Madden Ultimate League Week 3 Recap

Matt Franciscovich, Madden NFL 18 Ultimate League

The third week of Madden NFL 18 Ultimate League competitive action is in the books. The Legend Conference standings are beginning to take shape, with a few leaders emerging from the pack while the majority of the competitors find themselves on a level playing field with middle-ground records. Below, you’ll find breakdowns of some of Week 3’s most exciting head-to-head contests, along with full Madden 18 Ultimate League standings for the Legend Conference. Get to it!

Week 3 Marquee Matchups

Raidel “Echo Fox Joke” Brito vs. Trae “Tweez” Bapes

Final Score: Joke 38 (NE), Tweez 28 (LAC)

From the final score it looks like this was a blowout, but it was close right up until the final two minutes.

Following a 59-yard touchdown bomb to a wide-open Core Elite Tyreek Hill on a post route over the middle, Joke took a slim 24-21 lead into the fourth quarter. Oh, by the way, Hill was the clear-cut MVP in this contest, as he scored a combined four total touchdowns between both competitors – three for Joke’s Patriots and one for Tweez’s Chargers. At one point during the stream, Joke yelled, “That’s 96 speed!” Indeed, Joke, indeed.

Joke followed up with a 26-yard touchdown run by Legends Elite Herschel Walker, leaving Tweez’s defenders scattered across the gridiron along the way. Tweez couldn’t recover from those 14 unanswered points, but he managed to make Joke sweat with a 13-yard touchdown run by human-tank Derrick Henry to get within three points.

With about two minutes left, the scoreboard read Joke 31, Tweez 28. Joke just had to get a few first downs and kill the clock, right? Nah, this is Madden 18 we’re talking about here. Joke decided to display some stick-work finesse on the ensuing kickoff with a spin and a hurdle, breaking Hill loose on the outside with nothing but open field in front of him. Just like that, Joke went up 38 to 28 and tallied another notch in the win column.

After five games through Week 3, Echo Fox Joke owns a 4-1 record, with Tweez sitting at 2-2 through four matches.

Drini “Drini” Gjoka vs. Chris “Dubby” McFarland   

Final Score: Drini 21 (NYG), Dubby 17 (PHI)

Drini, one of the youngest competitors in the Madden 18 Ultimate league at age 18, faced off against Dubby, the oldest competitor in the tournament, and the contest was a real humdinger. (Is that the phrase the kids are using these days? No? Okay, let’s carry on then.)

Drini enjoyed an early lead, but Dubby tied it up at 14 just before halftime with a short touchdown run by NFL Playoffs Elite Derrick Henry.

In the second half, Dubby, a seasoned competitive Madden veteran, found himself in the lead 17-14 with 31 seconds to play in the third quarter, and with his Eagles defense on the field. With Marcus Mariota at quarterback, Drini found DeSean Jackson in man coverage on the outside and lobbed a bomb into his breadbasket on a go route. That single play moved Drini from his own 38-yard line to a first-and-10 just inside the 15. Drini wasted no time, handing off to Herschel Walker from the seven-yard line, and ran it straight up the middle and across the goal line for six.

In the one-possession game, Dubby was driving with just over two minutes to play and a chance to win it with solid clock management and a touchdown. He snapped the ball in Drini’s territory on the 28-yard line and dropped back to pass with Mike Vick. But the 18-year-old Drini pulled off an impressive user-lurk with Jabrill Peppers, picking off a pass intended for Ted Ginn Jr., and in turn sealed a victory and what the young Madden pro called a “big win” on Twitter. After five games through Week 3, Drini and Dubby each own a 2-3 record in the Legend Conference.

Kent “Dot City K-Aus” Auslander vs. Eli “Trueboy” Clayton

Final Score (OT): Dot City K-Aus, 17 (PIT), Trueboy 20 (JAX)

Tied up at 17 after four full quarters of regulation, this one required overtime to determine a winner.

Dot City K-Aus’s Steelers had the first OT possession and worked into a tough spot: a third and seven from their own 25-yard line. With Mariota under center, Dot City K-Aus dropped back to pass, but Trueboy sent MLB Jayon Brown on a blitz up the middle for a sack. Dot City K-Aus was without a punter on his roster, so he was forced to throw on fourth and 16 from his own 16-yard line. He dropped back to pass again and let an ill-advised bullet fly in Jarvis Landry’s direction on a deep in-route with three defenders in the area. Trueboy easily picked the pass off with Brown (who finished the game with two sacks, five tackles, and an interception), and returned it inside the 10-yard line, well within chip-shot field goal range.

And that’s exactly how it ended. Trueboy put a 20-yard kick through the uprights to nail down a 20-17 win in overtime. On Twitter, Trueboy said that he wasn’t happy with his offensive performance in the game, but he’s working on finding his rhythm. He escaped with a win and holds a 2-2 record heading into Week 4, while Dot City K-Aus is 0-4 in the Legend Conference.