Madden 26’s Week 8 has set foot on the list of events, and it has been the EA latest roster update that caused the big stir in the ratings, leading the whole community to change from one extreme to the other—from ecstatic to angry. “What’s your game of the week?” came the question from the official Madden NFL account on Twitter but what they ended up with was nothing less than a fiery dispute over the ratings of players along with heaps of complaints and even confusion.
A lot of players right at the start of the updates found it difficult to accept some of the decisions behind the ratings. People were in disbelief over Drake Maye’s speed being rated so high at 89 and the user BarkleySzn was very straightforward in his questioning just like “Why is Drake Maye 89 speed?” making it seem as if a quarterback’s speed rated this high is a bit too much. However, Nate Tice kindly stepped in and came up with video evidence of Maye hitting 20.07 MPH while running, so maybe the rating isn’t one to be so critical about after all.
However, this was not the only case of the quarterback’s dispute. The denigration of Bo Nix to the overall rating of 79 threw the spectators of the Broncos into a frenzy of rage. Peytonmayo18 was really talking about his frustration saying that, “How is Bo a 79 dude should be 82 plus” and NixForSix was demanding a whole 85 rating for Nix just because of his ability to win and deliver excellent performances in tough situations this season. The dispute about Nix’s rating turned out to be really heated and his followers were making appeals for a higher rating with ChristianKC816 saying, “Having an exceptional game doesn’t warrant an 85 overall” and “79-81 is fair asf” for where Nix is at right now.
But hold on, the drama around the quarterbacks is still not over. Brendon_Mold619 was very much in the wrong about Drake Maye being only an 83 overall and was basically yelling “WHY IS MAYE ONLY A 83” in all caps as if he had just been a witness to a crime. In the meantime, bgood1824 thought that Maye deserved a 90, hence there is absolutely no consensus at all on how to evaluate these two young QBs.
Then it was the case of Saquon Barkley which created another whole mess. StoryofaChamp could not resist pointing out how utterly ridiculous it was for Barkley to remain a 99 OVR even though he is “nerfed every week” and at the same time being the one with top 3 yards from scrimmage. It is like how does that even function?? The rating system must be really flawed when a player can be both the highest-rated player and at the same time be downgraded.
Furthermore, confusion was not only limited to skill positions. Theforgivenjuan called attention to the fact that the Bears’ left tackle rating is a pathetic 62 overall which fits well with Chicago’s offensive line but is still too low for a starting NFL player. Kludy44 came across Jalen Ramsey at 94 and seemed to be so genuinely surprised to the point of asking “That shit say Ramsey 94?” as if he were really in disbelief.
There are also the technical problems and several PC players are already calling for fixes. TheRundown55 boldly declared “FIX PC!!” while PopeOfChaos complained that live games have been “stuttering and lagging since the title update.” ChaseMascio has been complaining about helmet glitches that he claims have been in the game for TWO YEARS and he keeps posting pictures as the proof of bad visuals.
On the other hand, some complaints are simply hilarious. The_MicGuy was left wondering if “the Saudis AI generated these facescans” which is a rather strange yet very accurate criticism of the player models that is sometimes very hard to understand. Lasjeagas made a bizarre and wild statement comparing the constraints of male anatomy to the work output of the Madden dev team, which… okay then?
Thatzcreepy_ pointed out a franchise mode bug that has existed since Madden 24 which does not allow users to change the gear of players he or she has drafted, which honestly is a topic of discussion about the absurdity of such a basic thing being left unfixed for such a long time. _isaiahe was curious as to why Jordan Addison has not received any rating boosts despite the fact that he has been outperforming Justin Jefferson for the most part of the season.
And there is AJ_chpriv, who went all the way on the conspiracy theory path by saying that Trump’s “anger at the NFL” might indirectly lead to his son-in-law ending EA’s Madden deal and thus the game coming to “a company that still cares about putting out a good product.” This is indeed very speculative thinking.
Hau5Pac was very direct to the point of stating the low caliber of the graphics when he said “The graphics aren’t like that lol, they’re far from it!” in response to the promotional media, which honestly seems to be true because of the visuals glitches players are reporting.
It is hard to believe that this is just Week 8 – we still have the entire season left to go, and if the rating disputes are already this heated one can only wonder what things will be like by Week 18. The Madden team undoubtedly faces a very difficult task in the future trying to balance real-world performance and game ratings while simultaneously fixing long-term technical issues. Players want accuracy, they want justice, and they certainly do not want one side of the game to be overpowered—working properly on all platforms.
In the end, what really matters is that the passion that was expressed in these replies is the best evidence that the users still care very much about Madden, even with all its problems. Debates over player ratings, bugs, visual demands – all this comes from the urge to have the game at its full potential. We can only wish that the Madden team is really paying attention to this feedback and making strides because the community is surely not timid about voicing its thoughts. Week 8 is in the past, but the real game is played in the comments section.
