With a week to go, football buffs the world over are making their predictions on who will win Super Bowl XLVI, and EA Sports is no exception. EA has an ongoing tradition of running simulations for big games in their various sports franchises. Dating back to Super Bowl XXXVIII, the company has conducted the annual Super Bowl simulation using the latest iteration of the Madden NFL franchise. This year, Madden has predicted the New York Giants capturing their fourth Vince Lombardi Trophy, defeating the New England Patriots 27-24 in Super Bowl XLVI.
According to the sim, Patroit fans will have to endure yet another last second game-winning drive by the Giants, in which kicker Lawrence Tynes puts home a 40-yard field goal as time expired. The ending, of course, is reminiscent of what took place just four seasons ago when the Giants stunned the Patriots 17-14 after a game-winning touchdown late in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLII.
As usual, the winning quarterback, Eli Manning, was named the game’s MVP. According to the stats, he completed 25 of 39 passes with two touchdowns and an interception. New England’s Tom Brady also had a big day, throwing for 327 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. A tale of the tape for both teams this season, who were heavily reliant on both quarterbacks to even get a ticket to the big game this year.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the scoring in the game:
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
OT |
TOTAL |
|
Patriots |
3 |
7 |
0 |
14 |
0 |
24 |
Giants |
7 |
10 |
7 |
3 |
0 |
27 |
Surprisingly, six out of the last eight Super Bowl champions have been accurately predicted by Madden. Previous results include:
- Super Bowl XXXVIII – Patriots 23, Panthers 20
- Actual Score: Patriots 32, Panthers 29
- Super Bowl XXXIX – Patriots 47, Eagles 31
- Actual score: Patriots 24, Eagles 21
- Super Bowl XL – Steelers 24, Seahawks 19
- Actual score: Steelers 21, Seahawks 10
- Super Bowl XLI – Colts 38, Bears 27
- Actual score: Colts 29, Bears 17
- Super Bowl XLIII – Steelers 28, Cardinals 24
- Actual score: Steelers 27, Cardinals 23
- Super Bowl XLIV – Saints 35, Colts 31
- Actual score: Saints 31, Colts 17
So, Icrontic, who’s your money on?