Jordan Love's Madden Rating Is Too Low

Football fans debate Madden ratings every year, especially among the quarterbacks. It's a fun tradition, but it's important to remember that these numerical designations are just for a video game.

On Friday, the Madden team announced its ratings for quarterbacks. Jordan Love came in at an 81 overall, which seems reasonable. Love is tied with C.J. Stroud for the 14th-best overall rating among QBs, which feels a bit low given that both players finished the year as top-10 passers.

Although Love's rating is reasonable, he deserves a higher overall score. He threw seven touchdowns and only one interception in Weeks 1 and 3 combined. Despite a tough stretch in October, he had 11 touchdown passes from Weeks 9 through 13, second-best in the league. He ranked third in passing yards, fourth in passer rating, fifth in success rate, and third in EPA/play. Additionally, he was PFF's highest-graded quarterback from Week 12 until the postseason. EA likely didn't give him a higher overall score because he only has one full season as a starter and still has much to prove.

Jared Goff, Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa, and Brock Purdy all have higher ratings than Love. Tua comes in at 88, Hurts at 86, Purdy at 85, and Goff at 82. However, Love outperformed each of them in significant aspects of the game. Love had more passing touchdowns, tied for the fewest interceptions with Purdy, and had the most big-time throws. He also had the second-fewest turnover-worthy plays and the highest average depth of target. Love’s turnover-worthy play percentage was 2.6, while Purdy’s was 3.4 during the regular season.

Love and Goff posted 30-plus touchdowns and over 4,000 passing yards last year. However, Love clearly outperforms Goff under pressure. Love threw nine touchdowns and four interceptions, with 13 big-time throws and nine turnover-worthy plays. In contrast, Goff had six touchdowns and nine interceptions, with just five big-time throws and 13 turnover-worthy plays. Goff’s passer rating under pressure was 62.5, while Love’s was 80.2.

Goff had six interceptions against the blitz in 2023, while Love had just one. Additionally, Goff had only five big-time throws compared to Love’s 15. When not blitzed, both quarterbacks had nine turnover-worthy plays. However, Love had four more big-time throws than Goff.

Love had 14 touchdowns and no interceptions on short throws (0-9 yards), while Hurts had four touchdowns and six interceptions. Love was also a better deep thrower. He had a higher completion percentage, 25 big-time throws, and seven turnover-worthy plays, compared to Hurts' 21 big-time throws and 10 turnover-worthy plays. Love and Hurts threw three interceptions when they had less than 2.5 seconds to throw, but Love had seven more passing touchdowns.

Tagovailoa had five more turnover-worthy plays and three more interceptions despite having 34 fewer dropbacks. Furthermore, Love had a better completion percentage, more yards per attempt, and seven more touchdowns than Tua while under pressure. Additionally, Love had a higher PFF passing grade and more big-time throws when pressured. When their offensive lines gave them a clean pocket, Love threw five fewer interceptions, had eight fewer turnover-worthy plays, and had a higher average depth of target.

It's not that Madden should have immediately given Love a 90-plus overall, but it's hard to argue he should be behind all those guys. Nevertheless, he has another season to build his case for a higher rating next year.