Skip to main content

Madden picks the Steelers to win Super Bowl XLV

To all the Packers fans reading this article: there is nothing to see here. Move along to the next selection. May I recommend the lovely piece about Google calling out Bing over search results? It’s good stuff. Trust me Green Bay fan, you’ll be much happier if you do.

Every year EA Sports likes to roll its digital bones and try to predict the winners of some of the world’s biggest sporting event. The 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa title correctly picked Spain to win the World Cup, and last week, Madden 11 picked the Packers over the Bears 24-17, and the Steelers over the Jets 21-19.  The game was even eerily accurate regarding the score—in reality, the Packers beat the Bears 21-14, a seven point win as predicted, and the Steelers beat the Jets 24-19, only a field goal more than the simulated score.

Recommended Videos

Working against Packers fans is also the accuracy of Madden as a prediction tool for the Super Bowl. In the seven years that the game has picked a winner, it has been correct six times.

In the simulation (which you can watch the highlights of below) the Steelers take an early lead, and go up 10-0 before the Pack strikes back through a touchdown with :42 seconds left in the second half.

As the second half begins, the Steelers strike first with another touchdown, but a Pack field goal followed by a touchdown with 9:00 minutes left in the fourth gives Green Bay its first lead of the game. But with 1:20 left, Ben Roethlisberger connects with a deep touchdown pass to take back the lead 24-20. As seconds tick away, Aaron Rodgers is intercepted, and the Steelers hold on to win Super Bowl XLV.

Obviously, despite the success the annual Madden simulation has had, it is still just a video game. The Packers are actually considered a 2 ½ point favorite—according to the Vegas odds makers—so take the simulation with a grain of salt. Of course if Madden does make its seventh correct prediction out of eight, logically we can only assume that it is devilry and we should burn it at the stake.

Ryan Fleming
Former Gaming/Movies Editor
Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…
My Best Buy Plus and Total members, don’t miss this Nintendo Switch 2 offer
The Nintendo eShop appears on a Switch 2 screen.

The Nintendo Switch 2 was just launched, but rewards are already up for grabs if you buy games and accessories from the Nintendo Switch deals at Best Buy. For every $150 that you spend on games and accessories for the Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch, you'll receive a $20 gift certificate. You can get rewards of up to $100, which you'll accumulate if you're going to make a $750 investment.

The only requirement to start collecting the gift certificates is that you should be a My Best Buy Plus or My Best Buy Total member. My Best Buy Plus, which costs $50 a year, gives you perks such as free two-day shipping and an extended 60-day return window on most products, while My Best Buy Total, which costs $180 a year, adds protection plans and 24/7 tech support, among lots of other benefits.

Read more
Buy a Samsung G6 or G9 gaming monitor and get a free JBL gaming headset
Kena Bridge of Spirits on the Samsung Odyssey OLED G9.

If your gaming PC setup needs a screen upgrade, we highly recommend taking a look at Samsung monitor deals. There are always some huge savings available for the brand's gaming monitors, and we've picked out two of them for you to consider. The 27-inch Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 gaming monitor is on sale for $700 following a $200 discount on its original price of $900, while the 49-inch Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 gaming monitor is down to $1,000 for savings of $800 on its sticker price of $1,800.

No matter which of these two displays you choose, you'll get the JBL Quantum One gaming headset -- featuring active noise cancellation, head-tracking 3D audio, epic audio quality, and an ergonomic design with a regular price of $200 -- for absolutely free. You're going to have to hurry with your purchase though, as there's no telling how much time is remaining until the price cuts and the offer for the free gaming headset expire.

Read more
3 PlayStation Plus games to play this weekend (June 13-15)
Dead by Daylight player standing in front of a fire.

After the State of Play last week, followed by all the Summer Game Fest announcements, PlayStation fans have tons of upcoming PS5 games to look forward to. The only downside is we can't play them right now. That's where my weekly PS Plus game recommendations come in to save the weekend. This time around, I wanted to mix things up by celebrating Friday the 13th as well as give you some games to wet your appetites for a few of the more exciting game announcements. I've crammed in a classic multiplayer game, brutal single-player adventure, and cult classic strategy title here to cover as many bases as possible.

Dead by Daylight

Read more