The problem is, and continues to be, the Frostbite engine. EA executives pressured all the studios to adopt the engine as a cost effective measure after the potential the engine showed in Battlefield 3. Of note, studios weren't forced to use it and the teams (Respawn, etc.) that pushed back against Frostbite used engines they were familiar with. Games like Anthem, Blackfoot, newest NFS-series, FIFA, Madden, etc. have suffered because of the decision because the engine is made for FPS games. Recent success stories like Jedi Order, Codemasters' games, etc. are not using the Frostbite engine. Developers publically and privately have complained about the engine in non-FPS usages.
Another problem is yearly releases and consumer expectations. The code base of FIFA has been built on and built on throughout the years without any refactoring, re-writes, etc. which has turned much of the code base into a house of cards. Developers want to make the game better, but they just aren't given the resources required. We're seeing this same issue with other sports franchises, even non-EA ones like MLB: The Show. Unfortunately, the development teams aren't given the time and resources to make big changes because of the pressure to release yearly. Sports Interactive, makers of Football Manager, proved you can do this though with some investment from leadership. They've been actively working on a new code base using Unity engine that will release in 2025, while still releasing FM yearly with decent updates.
To be clear, I do not blame the designers, engineers, and artists. This comes down to management putting profits before all else, even if the ship ends up sinking. As long as they get a golden parachute, who cares about anyone else. I could go on and on...