BL History: The Stories of the 16-0 Teams
by danrain12345 | 3 years ago | 0 Comments
With the real world schedule changes in the NFL, BL’s Season 34 will be the first to contain a 17 game regular season. As we look back on the 16 game era of the league, one may ask: How many teams went 16-0? What happened to them in the playoffs? Here, with the help of Better League legend Connor Rice, we present to you the nine times a user achieved a 16-0 season.
Season 4 - Sam (Browns)
Result: Lost Divisional Round to Tcup (Dolphins)
From Connor:
Sam's 16-0 run in season 4 before dropping a whopping 7 points against Tcup's Dolphins (the OG toxic Better League rivalry) was a good summation of his entire Better League career; elite regular season play followed by disappointing results in the playoffs. To be honest I only played Sam once in M17 and it was one of my classic blown leads so I couldn't tell you a ton about his gameplay, but he was in a brutal AFC that included Morty, Kook and Lub so it's not as if he cruised to an undefeated regular season against easy competition. Sam was the original Better League user who played with confidence and swagger in the regular season then fell apart against the stiffer competition of the postseason. Sounds like a couple current users... I could name names but this isn't the place for toxicity. Stand up Mount Union!
Season 5 - Cloud (Cardinals)
Result: Won Super Bowl vs Morty (Patriots)
From Connor:
My oldest distinct memory of one of my M17 podcasts was my midseason power rankings from season 5, where I guzzled Cloud's Cardinal Cock for a solid hour. He was by far the most dominant force we had seen in the league at that point; a user who had found an extremely efficient offensive scheme and who clamped up elite running and passing users alike with his league-leading defense. He didn't have the explosive chunk plays that a M21 Austin or a M20 Dan did, but he would grind you to death with efficiency and time of possession. As the cycle progressed I went from consistently splitting my season series with Cloud to getting dicked down every time we played, a testament both to Cloud's improvement and to my hyper-predictable playcalling. With a playoff run that included wins over Chase, Alex and Morty, Cloud's season 5 should be considered right up there with the greatest Better League seasons of all time.
Season 7 - Cloud (Vikings)
Result: Lost Super Bowl vs Morty (Patriots)
From Connor:
Though Cloud wasn't able to finish the job in Super Bowl VII, I'd venture to say this regular season was even more impressive than his season 5. He had to sweep Alex and myself this time instead of just me, and from what I remember this season also included wins over Shawn, Morty and Kiing. With no repeat champions in M17 it was a bit of a tossup as to who the dominant powers would be in the BL heading into M18, and Cloud firmly established his place at the top for the entire first season until Morty's Patriots lit up US Bank Stadium in the SB. The NFC playoff slate was truly stacked this season with Alex, Cody, Austin and... umm... Justin, but Cloud was able to see them all off. This is the Cloud we need to see in M22! We know he has the potential! Come back bb!
Season 10 - Phil (Broncos)
Result: Lost AFC Championship to Morty (Patriots)
Phil had a lot of confidence coming off of his first Better League title. Led by two 99 corners and a fierce pass rush, he had one of the greatest defenses in league history. If you weren’t on your absolute A-game on offense, beating those Broncos would be an uphill battle. While his offense wasn’t the scariest or most explosive, Phil did a great job of managing the game and not making any mistakes. Going back to his Super Bowl run, Phil won 21 consecutive games until it all came crashing down against Morty and the New England Patriots. Morty went on to defeat Cody for his third Super Bowl title.
Season 13 - Cody (49ers)
Result: Lost Divisional Round to Justin (Saints)
At the end of the Madden 18 cycle, Cody was in a groove with the 49ers. Led by soon to be enshrined hall of famers Adrian Pitts at receiver and Morgan Slade at linebacker, he was certainly hungry for his first BL title. However, it all ended in the NFC title game as Justin came stomping in and shocked the Better League world with a 21-16 stunner at Levi’s. This was certainly a sting for Cody who improved greatly as the 18 cycle progressed, but was definitely a learning experience for future championship runs. Justin would continue the Cinderella story by defeating Alex’s Bears in the NFC title game, but fell short against Morty’s Pats in Super Bowl XIII.
Season 15 - Austin (Chargers)
Result: Won Super Bowl vs Matty’s burner (Rams)
Many would say that Madden 21 was the peak of Austin’s game, but I disagree. Personally, I believe that the Austin we saw in Madden 19 was the most dominant force the league had ever seen. This was the first year he seriously dabbled into MUT, and you could just tell the control he had on both sides of the ball. Coming off a season one SB victory, Austin embarked on the greatest title defense of all time, completely obliterating the competition with rookie quarterback James Morey, who had a Matthew Davis-esque MVP season. Morey threw for a then record 51 TDs and a mere 9 interceptions, an unthinkable stat line for an online Madden league. Interestingly enough, he actually beat the now disgraced Matty twice: once vs the Browns, and again vs the Rams in the Super Bowl, this time against his burner. With nothing left to accomplish, Austin promptly retired from the BL19 cycle out of boredom. This was his fourth out of eight Super Bowl titles.
Season 19 - Jerod (Packers)
Result: Lost Divisional Round to Samoan (Rams)
Out of all the 16-0 seasons, this one was by far the least legitimate. Anyone who is familiar with late M19 will tell you that the league was on life support. No one was playing their games, and interest was quickly fading. Jerod took advantage of this opportunity and completed a 16-0 season by playing a grand total of three user games, one of them being over the eventual AFC champion Ben. But nonetheless, it was still a perfect regular season, and he was granted the one seed of the NFC. In his first playoff game, and pretty expectedly, Jerod was embarrassed by Samoan’s Rams with a final score of 62-13. It was one of the most lopsided playoff results of all time. Samoan would cap off the 19 cycle with his second consecutive Super Bowl title by defeating Ben’s Chiefs.
Season 24 - Ben (Falcons)
Result: Won Super Bowl vs Dan (Jaguars)
Those that followed the league closely in Madden 20 would tell you that Ben was slowly improving. He slowly built his Falcons team to where he needed it to be, and was winning bigger and bigger games as a result. In the season prior, he had a huge upset over Austin’s Cardinals in the wild card round in blowout fashion and made it all the way to the NFC Championship. After putting up a solid fight against the eventual champion Cody, his message was very clear: Ben was to be taken very seriously. He exploded out the gates in season 24 with newly acquired Cam Newton at quarterback. Now with escape artist, Ben was able to take his offense to the next level. What ensued was the highest point differential season in the history of the league at unbelievable +435, and MVP season for Newton. After defeating Lucky and Austin in the NFC playoffs, he squared off against my Jaguars in the Super Bowl. It was a highly competitive game all the way through and was decided by a few key plays down the stretch. Ben was able to finish the game strong and complete his perfect 19-0 season.
Season 25 - Dan (Jaguars)
Result: Won Super Bowl vs Ocho (Buccaneers)
Coming off of two straight Super Bowl losses, I was determined to take the Jaguars back to the top. I distinctly remember looking at the schedule and thinking “if I can sweep division, 16-0 is definitely on the table”. Although I was undefeated, the main story of the season had to do with another unbeaten team, defending Super Bowl champion Ben was making a serious effort to repeat another perfect season. Without any pressure on my season, I was able to very quietly complete 16-0 without much fanfare. Ben, on the other hand, lost to Cody in the infamous week 16 match, ending his win streak at a record 33 games. While I was unbeaten heading into the playoffs, every game was a grind. The divisional round against Cloud’s Colts came down to the final few possessions, and the AFC Championship and Super Bowl were both two of the greatest games I’ve ever been a part of. In the title game, Morty and his Pats put up an extraordinary fight. It took a legendary performance from DJ Chark to barely squeeze out a victory in the final minute. The Super Bowl against Ocho was one of the all-time classic games in league history, ending with a Devonte Davidson touchdown in double overtime to win 36-33. This was a special championship because of the previous two Super Bowls losses, being my first ever perfect season, and because it meant that Ocho will never be in the books as a Better League champion.