. All superbowl wins are impressive but If he takes this team and wins the Superbowl, it will be extremely impressive.
Previous: New York Jets
Miami Dolphins (9-8): This is the only division in the league that has all four teams ended the season with winning records. The Dolphins made the big trade in the middle of the season which sent Waddle to Atlanta for a boat load of draft picks. They felt that this was the right move and it may be in the future but it wasn’t for this season. While they ended the season with a winning record, they were last in the division and are out of the playoffs. If they kept Waddle, he would have put them over that hump and it’s a great bet that they would have made the playoffs.
