Return of the Raiders -- Madden 11 Franchise

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2011 Re-Cap
The 2011 season started with major acquisitions for the Oakland Raiders, re-signing lockdown corner Nnamdi Asomugha and TE Zach Miller, then bringing former Raider Randy Moss back for one last run, along with former Bengals QB Carson Palmer.

Palmer was injured in game 1, not to return until Week 10, but Darren McFadden carried the Raiders to a 7-1 record to start the season. McFadden was on fire, averaging over 150 yards per game and 1.5 TD's per game. But Run DMC suffered a leg injury in Week 10, putting him out for the remainder of the regular season.

The Raiders struggled to stay above .500 without their star RB, just barely making the playoffs by defeating divisional rival San Diego in the final game of the season in a 15-14 nail-biter.

Still without McFadden. Palmer and Moss put on their best performance of the season in their Wild Card matchup with the Baltimore Ravens, winning the game in OT on a 40-yard connection between the two wiley veterans.

McFadden was finally back for the second round of the playoffs, and he did not disappoint, carrying the underdog Raiders to a surprising victory over the defending AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers.

Oakland then faced Randy Moss' former team, the New England Patriots, in an **** AFC Championship battle. With a 7-point lead late in the fourth quarter the Raiders were nearly on their way to their first Super Bowl in ten years. That is, until Tom Brady took the Patriots 77-yards in less than a minute to send the game into OT, finishing it off with a dramatic 25-yard TD throw to Wes Welker with just 6-seconds remaining. The Patriots won the coin toss to start OT, and promptly drove back down the field, and once again Brady connected with Welker, this tame to end the game.

The Green Bay Packers defeated the Patriots in the Super Bowl in an all-time great game, winning 45-38 for their second-straight Super Bowl and Aaron Rodgers' second Super Bowl MVP.