The Game Haus will be analyzing the player ratings from Madden 21 of every NFL team. Madden has a daunting task of rating all NFL players and their attributes. While they have the ability to correct some of these rankings with in-season roster updates, there are some issues with some of the initial rankings of players. Here are the most controversial Madden 21 ratings for the Houston Texans.
Deshaun Watson: 86
(Photo by houseofhouston.com)
Many Texans fans were not happy with quarterback Deshaun Watson’s Madden rating. Watson himself expressed discontent with his new Madden rating in a Tweet. Watson’s rating of 86 puts him just under Matt Ryan‘s 87 and a couple of points ahead of Dak Prescott and Carson Wentz, tied at 84. The validity of Watson’s rating is questionable as he led the Texans to a relatively successful season with wins over teams such as the Chiefs and Patriots. Meanwhile, Matt Ryan’s Falcons struggled throughout the season. The last two years look vastly different for the Texans and the Falcons- Watson has taken his team to the playoffs consecutively while the Falcons have not had a winning record since 2017. Unfortunately, it seems that Watson does not receive as much credit as his fellow young quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson.
Adjusted Rating – 91
J.J. Watt: 98
Although J.J. Watt is beloved by the city of Houston, not many people are exactly thrilled with his Madden 21 rating. Watt has a near-perfect rating of 98, which just puts him behind Aaron Donald‘s 99. Donald recorded 12.5 sacks for the 2019 season while Watt had four. Khalil Mack, who has a Madden rating of 97, also had more sacks (eight) than Watt. However, there is no doubt that Watt is an effective defender when he is active. But, he has not played a full season since 2015. His 2019 regular season ended during Week 8’s game against the Raiders due to a torn pectoral. The amount of missed games Watt has due to injury should not be reflective of a player with an almost perfect Madden rating.
Adjusted Rating – 92
Whitney Mercilus: 81
Texans’ outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus had a fantastic 2019 season. While his rating of 81 is reasonable, it could be a bit higher since the 2019 season went particularly well for him. Mercilus had four forced fumbles last season, which is the most he has ever had in a season. He also sacked Gardner Minshew twice in the Texans’ close 13-12 win over the Jaguars, earning him that week’s title of AFC Defensive Player of the Week. Mercilus also played a crucial role in narrow wins over the Titans and Buccaneers. He intercepted and returned one of Ryan Tannehill‘s passes and sacked Jameis Winston twice. Mercilus’s Madden rating should be slightly increased to account for his decisive role in many close wins during the 2019 season.
Adjusted Rating – 83
You can “Like” The Game Haus on Facebook and “Follow” us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other great TGH writers along with Christina!
“From Our Haus to Yours”