1. Passing system
2. How responsive the sticks are (a huge complaint about Madden over the past few years is how slow the players feel)
3. Player abilities
4. How the option worked

It was very offensive focused and they wanted big plays to happen. I can almost guarantee the difficulty level was either the easiest or second easiest, which means coverage/tackling will be worse.

Also keep in mind that when you play video games a lot, you get used to how players move. The two players have been playing Madden and are used to how Madden players move. EACFB feels different, so they will take worse angles, miss more tackles, etc. This happened to me when I went from FIFA 23 to FIFA 24 (EAFC) because FIFA 24 was the first time PC had next gen movement. It felt super funky and my defense was awful. As I got used to it, it got way better.

I think it will regulate a lot when the difficulty is higher and you get used to how the players move.