The yearly Madden NFL Super Bowl prediction game has been simulated and it’s official: the New England Patriots are the champions. The game had Tom Brandy defeating Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons 27 – 24 in a game that came down to the final seconds. If this prediction holds true, Tom Brady will be the only quarterback to ever win five Super Bowls and could possibly net him yet another Super Bowl MVP award.
Both offenses had a big first quarter. The Falcons relied heavily on running backs Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman both on the ground and in the air, with Coleman catching a 15 yard pass for the first score and touchdown of the game. Not to be outdone, the Patriots answered quickly with a touchdown of their own coming off a 38-yard play action pass.
Atlanta continued the scoring in the second half after a deep pass set them up for a 5-yard rushing touchdown from Freeman. A strong defensive follow-up held the Pats to a field goal, making the score 17 – 10 at halftime in favor of the Falcons.
At the start of the second quarter, the Patriots managed to exploit an overly aggressive Falcons defense with some short passes, ending with a 9-yard touchdown pass to running back Dion Lewis. After another field goal and a strong defensive performance which left Atlanta scoreless for the quarter, the game stood at 20 – 17 Patriots.
The fourth and final quarter started defensively, with neither team able to get in striking distance. After some time, Matt Ryan was finally able to break through and throw a 12-yard touchdown to Mohamed Sanu Sr., which gave the Falcons a 24 – 20 lead. Tom Brady wasn’t about to lose this game, however. Through some patient short passes and a solid running game, the Patriots were able to get across midfield with less than two minutes remaining in the game.
The end zone was the goal as a simple field goal would not be enough. The Falcons defense held their line as best they could, putting Brady and the Patriots into a 4th and 4 situation with just 20 left on the clock. The ball was snapped and Brady, one of the best quarterbacks of all time, found Julian Edelman for the game-winning touchdown.
The post game stats had Brady hitting 30 of 39 passes for 305 yards, having a part in all three of the Patriots’ touchdowns, earning him the MVP award. LaGarrette Blount and Dion Lewis had a combined 100 plus running yards, with Lewis netting a receiving touchdown. Julian Edelman had 9 catches for 102 yards and a touchdown, and Chris Hogan had three catches for 50 yards and a touchdown.
Matt Ryan had a similar performance to Brady’s with 287 yards and two touchdowns completing 24 of 36 passes, but also threw the game’s only interception. Although Freeman and Coleman each were able to find the end zone, they did not have the impact on the game they probably wished they had.
The Madden NFL Super Bowl prediction is quite well-known in the world, and can also be fairly accurate. Not only has the simulation correctly predicted 9 of the last 13 Super Bowl games, but manged to correctly predict the 2015 game featuring the Patriots down to the final score, and even a 10-point comeback. Whatever team you support, it sounds like this will be an exciting one.
