Madden NFL 2005 shipped in summer 2004 for the 2004 NFL season. Launch ratings are set before the season is played, so they reflect the previous year’s performance - a player’s breakout shows up in the next year’s game.
Madden NFL 2005 released August 9, 2004 with Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis on the cover, a rare defensive cover. Champ Bailey, Jonathan Ogden, kicker Mike Vanderjagt, and Lewis were the launch 99s.
New England won Super Bowl XXXIX, 24-21 over Philadelphia, Deion Branch named game MVP. Peyton Manning won regular-season MVP and Offensive Player of the Year with a record 49 touchdown passes, Ed Reed won Defensive Player of the Year, and Ben Roethlisberger and Jonathan Vilma won the rookie awards.
Manning's 49 touchdowns blew past any rating EA could assign. The launch also whiffed on Roethlisberger, a rookie rated as a backup who went 13-0 as a starter. Cover man Ray Lewis would meet the curse a year later with a season-ending injury.