‘Madden’ predicts a good week for all divisional leaders, even though two will lose

With eight weeks in the books and nine to play, it’s a pleasant surprise to see that Madden has yet to predict any deaths in its injury report. For as bloodthirsty as the game can be, you’d think it would only be a matter of time before it lists Ryan Mathews as having died on the field. This time, the game lists him as going out with a pulled groin, but out of respect for the Chargers’ beleaguered running back, we will no longer list the numerous, and surprisingly varied number of injuries Madden continues to wish upon him. He’s having a tough enough year on the field already after being eclipsed by the Chargers’ other running back, Danny Woodhead.

Last week, Madden was a bit off when it picked the Patriots to blow out the Dolphins by 51, but New England did still win by a comfortable margin in their 27-17 victory. The same is true for many of the games it picked in week eight. Madden didn’t foresee the Bengals humiliating the Jets by 40 – who did? – but it did predict an 18-point win, which is still a blowout by most estimations. Based on the patterns we are beginning to see, the game is unsurprisingly predicting another set of big wins for teams, with only four games being decided by a touchdown or less. Expect those predictions to shrink as the games heat up.

It’s right around this time each year when murmurs of the playoffs begin to pick up, and conference matchups carry even more weight. A single win or loss can potentially change a team’s standings drastically. In the AFC North, for example, the Bengals are clearly the top team with a 6-2 record, but all four teams have a 1-1 record against each other. Pittsburgh, who are 2-5 overall, still have a legitimate shot at the playoffs. Although there are just 13 games this week, all eight division leaders are in play, and of those eight, Madden is predicting wins for all of them except Seattle and Indianapolis. Strangely, this is one of the rare weeks that either of those teams could lose and still remain in first place in their respective divisions. Indy would be losing to a conference rival in the Texans, but would retain first place over the Titans, who face a non-divisional opponent. The Seahawks face The Bucs in a non-divisional game, while their closest rival the 49ers has a bye week.

As for the Chiefs, who are the only unbeaten team remaining, and whose comeback after last year’s 2-14 season is shaping up to be one of the top stories of the NFL year, are predicted to win again and go 9-0. So far this season, Madden has only predicted incorrectly for the Chiefs once.

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