AFC WEST TEAM BREAKDOWN

Team: San Diego Chargers

Offensive Strategy: Balanced.  The Chargers have a bunch of perfectly average offensive players outside of Antonio Gates who is a Madden stud.  You should be able to move the ball with a balanced offensive approach.
Defensive Strategy: Get sacks.  Dwight Freeney and Melvin Ingram are 2 relentless pass rushers.  Use their talents to get a few sacks.  The linebackers and secondary are surprisingly good as well.
Impact Players: QB Philip Rivers, HB Ryan Matthews, HB Danny Woodhead, WR Danario Alexander, WR Eddie Royal, TE Antonio Gates, LB Donald Butler, CB Derrick Cox, S Eric Weddle
Key Newcomers: HB Danny Woodhead, WR Keenan Allen, LB Manti Te’o, DE/LB Dwight Freeney, CB Derrick Cox
Biggest Strength: Amount of decent players.  The Chargers have a bunch of pretty good players.  This will make it hard for the opposing team to key in on a specific player.
Biggest Weakness: No true stars.  Most teams have at least 1 or 2 big time stars.  The closest thing the Chargers have to stars are 2 old guys in Antonio Gates ad Dwight Freeney.  That isn’t good enough to be a good Madden 25 team.

Team: Denver Broncos

Offensive Strategy: Short Passing.  Peyton Manning is still a top 5 Madden quarterback and he now has 3 very reliable wide receivers to throw to in Eric Decker, Demaryius Thomas, and free agent pickup Wes Welker.  These guys should be able to get open fairly easily.
Defensive Strategy: Lockup.  The Broncos have cornerbacks Champ Bailey and Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie who are 2 of the top 10 cornerbacks in the game.  With Von Miller getting after the quarterback, you should be able to limit your opponents downfield passing game.
Impact Players: QB Peyton Manning, WR Wes Welker, WR Eric Decker, WR Demaryius Thomas, LB Von Miller, CB Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie, CB Champ Bailey
Key Newcomers: HB Montee Ball, DT Terrance Knighton, CB Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie, LB Shaun Phillips, CB Quentin Jammer
Biggest Strength: The passing game.  It will be nearly impossible to stop all of Peyton Manning’s weapons on offense.
Biggest Weakness: Running back.  Montee Ball could turn out to be an absolutely stud in the NFL but he won’t come in with a very high rating.  With that being said, he is more than good enough to get the job done in a pass heavy offense.

Team: Kansas City Chiefs

Offensive Strategy: Give Jamaal Charles The Ball.  Jamaal Charles is an incredibly dangerous running back in Madden 25.  If you get him the ball in open space, any play can turn into a touchdown. Alex Smith is a huge upgrade at quarterback and the Chiefs have a few decent receiving threats as well.
Defensive Strategy: Let your secondary do the work.  The Chiefs have a secondary that is pretty scary.  They have cornerbacks Sean Smith, Brandon Flowers, and Dunta Robinson as well as awesome Madden safety Eric Berry.  Tamba Hali and Derrick Johnson can get after the quarterback which should allow this team to get plenty of interceptions and sacks.
Impact Players: QB Alex Smith, HB Jamaal Charles, WR Dwayne Bowe, WR Dexter McCluster, TE Tony Moeaki, CB Sean Smith, CB Dunta Robinson, CB Brandom Flower, LB Tamba Hali, LB Derrick Johnson, S Eric Berry
Key Newcomers: QB Alex Smith, CB Dunta Robinson, CB Sean Smith
Biggest Strength: Playmakers on defense.  The Cheifs have 6 impact players on defense.  They should be all over the field causing trouble for your opponent’s offense.
Biggest Weakness: Passing game.  Alex Smith is a decent Madden quarterback but not special and the receivers on the Chiefs are the same way.  Luckily, the Chiefs have Jamaal Charles to take a lot of that pressure away.

Team: Oakland Raiders

Offensive Strategy: Run Heavy.  The Raiders have 3 of those most dangerous running threats in Madden 25: QB Terrelle Pryor, HB Darren McFadden, and FB Marcel Reece.  All 3 of these guys create huge mismatch problems for opposing defenses.  When you factor in the speed at wide receiver, this Raiders team has a solid offense.
Defensive Strategy: Force Turnovers.  This team still has speed on defense but not like before.  Your best bet is to try to force a turnover or 2 per game and turn the rest over to your offense.
Impact Players: QB Terrelle Pryor, HB Darren McFadden, FB Marcel Reece, WR Jacoby Ford, CB D.J. Hayden, S Charles Woodson, S Tyvon Branch, K Sebastian Janikowski
Key Newcomers: QB Matt Flynn, CB D.J. Hayden, S Charles Woodson, WR Josh Cribbs, CB Mike Jenkins
Biggest Strength: Speed.  The Raiders have such a fast team.  If speed is as important as in past Madden games, that will make the Raiders a contender.
Biggest Weakness: Front 7.  The Raiders don’t have as much talent in their front 7 as they’ve had before.  Luckily, the secondary is still solid and should be able to make up for it.