Madden Simulation of Steelers Season: Part 1

Story by Yinzer Crazy Contributor Anthony DiCerbo Follow him on Twitter @snarfvenom

Madden at times can be a bit problematic. Their yearly releases often face intense scrutiny for the lack of new content added to the game, and the realistic gameplay can sometimes be quite crazy. Still, though I find myself suckered into it just about every year. 

Now I’m going to use Madden as a tool. Using the most updated, albeit user-created, roster, and a handmade Steelers draft class, I’m going to see what Madden makes of this new era of Steelers football and what the 2022-2023 season might look like. 

The Logistics

This is not going to be a perfect simulation, and I know that, but I’m still going to try my best. For the Steelers though, there are some personnel decisions to be made. The most pressing being who to start at quarterback. 

Luckily for me, that problem was taken out of my hands, and the answer is Kenny Pickett will be getting the starts in the Madden simulation. 

The ratings for the top signal-callers in Madden 23 were leaked, and while none of the Steelers quarterbacks are topping the list, Kenny Pickett comes in as the 23rd best quarterback with a 74 overall. The places him in the likes of other young QBs, right behind Trevor Lawrence and ahead of Tua and Justin Fields. 

Notably absent from the list are Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph, meaning that on the Steelers roster, Pickett comes out to be the best QB, so he’ll start. Plus, that’s who we all wanted to see in the simulation anyway. 

The rest of the rookies come in with similar ratings, but these are all just my best guesses, and not what they’ll actually be rated in the new game. As for the rookies on the other teams, they won’t be here. I have enough time to make the Steelers draft class, but not every team on the schedule, so I’ll admit that to being the biggest flaw here. 

In terms of the other personnel decisions, I’ll be rolling with the first-team offensive line that's been seen in OTAs. That is Dan Moore Jr, Kevin Dotson, Mason Cole, James Daniels, and Chukwuma Okorafor. 

Initially, I was going to include Stephon Tuitt in the simulation. The comments made by players like Cam Heyward had me believing that he would be back with the team this season, but his recent retirement gave us a final answer to that question, so obviously, no Tuitt. 

Pickens will be getting the first crack in the slot position on offense, and on defense, Wallace and Witherspoon will play outside while Sutton gets the slot. 

Outside of personnel, the NFL schedule was recently released, so it isn’t in the game. So, I’ll be simulating every game as an exhibition and recording the stats myself. No franchise mode for this one. I want to make note that these articles will be in series form, so you'll have to wait to see the full season results!

Without further delay, let's get right into the simulation. Welcome to the 2022-2023 season!

Week One: At Cincinnati 

Steelers: 48 Bengals: 24

This one got out of hand, but not quite in the way I expected them to. Not to rain on anyone's parade, but the Bengals went to the Super Bowl last year, and the Steelers hit a reset of sorts this offseason.

That doesn’t seem to matter in the world of Madden though, as the Steelers jump out to a 1-0 start. 

Kenny Pickett had as solid of an NFL debut as anyone could really hope for. Going 24-38 for 324 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. I’ll say one thing, if Kenny Pickett does end up starting in week one there is no way this team throws the ball 38 times. 

Najee Harris also had a solid start to the year. Rushing for 103 yards on 20 carries with an average just north of 5 yards per carry. Benny Snell also got to tote the rock in this one, adding 38 yards on 12 carries and also finding the endzone. Kenny Pickett showed off the wheels as well, adding another 9 yards through 4 scrambles. Not a bad start on the ground either.

Diontae Johnson was the big benefactor of Kenny Pickett’s big debut, catching 8 passes for 129 yards and 3 touchdowns. Najee got involved with the passing game, catching 4 passes for 51 yards and a score. Next, Chase Claypool and George Pickens each caught 4 passes, with Claypool gaining 53 yards and Pickens picking up 35. Pat Freiermuth caught three balls for 51 yards in the season opener, and the only other player to catch a pass was Benny Snell, who caught one for 5 yards. 

It was a solid day for the offensive line as well with Kenny Pickett only getting sacked once, and the credit for the allowed sack is given to Benny Snell in pass protection. So, as far as the offensive line is concerned, that is a major win. 

It was a big day all around on defense, so I’ll only go over the highlights. Terrell Edmunds led the way with 10 total tackles, a forced fumble, and a pick. T.J. Watt had 2 sacks in this first game, forced and recovered a fumble, and was apparently responsible for a Bengals safety in this one. Minkah Fitzpatrick also had a pick, and Devin Bush and Myles Jack were each credited with half a sack. 

In the spirit of Bill Belichick, we’re on to New England

Week Two: vs New England

Steelers: 61 Patriots: 20

I don’t even begin to understand what happened here, but I’ll take it I guess. Scoring 61 points would be something worth celebrating, so let's get into the stats for this wild one.

Kenny Pickett had another nice game in his first one at home. He went 28-39 for 294 yards 4 touchdowns and one interception. If these first two games are any indication, Kenny Pickett is going to have a big year in this simulation. 

Najee Harris had another big game on the ground, rushing for 154 yards on 22 carries and finding the endzone once. That gives Najee an average of 7 YPC on the day, which is really good. 

This is where things start to get weird in this one. Benny Snell was the next leading rusher, going for 18 yards on 3 carries, but after that it's… Chris Boswell???? The kicker had one carry for 4 yards and managed to find the endzone. Looking at the scoring summary it appears that the Steelers, while up big in the fourth quarter, ran a fake field goal with Boswell rushing it in for the score. 

Through the air, things seem to be a little more normal. It was another big day for Diontae Johnson who caught 9 passes for 89 yards and 3 more scores. George Pickens added 5 catches for 80 yards. Pat Freiermuth found the endzone for the first time this season, catching 4 passes for 38 yards and a touchdown. Zach Gentry got more involved in this one, catching three passes, and this game also saw the first stats for Calvin Austin, who caught two balls for 23 yards. 

It wasn’t as clean of a game for the offensive line as week one was, with James Daniels, Chuks, and Mason Cole all credited for allowing a sack. 

It was another monster game for the defense. T.J. Watt lead the way with 10 tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble. Tyson Alualu added another 5 tackles and a sack, and Alex Highsmith and Devin Bush combined for another sack. The defense piled on 3 interceptions, with Devin Bush, Myles Jack, and Minkah Fitzpatrick all grabbing one, and Myles Jack returned his pick 32 yards for a pick-six to add to the scoring. 

For those interested in the kicking game, in addition to his rushing touchdown, Chris Boswell is still perfect on the year. 

Let's see if the Steelers can keep this up as they head into their first matchup with Cleveland this season... in part II of our series dropping soon!