Wes Welker catches his first touchdown pass during a Patriots rally in the Madden Super Bowl XLVI simulation
With Super Bowl XLVI just around the corner, EA Sports made its early championship predictions by running a simulation of the game within its most current Madden NFL game, Madden 12.
The most current rosters of both the New York Giants and New England Patriots were applied and all stat values amended to reflect the current status of the players for both teams. Within Madden, there is a 'SuperSim' mode that lets you create a game with full 15-minute quarters controlled entirely by the computer, so only the numbers do the work.
In the middle of the first quarter, Giants' QB Eli Manning lit up the scoreboard with a 40-yard pass to WR Victor Cruz. Late in the first quarter, the Patriots put a 45-yard field goal on the board. 7-3 at the end of the 1st.
Tom Brady pushes the Patriots into the lead with a 24-yard pass to TE Ron Gronkowski, but Manning answers the Patriots' TD to Hakeem Nicks. The Giants top off the 1st half with a 39-yard field, 17-10 at halftime.
The Giants keep the Pats at bay during the third quarter and lengthen their lead with an 11-yard rush TD by Ahmad Bradshaw. Giants led 24-10 into the fourth quarter.
With the pressure building, Tom Brady buckles down to complete two touchdown passes, an 8-yarder to Aaron Hernandez and a 14-yarder to Wes Welker. The Patriots' rally put them at a tie game with 1:50 left.
As if the game could not have gotten any more intense, the Giants snag a 40-yard field goal with 0:00 on the clock to win Super Bowl XLVI 27-24.
Eli Manning comes out as the Super Bowl MVP, throwing 25-of-39 with 342 yards passing, two touchdowns and an interception.
The simulation predicts the game to be a pass-heavy event, with both QBs totalling over 300 yards each. New England comes out with only 56 rushing yards and no TD. The Giants squeak out 100 yards rushing and one TD.
If the simulation is any indication of next Sunday's performance, Victor Cruz will keep up his dazzling reception skills, completing seven passes, one for a touchdown and totaling 134 yards at nearly 20 yards a catch.
According to gaming site Kotaku, the Madden prediction record has been favorable at a strong 6-2. One of its wrong outcomes, however, was when the Giants and Pats met in Super Bowl XLII over a decade ago.
How close will this year's prediction be? We'll find out Sunday.
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Information provided by Kotaku:
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