Neil O'Donnell Madden Career 1992-2003 - Peak 86 OVR
Neil O'Donnell Madden NFL 2003 rating

Neil O'Donnell Madden Career 1992-2003 - Peak 86 OVR

Position
QB
Team
Steelers
Height
6'3"
Weight
228
College
Maryland
DOB
Jul 3, 1966
Madden
1991-2002
69OVR
2002 Current
86OVR
Peak 1994
10
Seasons Played

Neil O'Donnell: Steelers Pro Bowler who reached Super Bowl XXX

Neil O'Donnell was born on July 3, 1966, in Morristown, New Jersey, and grew up in Madison. He played at Maryland and went to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round of the 1990 draft, 70th overall. Bill Cowher promoted him over Bubby Brister in 1992, and he threw for 2,283 yards as Pittsburgh went 11-5 and won the AFC Central. That season produced the only Pro Bowl selection of his career and a calculated 52 in Madden NFL 93.

He set a career high with 3,208 passing yards in 1993, and after a 1994 season that ended in a 17-13 AFC Championship Game loss to San Diego, Madden NFL 95 put him at a calculated 86. On January 28, 1996, in Super Bowl XXX, O'Donnell completed 28 of 49 passes and threw a six-yard touchdown to Yancey Thigpen, but three interceptions, two of them to Larry Brown, helped Dallas win 27-17.

He signed with the New York Jets that February, lost his first six starts and hurt his shoulder; Madden NFL 97 listed him at 63 for 1996. A year in Cincinnati followed, then five in Tennessee behind Steve McNair, with four wins in five starts in 1999 and an 83 in Madden NFL 2001 for the 2000 season. He finished with 21,690 passing yards, 120 touchdowns and 68 interceptions.

Neil O'Donnell Madden Career Milestones

  • Peak rating: 86 OVR (calculated) in Madden NFL 1995
  • Appeared in 10 Madden releases (Madden NFL 1992 through Madden NFL 2003)
  • Entered at 40 OVR in Madden NFL 1992, climbed 46 points to his peak
  • Biggest single-year rise: 33 points into Madden NFL 1995
  • Played for 4 franchises: Steelers, Jets, Bengals, Titans
  • Listed as a quarterback in every Madden release
  • Final Madden appearance: Madden NFL 2003 at 69 OVR

Neil O'Donnell Madden Career Ratings

Scale (starred* rows) Only the starred 1-15-era seasons convert; modern rows stay 0-99.
Madden Team Pos OVR Speed ACC AGI STR JMP STA INJ TGH AWR THP TAC TAS TAM TAD CAR BTK CTH RBK PBK TAK KPW KAC
1992 *
1991 NFL season
 Steelers QB 40* 20 - 40 - - - - - - 0 40 - - - - 0 - - - - - -
1993 *
1992 NFL season
 Steelers QB 52* 26 - 46 - - - - - - 40 59 - - - - 7 - - - - - -
1994 *
1993 NFL season
 Steelers QB 53* 20 - 20 - - - - - - 40 66 - - - - 0 - - - - - -
1995 *
1994 NFL season
 Steelers QB 86* 43 - - - - - - - 90 82 82 - - - - - - - - - - -
1996 *
1995 NFL season
 Steelers QB 76* 46 - - - - - - - - 79 73 - - - - 26 - - - - - -
1997
1996 NFL season
 Jets QB 63 50 49 48 - 53 37 - - 86 69 77 - - - 99 10 10 - - 7 - -
1998 *
1997 NFL season
 Jets QB 76* 46 - 59 - - - - - - 66 86 - - - - 33 - - - - - -
1999
1998 NFL season
 Bengals QB 70* 47 45 51 57 - - 4 - 65 69 71 - - - 52 30 9 - - 9 - -
2002
2001 NFL season
 Titans QB 73 49 51 55 59 45 85 78 68 79 82 - 82 82 82 40 - 32 15 22 24 14 22
2003
2002 NFL season
 Titans QB 69 41 37 48 59 46 75 70 68 - 83 - - - - 43 - 25 21 26 25 19 26
How to read these: Each row is the player’s rating in that year’s Madden, listed by the NFL season it covers (Madden NFL 2001 = the 2000 season). Madden sets its ratings before the season is played, so they reflect the previous season’s performance - a player’s breakout year tends to show up as a jump in the following year’s game.
About the starred rows*: Several early Madden releases rated players on a 1-15 scale, as printed in the game manuals, rather than the modern 0-99. We store those ratings converted to 0-99 (each manual point is about 6.6) so you can compare players across eras at a glance - use the 0-99 / 1-15 toggle above the table to see the original numbers on those seasons. EA didn’t publish an overall rating in those games, so the OVR* values for those years are our own calculation, the average of the player’s two best ratings.
Note: Some Madden releases tracked fewer attributes than others. Cells shown as - were not published by EA that year.

Era Quarterbacks who played alongside Neil O'Donnell

Tom Brady Madden ratings
Tom Brady
Madden NFL 2003-2023 - Buccaneers
99
 Drew Brees Madden ratings
Drew Brees
Madden NFL 2002-2021 - Saints
99
 Peyton Manning Madden ratings
Peyton Manning
Madden NFL 1999-2016 - Broncos
99
 Drew Bledsoe Madden ratings
Drew Bledsoe
Madden NFL 1995-2007 - Cowboys
99
 Brett Favre Madden ratings
Brett Favre
Madden NFL 1994-2011 - Vikings
98
 Daunte Culpepper Madden ratings
Daunte Culpepper
Madden NFL 2000-2010 - Lions
98
 Donovan McNabb Madden ratings
Donovan McNabb
Madden NFL 2000-2012
97
 Kurt Warner Madden ratings
Kurt Warner
Madden NFL 2000-2010 - Cardinals
97

Neil O'Donnell Madden Ratings by Year

Neil O'Donnell Madden NFL 1992 rating: 40 OVR (1991 NFL season, PIT). Neil O'Donnell Madden NFL 1993 rating: 52 OVR (1992 NFL season, PIT). Neil O'Donnell Madden NFL 1994 rating: 53 OVR (1993 NFL season, PIT). Neil O'Donnell Madden NFL 1995 rating: 86 OVR (1994 NFL season, PIT). Neil O'Donnell Madden NFL 1996 rating: 76 OVR (1995 NFL season, PIT). Neil O'Donnell Madden NFL 1997 rating: 63 OVR (1996 NFL season, NYJ). Neil O'Donnell Madden NFL 1998 rating: 76 OVR (1997 NFL season, NYJ). Neil O'Donnell Madden NFL 1999 rating: 70 OVR (1998 NFL season, CIN). Neil O'Donnell Madden NFL 2002 rating: 73 OVR (2001 NFL season, TEN). Neil O'Donnell Madden NFL 2003 rating: 69 OVR (2002 NFL season, TEN).