Madden NFL 18 Predicts Super Bowl 52 Winner

Electronic Arts today announced the results of its annual Super Bowl simulation. The results for Super Bowl 52 may not surprise many but will surely irritate many football fans outside New England and plenty within the region as well. The simulation predicted that the New England Patriots will beat the Philadelphia Eagles 24-20 in a wild, come-from-behind victory.

In the simulation, conducted using Madden NFL 18, the Eagles struck first with a touchdown run from Jay Ajayi. They held the Patriots scoreless until the second quarter, when Brady completed touchdown passes to Rob Gronkowski and Brandin Cooks. The Eagles added a field goal before the half to keep it close.

The Eagles came alive in the second half, blitzing on defense and getting two sacks on Brady. Also, Brady threw an interception that led to a touchdown by Alshon Jeffery. The Eagles led going into the fourth quarter.

Brady connected with Danny Amendola to put the Patriots back ahead. The Patriots then tried to drain the clock with run plays but Eagles safety Malcolm Jennings stripped the ball away from Patriots back Dion Lewis leading to a fumble recovery by the Eagles. The Eagles could not get it done, however, as a last-minute throw from Eagles QB Nick Foles to wide receiver Jeffery was knocked away by Patriots defensive back Stefon Gilmore to seal the win for the Patriots.

Brady took home Super Bowl MVP honors on the back of 342 passing yards and three touchdowns. Gronkowski was the top receiver in the game with 107 yards on four catches with one touchdown. The Patriots run game struggled, with Lewis the leader, despite only having 41 yards and the aforementioned fumble.

In 2016, the Madden Super Bowl simulation got it wrong, picking the Carolina Panthers to win, when in reality it was the Denver Broncos who emerged victorious. A year before that, however, the simulation picked the Patriots to beat the Seahawks 28-24--and that's exactly what happened. In 2017, the simulation was correct, predicting the Patriots would come from behind and beat the Atlanta Falcons.

Super Bowl 52 takes place on Sunday, February 4, so it won't be long until we find out if this year's prediction is accurate. Madden NFL 18's Super Bowl edition is currently marked down very nicely to only $20 on PS4 and Xbox One.