Derwin James beats Keenan Allen 14-6 in The Checkdown’s Madden 20 tournament

Last night, Derwin James and Keenan Allen squared-off on the sticks in Madden 20 during the first round of a tournament put on put on by The Checkdown to help raise funds for COVID-19 relief efforts.

The tournament hosted a field of eight current NFL players that included the Chiefs’ Tyreek Hill and Tyrann Mathieu, the Browns’ Denzel Ward and Jarvis Landry, along with the 49ers’ Deebo Samuel and the Eagles’ Desean Jackson.

James and Allen’s matchup was the final game of the evening, following wins by Ward, Hill, and Jackson who all make it to the semifinals to be played tonight along with the Championship game.

Both Allen and James are revered as some of, if not, the best Madden players on the entire team. Each were dressed for competition with James rocking a pair of Oakley shades (they have the same lenses as his helmet visor) while Allen wore a powder blue and white sweatband for obvious reasons.

It was a defensive game between the two teammates which was a far-cry from an earlier game where Hill walloped Mathieu to the tune of 64-32. James rode with the Seahawks while Allen took control of the 2019 MVP Lamar Jackson and his Ravens. James, if you guys didn’t catch it, put up 80 points on Michael Vick in a different Madden event earlier in the week.

James’ strategy was to keep the ball out of Jackson’s hands and that’s exactly what he did. Both of his scoring drives were long and methodical, utilizing the legs of Russell Wilson to extend plays and taking advantage of the speed on the outside with receivers Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf.

Allen tried to establish the run game, not unlike the real Ravens, with the likes of Mark Ingram II and rookie Justice Hill. James’ defense was having none of it. With superstars Bobby Wagner and Jadeveon Clowney at his disposal, yards were hard to come by for The Slayer.

EA and The Checkdown plan to donate $5,000 per player and an additional $20,000 dollars on behalf of whoever wins tonight’s championship. James’ semifinal match-up will be against Jackson, who advanced over Samuel due to technical difficulties on the rookie’s behalf.