Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Who will win Super Bowl LI? ‘Madden NFL 17’ simulation predicts heck of a game

Will Fulton
By
Madden NFL 17 | New England Patriots vs. Atlanta Falcons Super Bowl 51 Prediction
The New England Patriots will win Super Bowl LI, defeating the Atlanta Falcons 27-24 in Houston this coming Sunday. That’s according to EA’s official simulation using Madden NFL 17. It predicts that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will lead a comeback in the fourth quarter that will culminate in a game-winning touchdown and earn him MVP honors, which would make him the most decorated and successful quarterback in Super Bowl history. Fans will be in for an exciting game if the prediction turns out to be correct.

Betting markets agree with EA’s prediction about the upcoming game. According to SportsLine the Patriots are three-point favorites to win, with an over/under of 58.5, the largest of any Super Bowl to date.

Recommended Videos

EA has run a simulation game prior to the Super Bowl every year since 2004, using the latest iteration of the long-running Madden NFL series. While it failed to predict the Denver Broncos defeating the Carolina Panthers in 2016, it has correctly called nine out of the thirteen games so far. Notably, the last time the Patriots played in 2015 was Madden’s most accurate simulation ever, correctly predicting the Patriots’ victory over the Seattle Seahawks down to the score — 28-24.

Related

Predicting Super Bowls isn’t the only augury application of the Madden NFL football video game franchise. Fans have also long noted the so-called “Madden Curse,” where athletes featured on the game’s cover are plagued by coincidental injuries. While Odell Beckham Jr. dodged the supposed curse after appearing on the cover of Madden NFL 16, Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, the cover athlete for 17, will be missing the upcoming Super Bowl due to recent back surgery.

Fans will have to wait until Super Bowl LI on Sunday to find out whether EA’s simulation was correct. In the meantime, if they want to run their own tests, Madden NFL 17 is available for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Will Fulton
Will Fulton
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…
Logitech’s A50 X is a gaming headset and HDMI switcher in one
Tech of the Week Logitech A50 X

Logitech has announced its latest gaming headset, the Astro A50 X. It costs a whopping $380, but for good reason: It's a headset that's compatible with the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X that doubles as an HDMI switcher.

The new device is an evolution of Logitech's popular Astro A50 headset, which features a distinct base stand. The A50 X builds on that idea in a few ways. One key example is that it's able to connect to both the PS5 and Xbox Series X. That might sound simple, but the consoles feature different connection methods that make it difficult to find a one-headset-fits-all audio solution.

Read more
Fortnite’s Rocket Racing is so fun, it could have been its own game
rocket racing hands on impressions jumping through air

Yesterday, Fortnite began its biggest expansion yet by dropping Lego Fortnite, a full survival crafting game that's playable for free within Fortnite. It was a pleasant surprise, but it isn’t the best piece of new content coming to the live-service juggernaut this week. That honor goes to Rocket Racing, an arcade racing game from the developers of Rocket League that’s available in Fortnite today.

This isn’t a simple kart racer that anyone could have put together in Fortnite’s creative mode. It’s a full-throated, free-to-play game that features 26 tracks at launch and some surprisingly deep driving systems. While Lego Fortnite may have had trouble standing on its own two feet outside of the Fortnite client, Rocket Racing could very well have launched as its own game -- and it still would be the best racing game of its type this year.

Read more
How to get planks in Lego Fortnite
lego fortnite hands on impressions village

 

Collecting resources and building isn't a foreign concept to Fortnite players. A major part of the game, unless you're in zero build, is smacking trees, walls, rocks, and basically everything with your pickaxe to get materials to build basic walls and structures to give you an edge in battle. Lego Fortnite has its own crafting and building system, but doesn't work in quite the same way. Planks in particular are the most essential building material in the game, but you can't get them by simply whacking a tree. Here's a quick rundown on how to collect planks to build your dream world in Lego Fortnite.
How to get planks in Lego Fortnite

Read more