EA Sports
Welcome to the Week 4 Madden matchup preview, where we breakdown the three best games of the week from the perspective of the Madden player. So pick up those controllers and get ready for some gaming action.
Yes, you read that correctly. Raiders fans rejoice, your team is finally beginning to look sharp, even from a Madden fans perspective. The Raiders are that young, fast, exciting team that no one is going to be upset you chose to play as. Derek Carr's showing off his abilities as a passer, Latavius Murray is criminally underrated. And, at this point, Amari Cooper looks poised to be the next great NFL player. All of this paired with the fact that the Bears front office seems to be treating their defense more and more like a yard sale. When playing as the Raiders on offense, run as many plays as possible to the right side (your right). This side of the defense is riddled with holes from missing starters: Jared Allen is gone (trade), Kyle Fuller is out (knee injury) and Mason Foster is on the Washington Redskins.
This is the ultimate game of "quarterback chicken." Some snaps you might throw darts, others you will throw ducks, but this is part of what makes this matchup so much fun. It will become a war of attrition as you and your friend do your best to try to keep third down to anything under five yards. The Chiefs defense is better than the Bengals defense. However, the Bengals have the best offensive player (A.J. Green) and the better quarterback (sorry, Alex Smith). This is the clear-cut choice for the most fun matchup to play at home.
Two weeks from now the Lions could be 0-5, and they would be the greatest 0-5 team of all time. This game is a must-win for the Lions who are forced to play the red-hot Arizona Cardinals after their Monday night showdown with Seattle. Seattle's defense is good, but there are yards to be had if you can get Megatron or Golden Tate matched up against Cary Williams (who's a solid corner, but Madden doesn’t seem to give him the proper credit). If you are lucky enough to be playing as the Seahawks this should be one of the few games in which Russell Wilson won't be running for his life. After three games, Wilson has been sacked the second most times in the NFL. Detroit's subpar front shouldn’t cause much havoc and you should be able to find Jimmy Graham down field or pound the ball inside with Marshawn Lynch. If you want a real challenge, sub in Thomas Rawls. The Seahawks rookie running back showed flashes of greatness and helped us understand why the coaching staff was so high on him in preseason.