Madden NFL 22 Predicts Super Bowl 56 Winner
I mostly cover video games but occasionally I dip into sports when sports and video games collide. Typically that’s around Super Bowl season, when EA Sports releases the yearly Madden NFL prediction for the winner of the big game.
The first year I covered this was kind of crazy because the game actually predicted not only the winner, but the exact final score of the game. Pretty wild!
Unfortunately, since then the video game’s predictive powers have been much more hit and miss. You can scroll to the bottom of this post to see every prediction, right and wrong, but the game’s reputation as super accurate has dwindled in recent years.
This year, EA Sports has enlisted the one and only Marshawn Lynch to act the part of seer / fortune teller and peer into his crystal ball for the Super Bowl LVI prediction:
The game’s simulation has the Cincinnati Bengals beat the LA Rams 24-21 in a very tight game that sounds like a blast to watch. (If I’m being honest, I never really care who wins. I always root for a close game that’s actually fun and not a blowout).
From the press release:
“Led by young superstar quarterback Joe Burrow, the Cincinnati Bengals win a hard-fought victory over the stacked LA Rams, 24-21, delivering the city of Cincinnati its first-ever Super Bowl title. For his leadership and performance on the field, Burrow receives the coveted Super Bowl MVP title in only his second year in the league, making him the first quarterback to win the Heisman, College Football National Championship and Super Bowl. While the Rams come in as heavy favoriteswith a win-now strategy at their home stadium, the Bengals have momentum on their side.Check out the full story according to Madden NFL 22in this new video, featuring NFL legend Marshawn Lynch.
“In the prediction, the Bengals enter halftime down 14-7, following touchdowns by Rams running back Sony Michel and red-hot wide receiver Cooper Kupp, with Ja’Marr Chase putting up the Bengals only touchdown. At the start of the second half, the Bengals lock up on defense with cornerback Eli Apple picking off Matthew Stafford and taking it to the house to tie the game. Joe Burrow takes the lead early in the fourth quarter on a touchdown pass to Tee Higgins, but Los Angeles answers with an Odell Beckham Jr. touchdown to level the game. In the final minutes, Burrow gets his team in field goal range creating another opportunity for Evan McPherson to step up and kick the winning field goal to secure a historic victory for the Bengals franchise.”
Hey, at least Tom Brady can’t win this year.
Super Bowl LVI outcome
Here are the historical Madden NFL predictions so far since EA started running this sim in 2004.
The game has gotten 11 outcomes correct and 7 wrong so far. Most of the incorrect predictions were in more recent years. Madden NFL got its first four Super Bowl predictions correct and had a pretty strong track record up until 2015.
Since I’ve been writing these posts (beginning in 2015) I’ve covered seven Super Bowls prior to this one. Madden NFL has only gotten 3 out of 7 correct.
Still, 11/18 overall isn’t a bad track record by any means. We’ll see if the game is on the money for Super Bowl 56 this Sunday.
Super Bowl LV (Wrong)
Super Bowl LIV (Correct)
Super Bowl LIII (Wrong)
Super Bowl LII (Wrong)
Super Bowl LI (Correct)
Super Bowl L (Wrong)
Super Bowl XLIX (Correct)
Super Bowl XLVIII (Wrong)
Super Bowl XLVII (Correct)
Super Bowl XLVI (Correct)
Super Bowl XLV (Wrong)
Super Bowl XLIV (Correct)
Super Bowl XLIII (Correct)
Super Bowl XLII (Wrong)
Super Bowl XLI (Correct)
Super Bowl XL (Correct)
Super Bowl XXXIX (Correct)
Super Bowl XXXVIII (Correct)
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