hey man, heres how it works.
you get 40 rank points for every win and - 40 ( maybe a little bit more ) for every loss..
supposedly you get more points for playing someone with a higher level or a higher rated team but i havent seen this happen.
your problem is madden is rediculously popular and so many people play it that a 3-0 record wont be ranked, and when win/loss records arent really how they rank you it makes it even harder.
Me and my cousin play it religously, (last time i played 4-5 days ago .. ive been buisy lately) we were about 35 games above five hundred and only ranked 400 something ...
anyways, i hope i helped..