Every year, there’s a lot of talk about the top-ranked teams in Madden. However, every now and then, a special team comes along that is virtually unstoppable in the game.
What are the best Madden teams of all time?
Most Unstoppable Madden Teams of All Time
Let’s take a look at the biggest juggernauts in Madden history. Some teams are included because they featured a cheat-code player, while others were extremely well-rounded with an elite overall rating. Here are the five best Madden teams that we’ve ever seen.
Atlanta Falcons, 2003, 84 Overall
When it comes to Madden, having Michael Vick is going to get you on the list. The year before, Vick rushed for 777 yards and eight touchdowns, which prompted the folks at Madden to give him a 97 throw power rating, 95 speed rating, and 95 agility rating.
Vick was on the cover of Madden NFL 2004, and nobody had an answer for him. Vick was so unstoppable that gamers liked to toy with their opponents, running laps around the field before inevitably scoring.
MORE: Revisiting the Most Unstoppable Madden Players of All Time
In addition to the overpowered player Vick was, the ’03 Falcons also had Peerless Price and Warrick Dunn, among others. If you weren’t running the score up with Vick scrambling, Dunn was getting you yards on the ground as well. You can’t forget Keith Brooking and Patrick Kearney on defense, either.
Ultimately, there was no getting around just how good this team was with a healthy Vick in the game. If you wanted to win, you were taking the Falcons. Unfortunately, Vick fractured his leg during the 2003 preseason, so the real-life team wasn’t as good as its Madden counterpart.
New England Patriots, 2004, 99 Overall
There are so many different Patriots teams you could take in this situation, and the result would be similar — a win, or in the Patriots’ case, a Super Bowl. Coming off of a Super Bowl win in 2003, this team was absolutely stacked.
Tom Brady, Corey Dillon, and Rodney Harrison put together a dominant force of a team. If they could dominate their way to a championship, you could surely win games with them on Madden too.
A loaded defense built for playing hard-nosed football, it just wasn’t easy to score points against the Patriots. Their offense could also score plenty of points against you. Dillon rushed for 1,635 yards and 12 touchdowns the year before, and he was equally hard to bring down in the game.
While it may not be a high-flying, fun team to use, it was a well-balanced, dominant team that could rack up wins.
Baltimore Ravens, 2001, 99 Overall
When you think of historic defenses, the early 2000s Baltimore Ravens will always come to mind. That defense’s success translated to Madden NFL 2002 as well, having an almost unstoppable 99-overall group. They are just one of two 99-overall teams in the game’s history.
Led by reigning Defensive Player of the Year Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, it was difficult to move the ball against this squad, and adding user advantage into the game was just a gauntlet. Coming off of their Super Bowl win, the Ravens were set up to be a force.
The offense wasn’t as good as the defense, but there were still some studs to throw to, including a fast deep threat in Qadry Ismail and a superstar tight end in Shannon Sharpe.
San Francisco 49ers, 1997, 90 Overall
The story is simple for the 1997 49ers: Jerry Rice and Steve Young.
As one of the best QB-WR duos in NFL history, they were unbeatable in Madden 98. While today’s players max out at a 99 overall rating, Rice was given a record 189 overall rating in Madden 98 for some reason.
MORE: The Player Who Broke Madden — Inside Jerry Rice’s 189 Overall Rating
Young was able to get him the ball all over the field, and Rice would catch everything that was thrown his way. Oh yeah, Young could run around too.
On top of an offense led by those two, the defense had two stars on the defensive line in Roy Barker and Chris Doleman, making it difficult for your competitor to do anything to match your scoring.
New Orleans Saints, 2010, 92 Overall
If you like passing the ball, you’d love playing as the 2010 Saints in Madden NFL 11.
With Drew Brees leading the way, you’re going to have a good passing game. However, adding Marques Colston, Jeremy Shockey, and Jimmy Graham to the mix will take you to the next level. There’s a reason they won the Super Bowl.
This real-life offense often felt like it was straight out of a video game, so it makes sense they dominated virtually. As if this group wasn’t already fun enough, they also had Reggie Bush, who could make plays at running back or wide receiver in Madden.
While the defense wasn’t as good as the offense, they weren’t too shabby either.
San Diego Chargers, 2007, 95 Overall
Finally, there are the 2007 Chargers. During the 2006 season, the Chargers went 14-2, led by LaDainian Tomlinson and first-year starter Philip Rivers. LT totaled 31 touchdowns and 2,323 all-purpose yards en route to winning NFL MVP.
Expectations were understandably high for the 2007 Chargers in Madden NFL 2008.
With a young Rivers, you could definitely pass the ball, especially with red-zone threats like Antonio Gates and Vincent Jackson. But let’s be honest, you were probably giving the ball to Tomlinson almost every play because he couldn’t be stopped.
In terms of defense, the Chargers also had superstar edge rusher Shawne Merriman, who was featured in the game. With you in control of this squad, there was no chance you’d choke like the real version of the team did.