Here we go again. Last night against the Broncos, Patrick Mahomes dislocated his knee after a QB sneak. Another player that was the Madden cover athlete, fulfills the daunting Madden Curse. Now if you do not believe in curses, black magic, or whatever John Madden’s is doing to these cover athletes, I am here to show you that this curse is very real, and dates back all the way to the year 2001.

2001 Cover Athlete: Eddie George

The former Titan was one of the first NFL players to feel Madden’s wrath. Photo Credits to wikipedia.com

The year that he dawned the cover of Madden, George ran for over 1500 yards. However, the following years lead to George’s demise. The next year George had a career high in fumbles with 8, and ended up fumbling when the Titans were eliminated. In 2001, nobody thought that the cover of Madden had anything to do with it. Now in 2019, he could of been the guinea pig for the Madden Curse.

Madden Curse-d? Yes.

2002 Cover Athlete: Daunte Culpepper

Culpepper became the starter of the Vikings in 2000 and threw for 33 TD’s and lead them to a 11-5 record. But after gracing the cover, his fortunes took a turn. Culpepper missed 5 games due to injury, and when playing, led the Vikings to a 4-7 record averaging more than a pick a game.

Madden Curse-d? Yes.

2003 Cover Athlete: Marshall Faulk

Coming into his cover season, Faulk had rushed for over 1,000 yards in five straight years. Once he was on the cover, Faulk never ran over 1,000 yards again and his career was derailed by injury.

Madden Curse-d? Yes.

2004 Cover Athlete: Michael Vick

I’ve said this is one of the best video games of all time. Vick was a cheat code in the game. However on the field was a much different story. Vick became injured less than a week after the game’s release and missed the season. And if that isn’t enough evidence, years later Vick ended up in jail.

Madden Curse-d? Big Time.

2005 Cover Athlete: Ray Lewis

In the cover year for Lewis, the Ravens missed the playoffs and Lewis saw his turnovers decrease. The following year, Lewis missed 10 games.

Madden Curse-d? Yes, but not nearly as much as the others listed.

2006 Cover Athlete: Donovan McNabb

Prior to the game’s release, McNabb lead the Eagles to a super bowl but lost to the Patriots. But once #5 was on the cover, the Eagles struggled, McNabb and T.O. had a falling out, and struggled to stay on the field due to injury.

Madden Curse-d? Yes.

2007 Cover Athlete: Shawn Alexander

Alexander was one of the best running-backs in the game playing in Seattle alongside of Matt Hasselback. But like many of the players on this list, once he was on the Madden cover, he saw his production diminish. Because his dominance came to end, he fizzled out of the league.

Madden Curse-d? Yes.

2008 Cover Athlete: Vince Young

Young was dominant coming out of Texas, winning the rookie of the year in 2006. But the Madden Curse knows no bounds, and it had its fingers all over Young. He only threw for 9 touchdowns and had a whopping 17 interceptions causing him to become a backup and then to fizzle out.

Madden Curse-d? Yes.

2009 Cover Athlete: Brett Favre

Whether he was in Packer green or Jet green, the Madden Curse did not care. Photo Credits to thcomeback.com

Having Favre on the cover was supposed to be a tribute to Favre’s Packer career. But then he un-retired and was picked up by the Jets, where he threw 22 interceptions and dealt with injury all year long.

Madden Curse-d? Yes.

2010 Cover Athletes: Larry Fitzgerald and Troy Polamalu

Fitzgerald continued his dominance after sharing the cover, as he had over 1,000 yards receiving. But Polamalu got injured and missed most of the season. When Polamalu was on the field, he was not close to breaking the curse like Fitzgerald did, he had a career low in tackles.

Fitzgerald: Madden Curse-d? NO. The 1st no.

Polamalu: Madden Curse-d? Yes.

2011 Cover Athlete: Drew Brees

Sure he threw 33 touchdowns and made a pro bowl. But a first round exit and franchise record 22 picks sounds more like the curse.

Madden Curse-d? Yes.

2012 Cover Athlete: Peyton Hillis

Remember when ESPN ran the Madden vote and fans voted in Hillis to cover Madden 12? Photo Credits to ftw.usatoday.com

Does anyone remember Peyton Hillis? In 2010 Hillis ran over 1,000 yards, but after winning the vote, Hillis never amounted over 1,000 yards again. The year of his cover, he missed half the season due to injury. After that season, Hillis fell out of the league completely.

Madden Curse-d? Yes. Big Time Yes.

2013 Cover Athlete: Calvin Johnson

Arguably Megatron is the first NFL player to truly break the daunting curse. He had one of his best years of career. In his cover year, Johnson posted 1,964 receiving yards.

Madden Curse-d? No.

2014 Cover Athlete: Adrian Peterson

After fans thought Calvin Johnson may have broken the curse for good, AP put those thoughts to rest. Peterson was suspended for all of one game due to child abuse charges. Curse jumped right back into frame.

Madden Curse-d? Yes.

2015 Cover Athlete: Richard Sherman

Similar to Ray Lewis on 2005, Sherman’s turnovers dropped and lost in the playoffs. He still had a great year, but the following year, Sherman had Tommy John Surgery and missed the majority of the season.

Madden Curse-d? Yes, but not as much as the others.

2016 Cover Athlete: Odell Beckham Jr.

He had 1,400 yards receiving, which means he may have not been affected by the curse. But, he took a turn for the worst in matters of his attitude. Between his spouts with Josh Norman and suspensions, the curse still reared his ugly head.

Madden Curse-d? Sort of.

2017 Cover Athlete: Rob Gronkowski

After his cover year, Gronk dealt with injuries the whole season. He only started 6 games the year after being on the Madden cover.

Madden Curse-d? Yes.

2018 Cover Athlete: Tom Brady

In his cover year, Brady made it to the super bowl and ended up losing to the Eagles. Even though he lost the super bowl, the yardage and his statistics proved that the GOAT is immune from the curse.

Madden Curse-d? No.

2019 Cover Athlete: Antonio Brown

AB had 1297 yards in his cover year. So the statistics did not prove to be affected by the curse. However, the Steelers missed the playoffs and we all know what happened in the next offseason between Brown and the Steelers. And well what has happened with AB this season is more proof of this hoax.

Madden Curse-d? Yes.

2020 Cover Athlete: Patrick Mahomes

This brings us to the newest case, Patrick Mahomes. Sure he has started off the season at a rapid pace. 15 touchdowns and 1 interception is incredible the young QB. But the reason the curse is even in question is what happened to him on Thursday Night Football. No one knows the severity of the knee injury, but it is rumored he will miss at least 3 weeks.

The Madden Curse is one of those things that is tough for fans to completely understand. But what happened to Mahomes could be the latest case of the cursed NFL players who have graced the madden cover.

Featured Image. Patrick Mahomes lands on cover of Madden 20. Photo Credits to kansascity.com