Madden NFL 26 Reveals Top 10 Team Ratings and X-Factors for Saquon, More Stars

EA Sports dropped NFL team ratings as well as X-Factors for Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley and other superstars on Friday in advance of Madden NFL 26's release.

Here you'll find the top 10 offensive and defensive units as well as the teams with the best overall ratings. X-Factors then follow, with Barkley and NFL MVP Josh Allen among the superstars who received that honor this year.

Madden NFL 26 is currently available for pre-order. Early Access begins on Thursday, August 7 before Madden officially launches on Aug. 14.

Top 10 Offenses

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The Baltimore Ravens and Philadelphia Eagles co-lead the offensive team ratings this year at 94 overall apiece.

1. Baltimore Ravens, 94 overall
2. Philadelphia Eagles, 94 overall
3. Cincinnati Bengals, 92 overall
4. Detroit Lions, 91 overall
5. Buffalo Bills, 90 overall
6. Kansas City Chiefs, 89 overall
7. San Francisco 49ers, 88 overall
8. Washington Commanders, 87 overall
9. Los Angeles Rams, 86 overall
10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 85 overall

It's no surprise that the Ravens and Eagles co-lead this category.

Baltimore brings back arguably the NFL's best backfield in two-time NFL MVP/quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Derrick Henry, who just amassed 2,114 yards and 18 touchdowns. Jackson also has a solid WR1 and TE1 in Zay Flowers (1,059 yards) and Mark Andrews (11 touchdowns), respectively.

Philadelphia, of course, has the reigning Offensive Player of the Year in running back Saquon Barkley, who became just the ninth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 ore more yards per game. The Eagles are led by Super Bowl MVP/quarterback Jalen Hurts, who forms a deadly pass-catching trio with wideouts A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.

Top 10 Defenses

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The Pittsburgh Steelers are the lone team with a defense at 90 overall or above this year.

1. Pittsburgh Steelers, 91 overall
2. Kansas City Chiefs, 89 overall
3. Dallas Cowboys, 88 overall
4. Baltimore Ravens, 87 overall
5. Houston Texans, 86 overall
6. Buffalo Bills, 85 overall
7. Denver Broncos, 85 overall
8. Minnesota Vikings, 84 overall
9. Detroit Lions, 84 overall
10. New England Patriots, 83 overall

The Steelers have finished with a top-10 scoring defense each of the last three seasons. That's partially due to star linebacker T.J. Watt, a seven-time Pro Bowler and four-time All-Pro who has led the league in sacks three times.

Pittsburgh has other impressive talents, though, including a pair of Pro Bowlers in linebacker Patrick Queen (129 tackles) and defensive end Cameron Heyward, who made First Team All-Pro for the fourth time in his career.

The Steelers also added seven-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey via trade from the Miami Dolphins (alongside tight end Jonnu Smith) this offseason, although they did deal three-time First Team All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick in return.

Top 10 Team Overalls

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The Baltimore Ravens lead the pack with the highest overall rating at 93. The defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles follow at 91, and the AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs round out the top three at 90.

Top 10 Team Overalls

1. Baltimore Ravens, 93 overall
2. Philadelphia Eagles, 91 overall
3. Kansas City Chiefs, 90 overall
4. Buffalo Bills, 89 overall
5. Minnesota Vikings, 88 overall
6. Detroit Lions, 88 overall
7. Houston Texans, 87 overall
8. Denver Broncos, 87 overall
9. Pittsburgh Steelers, 86 overall
10. San Francisco 49ers, 86 overall

It's admittedly surprising seeing the Ravens ahead of the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, the reigning AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs and even the Buffalo Bills, who beat Baltimore in the AFC Divisional round last year.

However, Baltimore does return a ton of talent from a 12-win team that won the AFC South, including an NFL-high nine Pro Bowlers.

The Ravens will always in the mix with Lamar Jackson leading the way, but they have tremendous talents on both sides of the ball and at multiple levels. Of note, the Ravens sent a defensive lineman (Nnamdi Madubuike), a linebacker (Roquan Smith) and two defensive backs (Kyle Hamilton and Marlon Humphrey) to this year's Pro Bowl. So the Ravens could very well be this year's top team.

Madden NFL X-Factors

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As defined by EA Sports: "Madden NFL X-Factors are awarded to the NFL’s most elite players who have game-changing abilities. These special abilities are designed to mirror the real-lift impact the league’s most special players have on Sundays, giving them dynamic advantages in EA SPORTS Madden NFL 26."

Here's a look at some X-Factors for this year.

• Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen: Bazooka
• Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts: Run & Gun
• Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels: Escape Artist
• Philadelphia RB Saquon Barkley: Phenom
• Atlanta Falcons RB Bijan Robinson: First One Free
• Detroit Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown: Double Me
• Las Vegas Raiders TE Brock Bowers: Double Me
• Dallas Cowboys DE Micah Parsons: Dual Threat
• Las Vegas Raiders DE Maxx Crosby: Relentless
• New York Giants DL Dexter Lawrence II: Blitz
• Pittsburgh Steelers LB T.J. Watt: Unstoppable Force
• Denver Broncos CB Patrick Surtain II: Shutdown
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers CB Antoine Winfield Jr.: Shutdown
• Green Bay Packers S Xavier McKinney: Shutdown
• Baltimore Ravens S Kyle Hamilton: Reinforcement

It's no surprise to see any of these players on this year's list of superstar talents receiving X-Factors.

The group includes the reigning NFL MVP in Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who gets the Bazooka X-Factor for his tremendous rocket arm, which he used en route to 3,731 passing yards and 28 touchdowns through the air last year.

Philadelphia Eagles running back/OPOY Saquon Barkley gets the phenom tag. He set the record for the most scrimmage yards (2,857) in a single season (including playoffs) and had jaw-dropping moments, including a reverse hurdle that's featured on the cover of this year's Madden game.

On defense, Denver Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II stands out. Quarterbacks had a very difficult time throwing in his pass coverage, as the Defensive Player of the Year allowed just a 58.9 passer rating at passes thrown his way, per Pro Football Reference. He added four interceptions and 11 pass breakups for good measure.