I honestly believe part of the reason 2K is so balanced and fundamentally sound is because of the time they've spent on the online portion of their game.
Pro-AM is a big deal, and with 189 different types of players that have different animation combinations and unique abilities, there tons of animations that need to be taken into account and balanced to illustrate a convincing basketball game. They do this in a such a smart way by rewarding players for what they are doing off ball. What some guys do off ball is more important than what they can do
with the ball, and the game grades them accordingly. There are mechanics within that product (2K18) that are measurable, consistent, and balanced. You know you're playing basketball because the game's feedback is actively taking everything you do into account and grading you.
Madden is very poor in this regard and follows a very casual perspective of the sport. I saw an interview with Ray Lewis and Colin Cowheard the other day where Lewis was joking about not liking most offensive players. He pointed out that defenders have to "take" everything and receive very little credit for some of the most important work they do.
Madden is the type of game that fails to reward a linebacker for stuffing the fullback in the A gap on an Iso play because it doesn't know what that means or why that is important.