Before we start the predictions, I want to take a moment and talk about the longevity and success of this league. 22 years ago, I was a 21 year old kid with an idea to create an online madden league, but really had no idea how it worked. With the help of Dolan (Lhu27) we created the MOF. We had some bumps and bruises in our first few seasons, but now 76 seasons later here we are. One of the most prestigious leagues out there. As we enter our unprecedented 77th season, a number that not many leagues, if any, have ever seen, I want to thank every single one of you for making this league what it is. I say this all the time, but this is a wonderful hobby for all of us. Something to get our minds off the everyday grind and have a place to escape for a few hours a week. I take pride and pleasure in providing that for you guys, so again, thank you for making the MOF great!
Welcome to the Season 77 Predictions! So last season's numbers, I was 5 for 7 in the AFC. In the NFC I was 4 for 7. I got the AFC Championship correct, but I was off in the NFC. The last season of the edition is always a hard one to predict with all the turnover, the coaches dropping, losing interest. So I blame most of my failures on that. Coach Beast was the most surprising. Going from 16-1 in Season 75 to missing the playoffs in Season 76. We also saw rookie Strawblacks make his MOF debut and get all the way to the Super Bowl with the Eagles, very impressive start. We also saw Coach Canes turn his fortunes around moving to Atlanta from Cincy and getting to the post season. But in the end, we saw Coach BigReub win another Super Bowl. So the edition ended with Coach Mack and BigReub winning 4 out of the 5 Super Bowls, with Coach Wilky sprinkled in. Now we begin this edition without Coach BigReub and without Coach Wilky, those are two huge names that won't be here to start the edition! Who can surprise us this edition? Will we see a new coach contend for the title? Will Coach Mack have another incredible edition? Can Big Reg and Jfon renew their success in the NFC South? The new season is always filled with excitement, so without further ado, here are your MOF Season 77 Predictions!
*Remember all these predictions are very in depth. We go game by game with the current schedule and predict games 1 by 1 and that's how we come up with our algorithms. Remember this is all in good fun and for some, some bulletin board material! Enjoy
Biggest Off-Season Addition: LT Tyron Smith - NYJ (95 ovr)
Biggest Off-Season Subtraction: DT Christian Wilkins - MIA (88 ovr)
Best Draft Selection: LT Olumuyiwa Fashanu - NYJ (78 ovr)
The AFC East was basically dominated last edition by Coach Bubba and the Buffalo Bills who won the division in all 5 seasons. I think this edition we are already set up for more of a competition. Coach MrWitness is taking on the Jets, Coach Beast01790 has the Bills, Coach TSG_Lee is coaching the Pats, and Coach Shawty is coaching Miami. We begin with the New York Jets and Coach MrWitness. Witness is coming off a tough edition, as he took some time off after the first season and came back with Cleveland in the final two seasons. Witness is a MOF Hall of Famer, and he's 1 edition removed from winning 2 Super Bowls with the Eagles. So we know the talent and skills are there for him. The Jets have one of the best rosters in the league. Besides Aaron Rodgers, they are young and have a lot of talent. Their offensive line was revamped in the offseason, which is what they really needed, signing Smith, Moses, and John Simpson. They have one of the top defenses in the league as well, signing Haason Reddick to go along with Quinnen Williams. The Jets are the favorites to win this division coached by MrWitness and I think they will receive a bit of pressure from Buffalo, but that's about all. Speaking of Buffalo, coach Beast returns for his first full edition in a very long time. Beast made his triumphant return last edition with the Chargers. He immediately put the league on notice going 16-1 in Season 75. He didn't have the playoff success we were expecting and then followed that up by missing the playoffs all together last season. Beast is a lot like MrWitness, although he's a little more removed from the league, Beast is an MOF Hall of Famer, and multiple time Super Bowl winner. He is playing with his favorite team, and that makes him immediately dangerous. The Bills had themselves an interesting offseason. They lost WR Stefon Diggs and S Jordan Poyer which are huge losses. They were able to sign WR Curtis Samuel and WR KJ Hamler to make up for it, but does it? There is a drastic decline in overall talent on the roster and that will hurt Beast in the first season or two. So the Bills sacrificed a little bit cutting some bigger contracts for aging players and that will create future flexibility. They should challenge the Jets, but I think they will fall short and challenge for a wild-card spot. Coach TSG_Lee returns this edition with the New England Patriots. Coach TSG has become one of the better pickups in recent memory, his activity, positive attitude has been something that we love to see out of new coaches. TSG had a tough time with the Rams last edition but with a clean slate and a team to work with from the start, I think things will change for TSG. Coaching and running the Patriots is going to take patience and discipline. They come into this edition as one of the teams with the most cap space. Despite all that available money, the Patriots really didn't do much in the offseason. Sure they signed MOF Legend HB Antonio Gibson, but last time I checked, Coach Betts wasn't coaching the Patriots. The best thing the Patriots can do is create enough support around rookie QB Drake Maye. The real issue is that they do not have a #1 WR on the team. Chukuma Okorafor? I don't think so. Look, I don't think there's really a bad team to start a franchise with, especially when you are looking to build from the ground up and that's exactly what the Patriots coaching job is. I think the Pats will struggle a bit in the first season, but once TSG gets some moves under his belt, he will build this team up. Coach Shawty just cannot get out of the AFC East. He said it best, he finally gets a top pick but Coach Beast winds up getting the 1st pick and takes the Bills right ahead of him. Coach Shawty had the Patriots last edition, and the best he did was 7-10. Miami clearly is a better team than New England, and probably the fastest team in the entire league. If you're looking for cap space, Miami ain't it, as they are ranked 29th overall out of 32 teams in cap space. This is one of the biggest reasons they had to let DT Christian Wilkins walk. They lost CB Xavien Howard, but replaced him with CB Kendall Fuller. They also cut LB Jerome Baker but brought in LB Jordyn Brooks. The interior of the offensive line is still a concern. Connor Williams could still be re-signed but remains a free agent while Robert Hunt signed with the Carolina Panthers. If the Dolphins are going to continue having one of the best offenses in the league, they will need to find answers there. I expect Shawty to finish around 6-11 and probably 3rd or 4th until he can get the feel for these guys.
Biggest Off-Season Addition: HB Derrick Henry - BAL (94 ovr)
Biggest Off-Season Subtraction: HB Joe Mixon - CIN (91 ovr)
Best Draft Selection: RT Amarius Mims - CIN (78 ovr)
The AFC North absolutely dominated last edition. 5 Seasons, 5 Super Bowl appearances, 4 Super Bowl wins. Coach Mack with Baltimore and Coach BigReub with Pittsburgh were the cream of the crop. However, things are about to change here in the AFC North this edition. As they were the best division last edition, I think they could be one of the worst this edition. We have the returning newest member of the MOF Hall of Fame Coach Enzo taking the Cleveland Browns, Coach Minden back with the Ravens, Coach Gouch with the Steelers, and Bengalsonly finally getting his Bengals. We are starting with Coach Enzo and the Cleveland Browns. Coach Enzo took an edition off in Madden '24, but if you look at Enzo's career he has had many upon many winning seasons. There is a reason he is in the hall of fame. The Cleveland Browns are a very underrated team in my eyes. Sure they have a huge cloud over their head in the form of Deshaun Watson's contract, which I'm sure Enzo will be working on trying to get rid of immediately. But these guys went out and signed some strong free-agents, despite having salary cap woes. WR Jerry Jeudy, LB Jordan Hicks, LB Devin Bush, HB D'Onta Foreman, HB Nyheim Hines, those are pretty good additions. Sure they lost QB Joe Flacco, LB Anthony Walker and a couple others but nothing significant enough to make me think it will affect them from winning. I like the Browns and Enzo to edge out the rest of the division and come out on top, and I believe he will do it without Watson. The Baltimore Ravens and Coach Minden unite once again as they were together back in Madden '23. Minden had some success last season, but last edition just wasn't very kind to him. In fact, Minden hasn't really been a top tier coach in some time. However, I think this edition that could change. The Baltimore Ravens are arguably the best team to start a franchise with and it's because of all that talent. The Ravens lost HB Gus Edwards but they replaced him with the ageless wonder HB Derrick Henry. I don't know how many seasons Minden will actually get out of DH but 1 or 2 is probably realistic. They did lose LB Patrick Queen which could hurt if they didn't have Trenton Simpson and Roquan Smith. If the Ravens had any holes its probably their pass rush. Losing Queen and Clowney without really replacing them could hurt. The Ravens have a tough cap situation and that could loom to be a problem down the road. The Ravens could easily jump the Browns in the division, but I am predicting them to finish 2nd right behind Cleveland for the division. Coach Gouch had some bright moments last edition as the New York Jets. He did make the playoffs once, and was right around the thick of things for the majority of the edition. Gouch has had him fair share of success here in the MOF but success has come few and far between, only making the playoffs 5 times in 28 seasons. Well, he is in the right division to turn his fortunes around this edition. The Steelers went out and immediately addressed their QB situation by signing QB Russell Wilson and then trading for QB Justin Fields. I am unsure who Gouch will be starting, but we know Wilson can be moved with the younger Fields right there. I love the additions of LB Patrick Queen and CB Donte Jackson. WR Quez Watkins was a low key great Madden move as he brings some speed to Gouch, which we know he loves. The Steelers bottom line, got better in the game's most important position and added a stable piece to address their biggest need on defense. Although I am predicting the Steelers to finish in 3rd place, I think they will be right in the thick of the division race for the majority of the season. Coach Bengalsonly had one of the most interesting editions we've seen last year. He coached the Colts to three straight division titles and didn't win a single playoff game. However, easily the best work of his career. Now he is coaching the Cincinnati Bengals, a team that he's been trying to get a for a bit now. The Bengals come into this season under the radar because of the injury to Joe Burrow last season. We cannot forget how good this team is. The Bengals did lose HB Joe Mixon, which was huge, and replaced him with HB Zack Moss which definitely is a downgrade. They also lost DT DJ Reader and OT Jonah Williams. So it's hard to say that the Bengals are better heading into this edition than they were last. The salary cap situation with WR Tee Higgins might be something that Coach Bengalsonly will have to navigate pretty much the second we begin the CFM. To pay Higgins and Chase with Burrow getting all that money is going to be difficult, so i wouldn't be shocked to see Higgins traded right away for some draft picks. Look, everytime I pick Coach Bengals to finish under 500 he shuts me up and wins the division. Can he win this division? Sure can. Will he? I don't think so.. but I'm not as confident as the rest of the divisions.
Biggest Off-Season Addition: HB Joe Mixon - HOU (91 ovr)
Biggest Off-Season Subtraction: HB Derrick Henry - TEN (94 ovr)
Best Draft Selection: LT JC Latham - TEN (78 ovr)
The AFC South retained two coaches from last season, Coach BigDre's Jaguars and Coach Alex's Texans. Entering the fray this season is Coach Eddie and the Colts, and Coach Pettigrew and the Titans. It's nice to see some fresh faces in a division that gets beat up a lot because they seem to never make it passed the divisional round. Last edition we saw Coach Bengalsonly's Colts win the division three times in a row, will we see the same dominance from 1 team again? We begin with Coach BigDre and the Jags. Coach Dre at first drafted the Eagles, but traded them to Coach ELBuccs for the Jaguars. This will be Dre's 27th consecutive season as the Jags head coach, I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure that's an MOF record for longevity. Dre had a nice Madden '24 making the playoffs 4 out of the 5 seasons. The Jags went out and signed WR Gabe Davis for the loss of WR Calvin Ridley. But probably the nicest signing was DT Arik Armstead who gives that defensive line some power. Another great signing was CB Ronald Darby who is coming off a nice season with Baltimore. Overall the Jaguars made some nice moves to help the defense, they could really use another edge rusher and a starting CB but that's something Dre can figure out once he's behind the headset. The Jags offense needs to make some moves, Trevor Lawrence is going into his 4th season and their #1 receiver is Christian Kirk. I still believe the Jags and Coach Dre are the team to beat in the division, and I'm giving the edge to them. The Tennessee Titans are no longer coached by MrRoclo ending a 10 season streak. Instead, enter Coach Pettigrew. Pettigrew coached the Eagles last season for 4 seasons and then took a break during the 5th. Pettigrew went 46-22 in those 4 seasons making the playoffs each time. No doubt that the Hall of Fame coach knows how to work the sticks and with the Titans, anything is possible. The Titans did a great job in the off-season taking care of their needs and making up for their losses. They decided to let HB Derrick Henry go and replaced him with HB Tony Pollard. It looks like QB Will Levis will be the starter but we all know QB Malik Willis is waiting in the wings (probably to be traded to Coach MrRoclo). I love the addition of CB L'Jarius Sneed. They transformed corner from a position of weakness to strength by bringing him in with Chibobe Awuzie. They need to invest in the front seven through the draft, but the bones are there to build a great unit. I believe the Titans will give the Jaguars a run for their money and both teams should be in the playoffs regardless of where they finish. The Houston Texans are returning Coach Latinyank to the team after finishing 10-7 in Season 76 and narrowly missing out on a playoff spot. Coach Alex has had a tough time over the past few seasons, but it looks like he's starting to turn a corner. The Texans are one of the hottest teams in the game with one of the best rosters. CJ Stroud is getting better and better and on a rookie contract you are set up for success. The Texans spent some money in the offseason and grabbed WR Stefon Diggs, DE Danielle Hunter, HB Joe Mixon, to name a few. Throw in moves to bring in some established veterans on the defense in Azeez Al-Shaair and Denico Autrey and this is a very scary Texans team. I think it usually takes Alex a season or two to get it going, I expect them to finish in 3rd place and to not be much of a threat to Jacksonville or Tennessee just yet. Coach Texmexgalvan is running with the Colts this edition. Last edition Coach Tex had the Packers, and it wasn't too pretty, 25-60 over 5 seasons. I know the talent is there for Coach Tex, he just needs to put the time in to get a feel for the game and he'll be ok. Indianapolis' offseason has been less about who it has added and more about who it has retained. The Colts had an important internal free-agent class and they were able to keep just about everyone who really mattered going forward. Overall, the Colts have positioned themselves to keep things going and hope that Richardson staying healthy and improving will drive the improvement of the team. I just think that Coach Tex's talent might hold him back in the first season or two, with Alex who is used to the Texans and HOF Coaches Dre and Pettigrew there, there isn't much room for mistakes.
Biggest Off-Season Addition:DT Christian Wilkins - LV (88 ovr)
Biggest Off-Season Subtraction: WR Keenan Allen - LAC (90 ovr)
Best Draft Selection: RT Joe Alt - LAC (79 ovr)
The AFC West was one of those divisions last edition that never really got it together. It seems like it was a constant battle between Reg's Broncos, MMX's Chiefs, and at the end Beast's Chargers. There wasn't really 1 team that dominated the entire time, and that's a good thing. Going into this edition, things could change with that. Coach Bubba is back with his Chiefs, Coach MackDaddy is back with the Chargers, the Commish has the Raiders, and rookie coach AJ has the Broncos. We begin with the Chiefs and Coach Bubba. Bubba had himself quite an edition in Madden '24. He went 70-15 with 5 playoff wins. The Super Bowl eluded him with the likes of Mack and BigReub edging him out but Bubba is ready to make that next step with the Chiefs. Obviously you have all world QB Patrick Mahomes leading the charge, and when you have him, anything is possible. I absolutely love the draft pick of WR Xavier Worthy who is going to be a force to be reckoned with for Coach Bubba. The Chiefs biggest off-season move was the trade of L'Jarius Sneed. Obviously with the cap restraints nowadays, they really didn't have a choice. The important thing for the Chiefs is that they got DT Chris Jones back and they are developing CB Trent McDuffie. I also really like the low key signing of WR Marquise Brown, another speedy WR for Mahomes to go to. Obviously Kelce is back, but for how long? His decline is coming. I am clearly going with the Chiefs to win this division, it doesn't matter the holes they have, Bubba will figure it out and they will be an AFC favorite going into the season. Coach MackDaddy has made his return to the LA Chargers where he spent Seasons 57-61, winning 1 title with them. He also had the Chargers back in Season 46-50. So the familiarity is there for Coach MackDaddy and those Chargers. MackDaddy hasn't had the success we are used to seeing out of him for the past two editions now. Although he isn't having horrible seasons, he just isn't having "MackDaddy" seasons. I think things are going to start changing this time around. The Chargers are a team he plays well with and with the additions of HB Gus Edwards and TE Hayden Hurst, I think that fits right up MackDaddy's alley when it comes to strong positions. So the Chargers have a difficult cap situation to start the edition, which is why they had to part ways with Ekeler, Allen, and Mike Williams. The Chargers had to take a step back from a talent standpoint. Ekeler and Allen have been instrumental in Justin Herbert's early success. The Chargers aren't better from a pure talent standpoint, but it feels like there's a vision in place with this tear down. I think MackDaddy is in a great position to make some moves to better this roster and it will pay off in the long run. I still expect MackDaddy to return to the post-season and give Bubba some heat from 2nd place. Commish Jeff completely made a 180 and went to the AFC West where he's only been 4 times in his 75 seasons as a coach. Commish had a solid Madden '24 with the 49ers making the playoffs 3 out of the 4 seasons he was there. Commish's playoff drought has continued though, with only 2 playoff wins in the past 17 seasons, the struggle is real. The good news is he probably wont have a chance to make that worse with the Raiders because I don't expect them to make the playoffs anytime soon. The Raiders have a lot of work to do, and it starts at QB. They went out and signed QB Gardner Minshew to be the starter and Aidan O'Connell to back up. I'm sure Commish is going to look for a replacement pretty much immediately, and don't rule out the Italian stallion Jimmy G. The Raiders made a huge splash in a good way by signing Christian Wilkins. He was the third overall player on the BR free agency big board and he's a perfect fit for the need they had on the defensive line. The only ding is that they should have done more to address the offensive line. With Jermaine Eluemunor and Greg Van Roten departing, the Raiders need a right guard and right tackle. I believe Commish will have his hands full in the first season or two, but he could possibly get a good roster together by the middle of the edition. Right now though, I expect them to finish just under 500. Coach AJ makes his MOF debut with the Denver Broncos. We saw Coach AJ make his unofficial debut in the NCAA tournament and he played well. However, we all know the age old testament. We do not give rookies their flowers until we see them play some games first, so that's the only reason we have him finishing in last place. That and the Broncos just aren't that good of a team. They probably had one of the worst off-seasons in the league. They are taking on 53 million in dead cap because of Russell Wilson. The rebuilding moves didn't stop there. They traded away Jerry Jeudy for two Day 3 picks. It's not a great return for a former first-round pick and they also cut veteran safety Justin Simmons. It all results in future cap flexibility, which is great, but it doesn't do much to make them a better football team this season. Sure they drafted Bo Nix and he looks to be the QB of the future and someone to build around. Still, the Broncos feel like they are burning through a year with an offseason that isn't likely to make them better on the field this season, and that's why they will be finishing last.
Biggest Off-Season Addition: HB Saquon Barkley - PHI (92 ovr)
Biggest Off-Season Subtraction: LT Tyron Smith - DAL (95 ovr)
Best Draft Selection: WR Malik Nabers - NYG (77 ovr)
The NFC East was dominated by the Eagles and Commanders last edition. Pettigrew and StrawBlacks for the Eagles and Coach Portisss26 for the Commanders. This edition we're seeing a bit of a change of the guard as the Cowboys are coached by Coach Q, Giants by Portisss26, Eagles by ELBuccs, and the Commanders by MrRoclo. We begin with CoachQ and the Dallas Cowboys. Q finally got his boys! Coach Q had himself quite a Madden '24 with 4 playoff appearances and 3 straight division titles with the Seahawks. A lot like Commish, Coach Q's playoff woes continued to hold him back when it mattered most. Either way though, you cannot deny that he's getting the chances to get there and that's all you can hope for, and then let the chips fall. The Dallas Cowboys just signed CeeDee Lamb and I'm sure that will update once the rosters are finalized, which makes it a very difficult task to keep Dak Prescott on the team. The cap space is a real problem in Dallas and their offseason was probably ranked as the worst in the league. The Dallas Cowboys have lost a plethora of key contributors while adding linebacker Eric Kendricks. Seriously, Kendricks represents the beginning and end of Dallas' new additions. Maybe the Cowboys believe they can fill all of their biggest needs in the draft, but their offseason plan has telegraphed their intentions. It's a good thing that Dallas has Coach Q behind the helm, because he's one of the best GMs in the league when it comes to improving a roster. It will be fun to watch him in big D and I expect them to take this division this season. The Washington Commanders are not being coached by Betts and it doesn't feel comfortable. In fact it feels like I'm typing this lefty. Over the past 27 seasons Coach Betts has had the Commanders 25 times. MrRoclo is now behind the headset, leaving the Titans in which he was there for 10 seasons in a row. Roclo had a very solid Madden '24, making the playoffs the last two seasons and winning a wild-card game as well. Roclo is known for developing QBs and WRs and he's going to have his chance in Jayden Daniels this edition. The Commanders desperately needed to turn over one of the league's most underwhelming rosters, and with no shortage of cap space, they did exactly that. Losing centerpiece players like Kamren Curl and Kendall Fuller hurts, but Washington should be better both defensively and along the offensive line. Did they overpay for older vets like Austin Ekeler and Bobby Wagner? Perhaps, but bad teams don't convince players to sign at a bargain. I think the off-season was a success for Washington, along with Daniels these guys could easily be a playoff team this season. The New York Giants are bringing in Coach Betts, as we mentioned before, and it's just very weird. There's no denying the success of Coach Betts who is easily the winning-est coach in MOF history with 690 regular season wins, that's not including his record 65 playoff wins and 8 Super Bowl rings. What's interesting is he won all 8 titles with Washington. The New York Giants are a team in shambles, they are the worst rated team in the game and they have holes all over the place. The Giants overpaid to keep Daniel Jones and running it back with largely the same group didn't keep the Giants relevant in the playoff race last season. New York will miss running back Saquon Barkley and safety Xavier McKinney. However, Devin Singletary is a sneaky-good backfield addition, and the roster improved in some other key areas. The big question now is whether the Giants stick with Jones or try landing a quarterback prospect in the draft? Coach Betts has some decisions to make, but he's another coach who makes great moves and can make the Giants a contender pretty quick. I think once he gets over the uniform and the fact that he's playing with the Giants, he will be a force. However, I have him finishing in 3rd behind Dallas and Washington this season. The Philadelphia Eagles are coached by ELBuccs this edition, and Coach ELBuccs is happy to get out of the NFC South, which was probably one of the greatest divisions we've ever seen in the MOF. ELBuccs just couldn't get anything going with Tampa last edition and wound up finishing last in all 5 seasons. Well, now he has a monster roster in the Philadelphia Eagles that got even better in the offseason. Philadelphia still needs a lock-down corner, more safety help and some additional linebacker depth, but the defense should be far more reliable than it was a year ago. Bryce Huff is a younger replacement for the traded Haason Reddick and may possess more upside. Matt Hennessy is an adequate replacement for the retired Jason Kelce. The Eagles threw a few darts at the receiver position too, as they continue to search for a dependable third receiver. The only real knock against the Eagles offseason is the decision to give Saquon Barkley $26 million in guaranteed money. The 27-year-old could be a tremendous addition to the Eagles offense, but he also carries a noteworthy injury history. I think ELBuccs will have more success with Philly than with Tampa but he's still in a division with 3 hall of famers, that's tough.
Biggest Off-Season Addition: WR Keenan Allen - CHI (90 ovr)
Biggest Off-Season Subtraction: HB Aaron Jones - GB (88 ovr)
Best Draft Selection: LB Dallas Turner - MIN (78 ovr)
The NFC North last edition had Jfon pretty much as the division champ most of the time with the Lions. We saw Coach Breezy come in for 1 season and then bounce with the Bears, and Kray won a division 1 season as well. This edition we have quite possibly, when its all said and done, the best coach in MOF history in Mack with the Packers, we have Coach Canes with the Lions, Kray is back with the Vikings, and Remo has come home to the Bears. We begin with Coach Mack and the Green Bay Packers. Coach Mack immediately makes the Packers contenders not only because the Packers have a lot of young talent, but because Mack has an impeccable record since he's started here in the MOF. Through 9 seasons Coach Mack is 125-26 with 3 Super Bowl victories. 2 coming last season coaching the Baltimore Ravens. He's one of two coaches that played at least 9 seasons and has a winning percentage in the 800s. Now the Packers weren't terribly active in the offseason and that really isn't too surprising. They basically swapped Aaron Jones for Josh Jacobs and Darnell Savage for Xavier McKinney. The Packers ranked 3rd in YPI in the madden 25 rankings, which makes them one of the youngest and most talented teams in the league. The Packers really don't need much and they have enough cap space to build around Jordan Love who is going to have himself one hell of an edition. I expect the Packers to win this division by a few games and be a real Super Bowl contender. The Detroit Lions are coached by Canes this season. Coach Canes, better known as Coach Healy, had the Bengals for 4 seasons before switching to the Falcons in the last season. Obviously being in the AFC North was not fun with Mack and BigReub dominating, so the season he moved to Atlanta he got to the playoffs. Coach Canes is a hall of fame coach, he knows how to win, he knows how to develop, he's fantastic at getting a defensive line that puts pressure on the QB and that's exactly what I expect him to do in Detroit. This offseason, the additions of Carlton Davis, Amik Robertson, D.J. Reader and Marcus Davenport should help boost a pass defense that ranked 21st in net yards per pass attempt allowed last season. After replacing departed guard Jonah Jackson with Kevin Zeitler, the Lions head into the season with a complete roster and no glaring weaknesses. On paper, the Lions are better than they were a year ago, and that's saying something. They improved while leaving enough cap space available to extend wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown and quarterback Jared Goff later this offseason. The Lions will be a problem, a good problem, I don't think Canes has enough fire power to jump Mack's Packers but he will contend, and maybe even beat Mack once. The Minnesota Vikings are bringing back Coach Krayzie once again. Kray had the Vikings last edition, and in a much easier division. This edition things are going to be tough, especially without his best buddy Danielle Hunter. The Vikings more or less hovered around 500 last edition, winning the division one time in the process. Krayzie is going to have to win more than that to compete in a tough NFC North and tough NFC all together. The Vikings decided to part ways with Kirk Cousins and drafted the QB of the future in JJ McCarthy. However, in a vacuum, the Minnesota Vikings are worse than they were last season. They lost a top-tier edge-rusher in Danielle Hunter and lost their starting quarterback when Kirk Cousins signed with Atlanta. The Vikings inked Justin Jefferson to a huge contract and that should be reflected in the game. Coach Kray has some work to do in Minnesota, but I think he finally has a great QB to build around and a really good rookie in LB Dallas Turner. I expect them to struggle in the first season, but he will figure it out by the 2nd season and be a team to take serious. The Chicago Bears and Coach Remo have reunited, and it feels so good. Coach Remo had two teams last edition, the Chargers and then moved to the Raiders. It's no question Remo struggled with those Chargers and getting Justin Herbert off the ground, he was then gifted Joe Burrow and the Raiders but wasn't really able to make any noise. Remo has been in the MOF for 35 seasons, has a 86-490 record and has never made the post season. Only Dpanther has played more seasons without making the playoffs (44). That doesn't stop Remo from enjoying himself though, and honestly that's all that really matters. He's going to have a lot of fun with these Bears this edition with Caleb Williams, Rome Odunze, DeAndre Swift, and the addition of Keenan Allen. Allen and D.J. Moore will give Williams a tremendous receiver duo. The Bears also added some depth to the offensive line by trading for Ryan Bates and signing Matt Pryor and Coleman Shelton. Add in the fact that Chicago locked up star cornerback Jaylon Johnson, and it's hard not to call this offseason a massive success. I believe Remo is in a very tough division, but to jump Krayzie would be a successful season, and I think there's an outside chance that could happen.
Biggest Off-Season Addition: DE Chase Young - NO (85 ovr)
Biggest Off-Season Subtraction: LB Brian Burns - CAR (86 ovr)
Best Draft Selection: HB Jonathon Brooks - CAR (77 ovr)
The NFC South was a division of great success last edition. Coach Wilky, Betroit, and Boobie respectively made the playoffs every single season. Coach Wilky won a Super Bowl with Atlanta, and then left the league. Betroit also left the league after a great run in Carolina. This edition we see some familiar faces return to the division in BigReg with Atlanta, and Jfon with Tampa. We see some new faces as well, with Coach Dev with the Panthers, and rookie Coach ChefxSteph with the Saints. We begin with the Atlanta Falcons and Coach Big Reg. It's nice to see Reg back where he belongs, in Atlanta, ready to build a winning team around a rookie QB. Last edition BigReg coached the Denver Broncos and had some success. Winning 1 division and earning 1 wild-card. Of course, it wasn't as successful as he would have wanted, but nevertheless here we are in Madden '25 and he has his Falcons back. The Atlanta Falcons haven't made a ton of additions, but they addressed their biggest need by signing quarterback Kirk Cousins. Of course, we do not know what Big Reg is gonna do, but my heart says he will start Penix and probably trade Cousins. However, he does have that 4 year-180 million dollar contract to consider. Atlanta's offense is loaded with play makers like Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier, Kyle Pitts and Drake London. A decent QB will be the missing piece in a winnable NFC South. Darnell Mooney and Rondale Moore give the Falcons some more options at receiver, but adding a high-end complement to London would be advisable. The Falcons could also use a top-tier edge-rusher and some more secondary depth, but the roster has few glaring weaknesses. Despite that, I believe Reg is the favorite coming into the season. I think he will sneak into the post-season as the division winner over Jfon, but it will be a fun close race. Speaking of Jfon, he is back with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Spending the last 5 seasons with the Lions, Coach Jfon is back where he belongs. During those 5 seasons in Detroit, Jfon won the division 3 times. Although he didn't win any playoff games, he still had a lot of success there. The big question one has to ask is whether Baker Mayfield's resurgent 2023 season was a mirage. Mayfield played at a Pro Bowl level for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and helped the Bucs repeat as NFC South champions in a year that carried few expectations. If Mayfield's season was an accurate glimpse of what's to come, then the decision to lock him up with a three-year, $100 million deal was brilliant. So, too, was the rest of Tampa's offseason. The Bucs did lose Devin White and trade away cornerback Carlton Davis, but they're well positioned to make another run at a division title—again, assuming that Mayfield doesn't regress under coach Jfon. I think Coach Jfon will have a few early season struggles but I expect him to make a run at some point in the season to give Reg something to think about. The Bucs will definitely contend for a wild-card spot as well. The Carolina Panthers have hired Coach DevCode1523 to control those sticks this season, and Coach Dev is already getting some pre-season hype as two coaches picked him to win the entire thing! Dev made his debut in Season 75 with the Miami Dolphins and finished 5-1. Then last season was his first full season, finishing 10-7 and earning a wild-card spot with Miami. Unfortunately, Carolina isn't Miami. There's been some good, some bad and a whole lot of unknown involved with the Carolina Panthers' offseason. Carolina's primary goal is to get more out of first overall pick Bryce Young. The former Alabama quarterback was overwhelmed as a rookie and saddled with an underwhelming supporting cast. Trading for Diontae Johnson will give Young a capable if somewhat inconsistent target, though Carolina still needs a true No. 1 receiver. I'm far less thrilled with what Carolina has done defensively. Jadeveon Clowney is a big-name addition, but he has never been what you could call a consistent pass-rusher. Losing Frankie Luvu hurts, and the Panthers got proverbial pennies by trading away edge-rusher Brian Burns. A lot of coaches are high on Dev, but I am not one of them. It's not because of his ability, we know he's got skills, but he's going to need to improve this roster before we consider him a threat to Atlanta or Tampa Bay. The New Orleans Saints are bringing in a rookie coach in ChefxSteph. Not much is known about Steph, but he has a great screen name that's for sure. We do know that the Saints are in a middle of the road type of build. The Saints have some cap space issues and that's probably with they didn't make any significant offseason additions. Willie Gay is a reliable linebacker who will aid the Saints' second-level defense, while pass-rusher Chase Young has enough upside to justify a one-year flier. Nathan Peterman gives New Orleans a little quarterback insurance in the wake of Jameis Winston's departure. However, the Saints' biggest needs still remain. They need to upgrade an offensive line that wasn't consistent and was downright bad in run support. They also need to bolster a receiver room that has few reliable options after Chris Olave, though they have added some depth. So since we do not know much about rookie coach ChefxSteph, we have to predict him to finish last. Although, I think he could surprise some people, I just have a feeling.
Biggest Off-Season Addition: SS Kamren Curl - LAR (82 ovr)
Biggest Off-Season Subtraction: LB Bobby Wagner - SEA (87 ovr)
Best Draft Selection: WR Marvin Harrison Jr ARI - (79 ovr)
The NFC West was a two team race for the majority of the edition. Coach MMX was with the 49ers for 1 season before Commish took over. Coach Q and the Seahawks had themselves a great edition as well. The Rams struggled a bit, and the Cards had a bunch of turnover as they were just one of those teams that couldn't keep a consistent coach. This season we see Coach StrawBlacks with Arizona, Coach Boobie take on the Rams, Coach MMX back with the 49ers again, and Coach BuffaloBill taking on the Seahawks. We begin with Coach Strawblacks and the Arizona Cardinals. Coach Straw made an immediate impact last edition when he debuted last season with the Eagles. Not only did he win the division, he went 14-3, earned the top seed in the NFC and went on to the Super Bowl where he would eventually fall to BigReub's Steelers. So the hype train is in full motion as Straw enters Madden '25 with a rebuild and a team that has a bunch of talent in the Cardinals. Last edition the Cardinals had one of the weakest rosters, which was probably why we couldn't keep a coach there for an extended period of time. Arizona didn't really go overboard in free-agency, choosing to instead make a few choices, mostly on defense. Players like Bilal Nichols, Sean Murphy-Bunting and Mack Wilson should help improve a defense that ranked usually in the bottom in points allowed last edition. However, Arizona didn't do nearly enough on the other side of the ball. Yes, they drafted possibly the best player in the draft WR Marvin Harrison Jr., but lost Marquise Brown and traded Rondale Moore. They have few reliable skill players outside of Trey McBride and James Conner. Evan Brown will provide depth along the offensive interior, but Jonah Williams is not an upgrade over D.J. Humphries. I think Straw has his hands full with this rebuild, but his stick skills seem to be enough to make him the favorite to win this division while rebuilding, which makes him a very dangerous team. The LA Rams enter Coach Boobie this season. Coach Boobie had himself a fantastic Madden '24 with the New Orleans Saints. Of course his success was over shadowed by Coach Wilky and Betroit in the NFC South, but he was 5 for 5 in making the playoffs and made two NFC Championship games. So clearly, Coach Boobie is a threat to win this division and battle for the NFC title. The Los Angeles Rams did a terrific job of managing the offseason without spending heavily on potential short-term additions—something they did frequently in the past. Re-signing guard Kevin Dotson and adding guard Jonah Jackson will help solidify Los Angeles' offensive interior. That's huge because while Matthew Stafford can still sling it to Cooper Kupp, Puka Nacua and Co., the Rams became a very capable running team last season. With Kyren Williams leading the rushing attack, L.A. should field a very dangerous and balanced offensive attack this season. Los Angeles doesn't have a ton of glaring needs, though Aaron Donald's retirement leaves the Rams in need of some fresh pass-rushing assistance. It would also behoove the Rams to add another corner or two as insurance behind White. I'm sure coach Boobie has plans in place to upgrade that already. I expect the Rams to compete for the division, but to fall short and earn a wild-card spot. The San Francisco 49ers bring back Coach MMX who abruptly left after 1 season last edition to join the Chiefs. MMX had success with the Chiefs, making the playoffs 3 out of the 4 seasons he was there. Playoff success behooved them however, as they look to turn over a new leaf this edition. The 49ers boast one of the best complete rosters in the game, and newly signed Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams prove to give MMX all he can handle in the salary cap situation. They also experienced quite a bit of turnover already in the offseason, though it has largely involved ancillary contributors. They did a good job of finding replacements without impacting the team's core. Rock Ya-Sin and Isaac Yiadom will help replenish the secondary—Logan Ryan and Terrance Mitchell remain unsigned—while Joshua Dobbs will give the 49ers an experienced backup QB. Leonard Floyd should give San Francisco a more consistent edge complement to Nick Bosa than what it has previously had. However, San Francisco still needs to upgrade the right side of its offensive line—extending right tackle Colton McKivitz is not a solution—and find a lock-down cornerback to support Charvarius Ward and Deommodore Lenoir. These are positions that the 49ers must consider in the draft. I expect MMX to have a good season, I am putting him behind Straw's Cardinals and Boobie's Rams but they could very easily swap and win this division too. Coach MMX has the talent. The Seattle Seahawks are manned up this edition by Coach BuffaloBill who ran with the Browns and Giants last edition. The first two seasons last edition, Bill had the Browns and he couldn't wait to get out of there with Mack and Reub controlling the division. He went to the Giants where he finished 7-10 two times in a row, then 6-11 in the last season. Although the success wasn't there, I'm sure he felt better in the NFC East. Now this season he enters a division that might not be as good as last editions AFC North, but it's pretty close. Straw, Boobie, and MMX are all perennial playoff contenders so he's going to have to really dig down to make an impact here. While Seattle didn't have an overflow of cap with which to work, they did a terrific job of creating enough room to re-sign the likes of Leonard Williams, Noah Fant and Artie Burns. Williams was a big one because Seattle coughed up a second-round pick to acquire him at the 2023 trade deadline. Williams, Fant and Burns have shown enough since arriving in Seattle to justify keeping them in the fold. On paper, the Seahawks might not be significantly better than they were at the start of the offseason, and they still have some needs on defense and along the offensive line. However, the roster isn't decidedly worse either. I am predicting Bill to finish last and it's because he's again in one of the better divisions in the MOF.
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