Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Spoiler alert: The Patriots win. ‘Madden NFL 18’ already called Super Bowl 52

The New England Patriots will defeat the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 52, according to EA Sport’s official simulation. The Madden NFL 18 simulation predicted a closely contested matchup, with the Patriots taking home the Lombardi trophy following a 24-20 victory.

The Eagles struck first on a touchdown scored by running back Jay Ajayi. While the Patriots moved the ball down the field with relative ease in the first quarter, the Eagles defense only gave up a field goal. Philadephia notched a field goal of its own as the first quarter wound down.

With the Eagles up 10-3 at the end of the first quarter, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick turned up the heat in the second, dialing up two touchdown drives. The simulation appeared to think tight end Rob Gronkowski will be just fine after suffering a concussion in the Patriots’ comeback win against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Championship. Tom Brady found both Gronkowski and wide receiver Brandin Cooks in the end zone before the half to take a 17-10 lead.

The Eagles added a field goal before halftime to cut the deficit to four.

The Eagles came out strong in the third quarter, sacking Brady two times and putting enough pressure on him to force an uncharacteristic interception. Eagles quarterback Nick Foles capitalized on Brady’s miscue, finding Alshon Jeffery for an Eagles touchdown to take a 20-17 lead heading into the fourth.

Brady then led the Patriots downfield and threw his third touchdown pass of the night, this time to receiver Danny Amendola, to retake the lead at 24-20. Later on in the quarter, Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins stripped the football from Patriots running back Dion Lewis. With time running out, Foles pushed the Eagles into Patriots territory. The backup-QB-turned-starter following Carson Wentz’s injury late in the regular season had a chance to become a Philly legend in the final seconds. He tried to find Jeffery for the game-winning touchdown as time expired, but Patriots defensive back Stephon Gilmore batted the ball to the turf.

The Patriots successfully defended its Super Bowl title while Brady snagged his fifth Super Bowl MVP honors. How’s that for breaking the Madden cover athlete curse?

Naturally, the Super Bowl still needs to be played in real life to determine the real winner, but Madden has an impressive history of picking the correct winner. Since EA started simulating the Super Bowl in 2004, the game has correctly picked 10 of 14 contests. And football fans know all too well not to underestimate Brady, the Madden NFL 18  cover athlete.

Editors' Recommendations

Steven Petite
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Steven is a writer from Northeast Ohio currently based in Louisiana. He writes about video games and books, and consumes…
Madden NFL 21 getting community-requested tweaks to Franchise mode
most anticipated video games 2020 madden 21

Madden NFL 21 will receive major tweaks to its franchise mode following criticism from the game’s community. The football game will get three waves of post-launch updates with the first scheduled for mid-November.

EA Sports plans to bring four major changes to the mode based on community feedback. Top among the fan-requested features, commissioners will get the ability to assign X-Factors to any player and edit their superstar abilities. The team will roll out fixes to assure that Superstars and X-Factor players are more balanced throughout a multi-year franchise.

Read more
Electronic Arts will remove Washington Redskins name, logo in Madden NFL 21
madden nfl 21 washington redskins in

Electronic Arts will remove all references to the Washington Redskins in Madden NFL 21, after the football team's announcement that it will be developing a new name.

Earlier this week, the Washington Redskins said that following a review that started July 3, it decided that the Redskins name and logo will be retired, after years of criticism that they perpetuate racist stereotypes against Native Americans. The team's new name and logo have not yet been revealed.

Read more
EA renews Madden exclusivity deal with NFL, NFLPA
Madden NFL 20

Electronic Arts renewed its exclusivity deal with the NFL, locking in Madden as the only NFL-approved football sim for years.

EA Sports, the National Football League, and the NFL Player’s Association announced a multiyear renewal of their long-term partnership on Thursday.

Read more