Akiem Hicks Was Ready to Brawl Upon Hearing Madden Rating

Khalil Mack seems to be the only Chicago Bears player who can feel satisfied with his Madden 2020 player rating. Obviously, because it's the highest one can go at 99 overall. The rest of his teammates though? They were not as fortunate. Mitch Trubisky, who played in the Pro Bowl and had one of the most efficient passing seasons in Bears history? All he could muster was a 75. One guy though who was almost apoplectic with rage was Akiem Hicks.

The Pro Bowl defensive end has been a fixture on one of the best defenses in the league the past two years. So many opponents and experts have said he constantly gets overlooked. Not only a beast of a pass rusher for his size but one of the most dominant run defenders at his position. He's also a loyal player of the Madden game. One would think this would get him a little more respect from the rankers.

No such luck. Despite an outstanding year and being a core member of the #1 defense in 2018, the best Hicks got for his troubles was an 87. Suffice to say he did not handle the news well when it was revealed.

Akiem Hicks only has more fuel for his fire going into 2019

At this points, Hicks must be wondering what he has to do. He had 7.5 sacks, 12 tackles for a loss, 16 quarterback hits and three forced fumbles in 2018. If that weren't enough, he also hasn't missed a single football game to date in his Bears career. So this level of play has been constant. If nothing else, it's proof that the people at Madden don't actually do their homework. In fact, one could argue they don't do any work period.

Care for an idea why? The game, despite being the only football gaming franchise in existence, hasn't scored a Metacritic rating higher than 84 since Madden NFL 10. That was an 85 and got released 10 years ago. They haven't scored in the 90s for game quality since Madden 2005. It's clear they don't even try anymore. Why should they when there is nobody pushing them?

So it should be no surprise their rating are predictably awful. Not just for the Bears but for several other notable players as well. Hicks isn't the only one who was badly snubbed. The good news though? He'll add that to the list of motivational factors he can use to devastate offenses again this year.