Madden NFL 13 Predicts New England Patriots to Win Super Bowl

By Mike Atkinson @MikeAtkinsonRS on January 5, 2013

EA Sports’ Madden NFL 2013 predicted the New England Patriots as 2012-2013 Super Bowl Champions in a playoff simulation.

All games were simulated on Playstation 3, using the Super Sim feature on the All-Pro difficulty with 10 minute quarters.

No game was simulated more than one time. The results shown are the results of the first and only simulation of each game.

Pictured below is the completed playoff tree as Madden 13 predicted.

I will break down each game individually and speak about the likeliness of each game, with pictures of each game’s box score and stats, but before I do, I will mention that almost all of the games played out in a realistic way, aside from the Cincinnati Bengals magical run the game gave them.

In the first simulated game, Madden had the Bengals pull the upset over the Houston Texans by four, winning 17-13. I don’t see this happening, but anything is possible in the NFL and the game only had the Bengals win by four.

The Baltimore Ravens have never beaten the Indianapolis Colts in postseason play. Madden thinks it will happen this year, as the Ravens soared 30-10. This could happen in real life, considering Andrew Luck lacks postseason experience.

Madden thinks the Minnesota Vikings will beat the Green Bay Packers 17-14. This could definitely happen. Personally, I don’t think it will, but again, anything can happen in the NFL.

In a battle with two of the most explosive rookie quarterbacks in the NFL, Madden 13 had the Seattle Seahawks sending Robert Griffin III and the Washington Redskins home early, winning the only overtime game of the simulation, 19-13.

Here is the only game that I think is completely unbelievable. It raises a red flag to me that the Bengals escaped the first round, but now the game has them beating the number one seeded Denver Broncos as well. The score was only 20-17, so I guess it could happen, but I doubt it.

This would be a great matchup, as the Ravens square off against the New England Patriots. Madden had the Patriots dominate the Ravens from the beginning, winning 48-28. I too think the Patriots would be too much for the Ravens to handle.

Madden sent the Vikings to meet the San Francisco 49ers, then sent them packing after the 49ers won the game 44-33. If the Vikings beat the Packers in the actual NFL playoffs, they would have a tough time with the 49ers.

After pulling off a close win, the Seahawks advanced to face the Atlanta Falcons in the next round. Oddly enough, this game had the same score as the other NFC divisional matchup, 44-33, with the Falcons advancing. Russell Wilson, in my opinion, would have a very tough time keeping the game this close in real life.

Finally, EA Sports decided the Bengals had had their fun, and ended their run abruptly, when they were blown out by the Patriots 45-16 in the AFC Championship game. Again, if the Bengals get this far, they won’t go any further.

In the NFC Championship game Madden had the 49ers advancing to the Super Bowl after beating the Falcons 35-31. This is extremely likely for these two to square off, and the score is believable as well.

So after all of the blood, sweat and virtual tears, two teams remained in the simulation to make it to the Super Bowl. The Patriots and the 49ers faced each other in the big game, and the simulation made New England come out on top with an impressive 45-17 win. I like the possibility of these two teams matching up in the big game, but the score is unrealistic. I think this matchup would be much closer in real life.

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