Madden NFL 23 Has an Interception Problem

Madden NFL 23 is finally out today, at least for those that didn’t pick up the All-Madden Edition to secure three days of early access, and players think the game has a serious problem with interceptions. The initial reaction to Madden NFL 23 seems to be a step up from the less-than-favorable response that fans had with Madden NFL 22, but that doesn’t mean the game is without its issues.

This year’s football game contains a wide array of improvements, including enhanced animations from the new FieldSense system, a new skill-based passing mechanic, and more. Sadly, these features are only available in the next-gen version of Madden NFL 23 (even PC players are left hanging this year), but that’s a story for another time. Overall, the game is better than last year, but the interceptions during gameplay seem to be a bit out of hand.

Madden NFL 23 made some improvements to defense this year, but the defensive changes have made it very easy to throw a pick, even on lower difficulties. Players have taken to the Madden subreddit to complain about the ridiculous amount of interceptions they’ve been throwing in their first few games of the year. Defensive players seem to be able to catch basically anything thrown in their direction, much to the frustration of aspiring quarterbacks in Madden NFL 23.

Of course, this could just be the result of players learning and adjusting to the new skill-based passing system this year. This mechanic adds a finer layer of control over the standard passing system, which just required players to press the correct button corresponding to their desired receiver. Now, players can throw the ball just about anywhere on the field, and this can be used to avoid interceptions and make safer passes to their receivers.

Still, even with the new passing mechanics (and players still have the option to use the classic passing controls), players feel like the number of interceptions this year is a bit too much. Some people feel like their receivers aren’t attacking the ball when being passed too, making it easy for defenders to swoop in and catch the ball uncontested.

This could all be remedied with a patch though. Madden NFL 23 was just released to the general public today, and even though there’s not a day one patch available for players to download, an update is likely coming within the next week to address the preliminary issues that players are encountering during their early hours of play.

All in all though, Madden NFL 23 is a huge improvement over the disappointing Madden NFL 22, which is appreciated given that the game is a tribute to the late John Madden. We liked Madden NFL 23, awarding it a score of 4/5 stars in our review. We praised the enhanced animations and smooth gameplay, saying ” With the push in general gameplay feel, as well as the upgraded visuals and animations, Madden NFL 23 shows that EA Sports still has what it takes to make an excellent sports title, without pushing the buttons of longtime patrons.”

Madden NFL 23 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.