Madden 20 came out on August 2. Near the end of July, each team’s rating was publicized.
| Team | Rating |
| Arizona | 78 |
| Atlanta | 86 |
| Baltimore | 81 |
| Buffalo | 78 |
| Carolina | 84 |
| Chicago | 84 |
| Cincinnati | 80 |
| Cleveland | 83 |
| Dallas | 88 |
| Denver | 81 |
| Detroit | 80 |
| Green Bay | 87 |
| Houston | 83 |
| Indianapolis | 86 |
| Jacksonville | 79 |
| Kansas City | 84 |
| LA Chargers | 85 |
| LA Rams | 85 |
| Miami | 74 |
| Minnesota | 83 |
| New England | 87 |
| New Orleans | 87 |
| NY Giants | 77 |
| NY Jets | 78 |
| Oakland | 80 |
| Philadelphia | 89 |
| Pittsburgh | 84 |
| San Francisco | 83 |
| Seattle | 81 |
| Tampa Bay | 78 |
| Tennessee | 81 |
| Washington | 83 |
Instead of simulating a season on Madden, this set of predictions will be similar to the Splash-ELO predictions from June. The formula has been adjusted to the Madden ratings, and wins and losses were predicted.
AFC East:
| New England Patriots | 11.3-4.7 * |
| NY Jets | 6.2-9.8 |
| Buffalo Bills | 6.1-9.9 |
| Miami Dolphins | 3.4-12.6 |
AFC North:
| Baltimore Ravens | 7.7-8.3 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 9.4-6.6 Y |
| Cleveland Browns | 9.1-6.9 X |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 7.4-8.6 |
AFC South:
| Indianapolis Colts | 10.2-5.8 Z |
| Tennessee Titans | 7.1-8.9 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 6-10 |
| Houston Texans | 8.1-7.9 |
AFC West:
| Kansas City Chiefs | 8.7-7.3 X |
| Denver Broncos | 7.1-8.9 |
| Los Angeles Chargers | 9.6-6.4 Y |
| Oakland Raiders | 6.6-9.4 |
NFC East:
| Philadelphia Eagles | 11.7-4.3 * |
| Dallas Cowboys | 10.9-5.1 X |
| Washington Redskins | 8.1-7.9 |
| NY Giants | 4.8-11.2 |
NFC North:
| Chicago Bears | 8.2-7.8 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 7.7-8.3 |
| Green Bay Packers | 10.1-5.9 Y |
| Detroit Lions | 6.3-9.7 |
NFC South:
| Atlanta Falcons | 9.7-6.3 X |
| Carolina Panthers | 8.5-7.5 |
| New Orleans Saints | 10.3-5.7 Z |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5.4-10.6 |
NFC West:
| LA Rams | 9.4-6.6 Y |
| Seattle Seahawks | 7-9 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 8.2-7.8 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 5.7-10.3 |
Key:
* -Home Field Advantage
Z – Bye
Y – Division Winner
X – Wild Card
Playoff Seeding:
AFC:
- New England
- Indianapolis
- LA Chargers
- Pittsburgh
- Cleveland
- Kansas City
NFC:
- Philadelphia
- New Orleans
- Green Bay
- LA Rams
- Dallas
- Atlanta
Wild Card:
#3 Chargers beat #6 Chiefs
#4 Steelers beat #5 Browns
#3 Packers beat #6 Falcons
#5 Cowboys beat #4 Rams
Divisional Round:
#2 Colts beat #3 Chargers
#1 Patriots beat #4 Steelers
#2 Saints tie with #3 Packers*
#1 Eagles beat #5 Cowboys
Conference Championships
#1 Patriots beat #2 Colts
#1 Eagles beat #2 Saints/#3 Packers
Super Bowl LIV:
The Eagles prevail over the Patriots.
*Ties cannot happen in the playoffs, but the Saints and Packers had the same rating.
The predictions seem to make sense. There is enough variance between the 2018 and 2019 playoffs for this set to be somewhat realistic.
The win tallies are more normalized than a traditional set of predictions as no team gets to the 12-win plateau. In a similar manner, only one team is pipped for fewer than four wins. In 2019, there are a handful teams that will win 12 games and a handful that will win four or fewer, so Madden might be too close on those ratings.
The Madden ratings genuinely hate the Dolphins, as they are all alone at 74 overall. Moving up the list of teams, Atlanta and Green Bay seem to be slightly overrated based on their 2018 seasons. Neither team finished at .500, but both teams are very good in this simulation.
In terms of the 12 playoff teams from 2018, eight of them return, leaving the Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, Chicago Bears, and Seattle Seahawks out of the playoffs. There is reason to believe that any number of those teams miss the playoffs in 2019, but it is doubtful that all four miss.
For division crowns, five divisions crown new champions with only the Patriots, Saints, and Rams reclaiming their honors. As a whole, those three repeat teams make sense as all three advanced to the conference championship round.
The Rams seem to be slightly underrated after their run to the Super Bowl in 2018. Despite star players such as Aaron Donald and Todd Gurley, the Rams slump to a rating of 85.
Comment which teams you will be looking forward to use in Madden 20.
