Top 10 Most Lethal Football Video Game Characters of All Time

As a kid, sometimes how unrealistic the football games were made it so much better. Every game always had that one guy you always wanted to use that could help you completely dominate your opponent. Whether that be the computer, your brother, or your friends. Here is a list of the most dominant players in football games over the years.

10. Barry Sanders – All Pro Football 2K8: This was a game that flew under the radar but was actually a lot of fun. Since Madden has all of the rights to current players, 2K Sports tried to make a comeback with only legends. It was a draft style with 3 tiers, and Barry Sanders was easily the most dominant player you could pick. He could break about 4 tackles in any given play, shake any defender, and outrun a whole defense. Not too many people ever played this game, but if you happen to stumble across it, pick Barry.

9. Tim Tebow – NCAA Football 10 – Tebow’s last year in college was a dominant one. He was good enough to land on the cover of the following game. The Gator Heavy offensive style was so much fun to use with him. He was a 98 overall and was basically an extra running back that could throw. That whole Florida team had so much speed which made it only impossible to stop, and Tebow was the guy at the helm.

8. Ray Lewis – Madden 2005: This was the birth of the hit stick. And who better to grace the cover of a game like that than the human hit stick in Ray Lewis. It didn’t matter how big of a running back was coming through the hole, or who was going across the middle, Ray was going to knock that ball loose.

7. Terrell Owens – ESPN Football 2K5: This was the epitome of the 2K football games, and there was something about the cover athletes back in the day that were just so much better. T.O. was on a crazy good Eagles team and he was a guy no corner in the game could hang with. Not only that but he had a crazy good ability to break tackles from corners after the catch. You were almost guaranteed 3 TDs a game if you used T.O. in 2K5.

6. Reggie Bush – NCAA Football 06: Reggie’s Heisman year was one to behold, and EA did everything to capture that in his character in NCAA 06. He also dawned the cover the following year after entering the NFL like Tebow. Bush was a 97 overall with a 98 speed and made defenders look silly. When you could time the double juke move perfect in this game it just looked right with Reggie.

5. Devin Hester – Madden 08: I think this one goes without saying. The man was the first player ever with 100 speed. Yeah ONE HUNDRED. Ratings max out at 99 but they found a way to do it with how dominant of a returner Hester was. You had to beg your friends to kick to you when you used Hester because of how terrifying he was. He was a threat to take any kick back to the crib, field goals included. When he changed from corner to wide receiver it was a whole new ballgame. Using him on streaks and jailbreak screens, good luck.

4. Randy Moss – NFL Street 2: Randy Moss was the perfect NFL Street player. One of the fastest dudes in the game, he already couldn’t be stopped by any defenders in real life. They decided to give him the ability to Moss defenders off the wall? It was literally cheating at that point. And then you could throw him at safety on defense and no deep ball was safe.

3. Michael Vick – Madden 2004: Everyone knew he was coming up soon on this list. Some might even be surprised he popped up at 3. Who could possibly be more dominant than a 90 overall QB, with 95 speed and a 98 throw power? He could outrun almost every player in the game, and drop absolute dimes all through your defensive backfield. He was the definition of a cheat code. You had to make rules with your friends that they couldn’t use Vick because it was cheating. Vick was as good as it gets when it comes to dominant players in Madden

2. Bo Jackson – Tecmo Bowl – Oh Bo. Not too many people know anymore what the original best football game was for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Tecmo Bowl was that game. There was no hit stick, no spin moves, and a playbook that consisted of 8 plays, but all you needed was 1 with Bo. Once you got into open space with Bo Jackson you just needed to zig zag up and down the field because nobody could catch him. You could rack up 8 or 9 rushing TDs in a game, and not to mention using his backfield counterpart in Marcus Allen. Bo might not be #1, but he is the most dominant real life player in a video game.

1. Pablo Sanchez – Backyard Football: Come on you all knew it was coming. Pablo was THAT dude in every backyard game. He is the most freakish athlete our generation has seen, and only at about 3’6″. Toss him at wide receiver and he’ll torch your best defender. Throw him in the backfield and nobody can stop him, and he isn’t afraid to toss a reverse pass either. You could throw him at #1 corner and he can lock up the likes of Jerry Rice. Or bring him in at linebacker and he can stuff Barry Sanders best attempts. Pablo is the most dominant video game character ever, and it’s impossible to argue otherwise.

-Jake Kobierski (@TheRealKobe83)